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| 3430 W. 65th Street, Chicago. Capture from Google Streetview. |
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| Aladdin Maples, from the 1914 catalog. |
According to the 1914 Aladdin catalog, "The Maples typifies the bungalow spirit. Low, flat lines, wide eaves, odd windows, exposed rafter ends and simple outlines." The Maples in Marquette Park has had a second story added and its porch enclosed, but is still recognizable as a Maples.
This house was featured in a testimonial in the 1913 Aladdin Homes catalog.
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Perry S. Abbott was definitely a proud customer! I love that line: "In the 'Maples', I have one of the best little bungalows in the whole city of Chicago..."
The house was built in 1912, the year Aladdin first offered the model. Perry and his wife Gisela were in the house by September of that year. He worked as a policeman.
In fall 1912, their daughter, Alma, went to Michigan to elope with a guy named George Smith. The reason for the rushed marriage was that, upon marrying, George supposedly would inherit a massive estate in Taylorville, North Carolina. The Chicago Tribune trumpeted that: "George Smith Gets Fortune by Marrying Miss Alma Abbott."
Mmm hmm.
In fall 1912, their daughter, Alma, went to Michigan to elope with a guy named George Smith. The reason for the rushed marriage was that, upon marrying, George supposedly would inherit a massive estate in Taylorville, North Carolina. The Chicago Tribune trumpeted that: "George Smith Gets Fortune by Marrying Miss Alma Abbott."
Mmm hmm.
Despite the supposed fortune, George and Alma moved in with her parents in the Maples, and Perry apparently
got his new son-in-law a job as a policeman as well.
In 1917, George was discharged from the police force for conduct unbecoming a police officer. He kept a little girl's lost purse that contained $8.
In 1917, George was discharged from the police force for conduct unbecoming a police officer. He kept a little girl's lost purse that contained $8.
Perry quickly resigned and retired to Michigan with his wife. The Smiths and their children continued to live in the Maples until around 1956.
1 comment:
Wow! How times have changed! A policeman in Chicago gets the boot for not turning in a lost purse belonging to a little girl, containing $8! Now, they literally get away with crimes with which they are supposed to investigate and charge the general public without so much as a smack on the hand. And, no, I'm not just referring to anyone in Chicago, but in general. Did Perry retire in haste and flee to Michigan with his wife to avoid the shame that must have followed along with having a son-in-law break the law at his own beloved profession and get fired because of it? Or just a coincidence, I wonder?
And that must have been a very rich little girl too, to lose a purse containing what could have amounted to a week's pay for a grown working man!
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