Perry H. Smith Residences

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Perry H. Smith Residences
Life Span: 1863-1871
1877-1918
Location: Northwest Corner Huron and Lincoln Park Boulevard (Michigan Avenue)
Architect: Cudell & Blumenthall

Halpin & Bailey’s City Directory for the Year 1863-64

Smith Perry H.

(Destroyed in Chicago Fire)

Edwards’ Annual Directory in the City of Chicago, for 1866
Smith Perry H. vice pres. C. & N. W. R. R. r. 122 Pine (Destroyed in Chicago Fire)

Edwards’ Annual Directory in the City of Chicago, for 1867
Smith Perry H. vice pres. C. & N. W. R. R. office, Clark, sw. cor. Lake, r. 112 Pine (Destroyed in Chicago Fire)

Edwards’ Annual Directory in the City of Chicago, for 1871
Smith Perry H. lawyer, 112 Pine

Edwards’ Annual Directory in the City of Chicago, for 1870
Smith Perry H. r. 112 Pine (Destroyed in Chicago Fire)

Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago, 1876
Smith Perry H., 1, 71 Washington, h 287 Oak

Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago, 1880
Smith Perry H, capitalist, C. 126 Lasalle, house 112 Pine

Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago, 1884
Smith Perry H, house 112 Pine

Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago, 1885
Smith Perry H Mrs, house 112 Pine

Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago, 1892
Smith Emma A, wid. Perry H. h. 150 Pine

Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago, 1904
Kinzie Flats, 150 Lincoln Park boul

Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago, 1911
Kinzie Flats, 750-754 Lincoln Parkway

The original home of Perry H. Smith before and after the Fire of 1871, on the northwest corner of Huron and Pine streets. Photo on left taken from Huron street; the photo on right, from Erie street.

Chicago Tribune, November 9, 1877

In honor of ex-Minister Washburn and wife a dinner party assembled yesterday evening at the new mansion of Mr. Perry H. Smith, corner of Huron and Pine streets. The party was small and select, consisting of Mr. and Mrs. Washburn, Mr. and Mrs. Dunlap, Mr. and Mrs. Nickerson. Mr. and Mrs. Kimball, Mr. and Mrs. Russell Jones, Mr. Ben H. Campbell, General and Mrs. Sheridan, Mr. and Mrs. Jewett, and Mr. and Mrs. Potter Palmer. The well-known prince, of eaterers and epicurean’s friend. Mr. Kingsley, presided over the table.

Chicago Tribune, January 2, 1878

PERRY H. SMITH.
New-Year’s Reception in the New House.
Mr. and Mrs. Perry H. Smith dedicated their new and elegant mansion last evening by an informal and very enjoyable reception. The residence is situated at the corner of Pine and Huron streets, and a full and elaborate description of it was given last August in the columns of The Tribune. It is without doubt the most elaborately-finished house west of New York. The parlor is a marvel of decorative art, and the dining-room, library, music-room, ball, etc., are finished in a style at once grand and enchanting. The rooms upon the ground-floor are so located that when the doors are thrown open they seem one. The hall is a reception-room of itself, finished most elaborately with ebony pillars, treated in Pompeian style. The second floor is occupied as sleeping and living rooms, and the third story contains the buffet, ball-room, and theatre. This latter is very complete to the minutest appointments. About 750 invitations had been issued for the reception, and it would seem from the crush which ensued that all responded. Mr. and Mrs. Smith. and their daughter, Miss Emma, are noted for their hospitality, and, though the crowd was great last evening, it was a social gathering of the elite of the city. The counting-room, the Bench, and the Bar were represented. Elegant toilets and diamonds shone everywhere. It was a mingling of beauty, luxury, and enjoyment. The house was thrown open in every part. Ushers and attendants everywhere, and Mrs. Smith and her daughter graciously received their guests, while Mr. Smith acted as the genial host to the gentlemen.

The scene at 11 o’clock was one of marvelous splendor, such as has never been excelled in Chicago. Ravishing music, the odor of the choicest and rarest flowers, the beautifully-decorated rooms, blended with the charms and grace of the hundreds of ladies and their elegant toilets to give an effect striking and peculiar in the extreme. Everybody remarked the beauty and taste displayed in the interior ornamentation. Johnny Hand furnished the music, and Kinsley surpassed himself with his cold collation.

Letter written by Martha Freeman Esmond to her friend Julia on January 1, 1880:

The Smiths’ new house is at the corner of Pine and Huron Streets, just around the corner from us, and is what can be truly termed a “mansion.” We had attended their recent house-warming, but were nothing loath to go again to see its splendor better.

