The Boulevard Apartments, Chicago, Illinois, Presentation Drawing

The Boulevard Apartments, designed by the noted firm of Dubin & Eisenberg, are an example of a nearly ubiquitous local multifamily dwelling: the U-shaped courtyard apartment building. Developed as a response to Chicago lot sizes, alleys, and building ordinances, the courtyard building became a mainstay of the city’s growing neighbor- hoods during the 1920s. This drawing illustrates the virtues of this low-rise building type, combining handsome, often historically inspired masonry construction, ample windows, generous apartment layouts, and connection to the street and landscape that gave rise to a new kind of middle-class community in Chicago.