Brick of Chicago Rogers Park Walking Tour

Rogers Park features some of the finest examples of Chicago’s later brick and terra cotta period. Between 1900 and 1930, Rogers Park’s population more than quadrupled, and thousands of buildings were constructed to serve the new population – must of them out of brick and terra cotta. This period also coincided with a time when Chicago was producing millions of bricks locally (10% of all common brick in the nation) and sourcing even tons from all across the country. An enormous variety of brick designs, textures, colors, built into courtyard apartments, turn of the century mansions, and even brick and terra cotta skyscrapers.

Learn how architects designed and selected terra cotta (large glazed ornaments) for their buildings, how brick and clay manufacturing was revolutionized throughout the 1900s, and discover architectural gems hidden in plain sight.