The exterior is very striking, quite different from its neighbors. Martha Junior and her friends say it looks like a large cake, with one slice cut out. This is because it is entered by a semi-circular portico at the corner. On the night of the party, this portico was encircled with canvas and from this enclosure extended two tunnels of canvas, one of which led to Pine Street, and the other to Huron Street. Across the street was placed a calcium light, for the convenience of guests. It illuminated the corner brilliantly.

From the portico the entrance is into an octagonal ballroom, which is carried up to the top of the house, and is finished in carved dark wood of some kind. The floor is of beautiful marquetry. The most striking feature of this hall is a clock lately received by Mr. Smith from Paris. The case is onyx and almost three feet high, I should say, serving as a pedestal for the statue of a female figure (draped, I am glad to say) between four and five feet high. This strikingly beautiful statue is of silver bronze. One hand, held high, is grasping a spindle, the lower end of which, working in a wheel, forms what Will calls the “escapement” of the timepiece. It is quite a novelty.

The decorations were elaborate. Smilax was festooned in the doorway between the hall and the salon, and in the center of the doorway hung a huge horse-shoe made of red and white carnations. The fireplace was filled in with foliage plants. I thought it would have been pleasant to see a fire in it, but many people put plants in their fireplaces now, because the steam heat makes the room comfortable without any further warmth. One of the beautiful objects in the salon is a circular bronze table resting on a gilded base. The top of the table bears around its circumference fourteen paintings of floral designs in Sevres porcelain, of Madame de Maintenon, Madame Pompadour, Madame Sevigne, and other celebrated French women. The center of this remarkable table consists of Sevres porcelain, on which Bacchus is a chief figure. Will thinks Bacchus would have had a good time at the parry last night, for Mr. Smith is said to have an arrangement in the butler’s pantry … a faucet such as is used for hot or cold water, and from this, at parties, gushes champagne. I don’t know whether this is talk, or not, but Will said someone told him it is true. Opposite the door leading into the salon is a bust of Proserpine, by Hiram Powers. The Smiths have the largest private collection of marble statues in Chicago.

The bedrooms, which were used as dressing rooms last evening, are done in the latest style. I noticed that the one in which I removed my wraps, and others into which I glanced, as we passed the doors, were furnished with brass beds having canopies of crimson silk. On the third floor is a fine theater (not just a ball-room, for it has all the appurtenances for private theatricals) and here the young people danced to their heart’s content, the orchestra playing seated on the stage. Downstairs there was another orchestra playing for those who did not care to dance, but promenaded and talked.

Chicago Tribune, October 6, 1880

The first reception to Mrs. Jesse R. Grant, née Chapman, since she left San Francisco on her wedding tour, was given yesterday afternoon by Mrs. Perry H. Smith at her residence,—corner of Huron and Pine streets. It was one of the most important social events that has occurred in Chicago for some time, and was as fine as any one that has ever taken place in this city, so noted for elegant entertainments. The reception was given to Mrs. Gen. U.S. Grant and to Mrs. Jesse R. Grant, and the cards of invitation so stated, but it was especially in honor of the young bride, and it was designed that she should meet a number of Chicago society ladies in this handsome residence, which is one of the finest in the United States. While the family of Mr. and Mrs. Smith were traveling in Europe they met with Gen. Grant’s party. Through the kindness of the General and his family Mr. and Mrs. Smith and their children were enabled to see much that they would not otherwise have seen, and were the recipients of many courtesies. This, of course, has led to a lasting friendship between the two families, and it was meet that Mrs. Smith should be the first to tender to the bride of Gen. Grant’s son the courtesies of a reception upon her advent in Chicago. The residence is eminently fitted for a large, grand reception, the entrance hall being finished in drawing-room style, while the parlor, library, dining-hall, and music-room all face it, thus making the whole floor one spacious and elegant reception-room. Back of the music and dining rooms is the beautiful conservatory, with its playing fountains and rare plants and flowers. There is a richness and splendor about the interior of the dwelling which is seen but in few houses in this country.

The hours for the reception were fixed from 4 to 7 o’clock, but it was nearly 5 o’clock before the guests began to arrive. The carriages dropped their well-dressed burdens on the Huron-street front, where there were several colored lackeys at band to assist the ladies. The streets in thevicinity were lined with the elegant equipagesof the coming guests. John Hand’s orchestra discoursed the music during the reception, and Kinsley had prepared an elaborate lunch in the dining-hail. Soon the interior of the house became a bower of beauty with ladies attired in rich costumes, some of them fresh from Paris, and ornamented with rare laces. Mrs. Gen. Grant and Mrs. Jesse Gran, assisted by Mrs. Perry H. Smith and Miss Emma Smith, received the guests in the parlor, and they were the centre of attraction. Mrs. Jesse Grant is one of the most charming of young ladies.

Minneapolis Star Tribune, March 31, 1887

A HIGH-PRICED RESIDENCE.
Considerable interest has recently centered in the Perry H. Smith mansion, located at the northwest corner of Pine and Huron streets, growing out of the rumor that it was the purpose of Mrs. (Emma) Smith, widow of the late lawyer, politician and millionaire, to remove the handsome home and cover the lot with a large apartment building. The structure, which was finished in 1877, was at that time and for several years subsequent among the most elegant in the city, and according to the figures of the architects, Cudell & Blumenthall, cost Mr. Smith the very tidy sum of $241,000. That the price was most exorbitant any architect or builder will agree, but the fact remains that the interior finish of the house is surpassed by very few in Chicago. To a reporter of the Tribune who saw him yesterday regarding the rumor, Mr. Dunlap Smith, youngest son of Mrs. Smith, who at present occupies the house with her, said:

“We have not cared to say very much about our intentions with respect to the house, but now that you have heard of the matter I will tell you that unless we sell the house very soon we shall demolish it and erect an apartment house on the entire lot, which has a frontage of 150 feet on Huron street by 109 feet on Pine. My mother is a widow, my sister is married, also my elder brother, so that we have very little need of so extensive an establishment: besides, my mother resides in the East most of the time. She has been negotiating with Mr. W. M. Hoyt for the sale of the house for some time, and a bargain was nearly made some days ago, but it fell through. Mother regards the property as well worth $250.000, and unless she can realize nearly that sum she will improve it so that it will be a source of income instead of expense.”-Chicago Tribune.

Inter Ocean, October 4, 1903

Mrs. Dunlap Smith and her children have returned from Charlevoix, where they spent the summer, as has long been their custom, and are once more established at 177 Lake View avenue. It is pleasant to hear that Mrs. Smith has recovered her health, which for some time was not of the best, and that her boys are developing into sturdy fellows, already eager for the day when they will go to college.

It was a great surprise to everybody who knew Dunlap Smith and was aware of his reputation as a shrewd and enterprising business man to learn that he did not leave a larger estate. As a matter of fact, though he inherited a considerable fortune from his father, the late Perry H. Smith, the founder of the Chicago & Northwestern railroad, and was all his life active in what seemed to be a prosperous business, he left very little in comparison with what he was supposed to pos-sess. Nor was this all, for the fortunes of his mother and of his sister, Mrs. Emma Smith Sawyer, have shrunk so greatly that Mrs. Smith and her daughter have left Chicago and gone to live in the beautiful climate and surroundings of Santa Barbara, Cal., where they have built a cozy and pretty cottage, which they mean to make their permanent home. Their departure and the illness of Ernest Smith leave only the eldest son, Perry H. Smith, Jr., to remain in Chicago as a representative of what for many years was our richest, most splendidly housed and socially influential family. Perry Smith has for years had an important position in the post office, and at the Historical society’s reception the other night he and his remarkably beautiful wife were much in evidence.

It is not too much to say that for nearly twenty years the elder Mrs. Perry H. Smith was the social leader of Chicago. Her husband was immensely rich for those days, and very lavish, and when he built his gorgeous French chateau, by many hundreds of thousands the costliest and most impressive house Chicago had ever possessed up to that time, which was soon after the fire, the corner of Pine and Huron streets was to this city what Mrs. Astor’s home has been to New York for so long. The house was admirably adapted for entertaining, for the rooms were spacious and “opened” well, and the like of the richness with which they were furnished had never been seen in this country before, outside of New York. Mr. Smith was a great bookman, and his library had few equals in America, and a connoisseur of paintings, whose collection outrivaled most others. Constantly for many years this little palace was gay with entertainments of all kinds, and the dinners served there were famous from one end of the country to another. All old Chicagoans will recall in particular the open house that was kept there on New Year’s days, when Mrs. Smith, assisted by a dozen or more of the other leaders of society, had a glass of punch and a cordial greeting for every gentleman of their acquaintance-and every gentleman of their acquaintance was sure to call on that day, for those were the times when the custom of making New Year’s calls, now abandoned, was in full popularity.

But Miss Emma Smith married a Boston man and went away, and Mr. Smith died, and eventually the house was put into the hands of the renting agents the late William A. Havemeyer of Riverside occupied it for one year—and a few years ago Mrs. Smith and her children exchanged it for the Alhambra theater property at State and Nineteenth streets. Now, I believe, it is occupied as a boarding house, like R. R. Cable’s mansion in Cass street, at the corner of Erie. If houses were sentient things, what tales they could tell!

Chicago Tribune, September 16, 1904

First Purchase Price $600,000.
The property was acquired by the Perry Smith estate from A. J. Cooper twelve years ago for around $600,000. The estate conveyed in part payment his homestead at the northwest corner of Pine and Huron streets and other property. The Alhambra then was looked upon as an excellent investment, having a rent roll of around $40,000, which has decreased to around $25,000.

The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance company, in 1893, made a loan of $260,000 on the property, the one which has just been foreclosed. The late Dunlap Smith, who was the active agent in the purchase of the property, had much confidence in it, and had he lived it is believed by many that he would have saved it.

Chicago Tribune, October 9, 1915

The old Perry Smith homestead, at the northwest corner of Lincoln Parkway and Huron street, one of the most prominent of the old time fashionable homes in that one time exclusive residence district, is to be razed to make room for a modern business structure.

Doomed by reason of the condemnation proceedings institutes by the city in connection with the boulevard link project, its final passing has a peculiar interest in that the building which will take its place will become the home of one of the leading firms of architects in the downtown district, Marshall & Fox.

This firm closed the purchase of the property yesterday from Alfred Cowles, and announced their plans for its improvement. The consideration is not disclosed, but it is said to have been $105,000.

Fronts 109 Feet.
The lot fronts 109 feet on Pine street by 143 on Huron street. In the widening of Pine street seventy-five feet will be taken from the front of the lot, leaving its dimensions at 100×68. The award for damages incident on the taking of the sev-enty-five feet was fixed at $55,875. The benefits assessed will fix the net at about $44,000, it is said.

Marshall & Fox will occupy the entire lot with their proposed building, which will, it is said, be of a most attractive design and either five or six stories high. It will, it is stated, accommodate the various departments of the firm’s business, including, in addition to the usual departments of an architect’s office, suitable quarters for a financing and bond depart-ment, insurance department, as well as the necessary studios and galleries, which facilities the usual downtown office space does not permit. The work of construction will begin as soon as the work on the boulevard link is started.

The Smith house is a large three story stone structure, with mansard roof, and contains about twenty-five rooms. Paul Steinbrecher & Co. were the brokers in the purchase of the land. Mayer, Meyer, Austrian & Platt attended to the legal details for the purchasers.

Chicago Tribune, May 8, 1918

Perry H. Smith’s Widow Is Dead In California.
Mrs. Perry H. Smith, widow of Perry H. Smith, Chicago pioneer, died on Monday at her home in Santa Barbara, Cal. She had been in poor health for some time. She was 85 years old. Funeral arrangements have not been announced.

Mr. Smith, whom she married in 1851, was one of the city’s early notables. He was born in New York state in 1828 and came to Chicago in 1859, having previously served as a member of the Wisconsin legislature. He was vice president of the Chicago and Northwestern from about 1858 to 1868 when he retired from active business.

The huge stone mansion which now stands at the northwest corner of North Michigan avenue and Huron street, and which is soon to be torn down to make way for the boulevard, was built by him as a residence at a cost of $200,000 after the great fire of 1871 had destroyed a previous home on the site.

Mr. Smith died March 29, 1885. There were four children-Perry H. Smith Jr., Ernest F. Smith, Dunlap Smith, and Emma Smith, who later became the wife of F. A. Sawyer of Boston. The three sons and the daughter are all dead. Mrs. Dunlap Smith left for Santa Barbara last week.

Chicago Tribune, July 28, 1918

The northwest corner of Ohio street formerly was occupied by the residence of H. A. Mears, president of the Mears-Slayton Lumber company, but no sign now remains of the house. Back of this, facing on Ontario street, was the former residence of Congressman Adams, where he lived for many years. In the distance, at the northwest corner of Erie street, is the Sheldon “castle,” which is now being torn down. Many fine old residences have been and are being razed, one of the most notable being the old Perry H. Smith residence at the northwest corner of Huron street.

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