House on 8601 S. Calumet Ave.
About the House
8601 S. Calumet Ave. is an International Style house designed by Wendell Campbell for Theodore Henderson. It is situated on a corner lot bounded on the west by South Calumet Ave., on the north by East 86th St., and on the east by an alley. The house is centered on the lot, its primary entrance at the north elevation.
The massing of the house is divided into two sections: a lower volume at the western end of the house and a taller volume at the eastern end of the house. The first floor of the east massing is raised two steps off of grade. The entrance to the house is centered on the north elevation and recessed slightly from the main walls and protected by a wing wall to the east and a low knee wall which extends around the perimeter of the porch. Deep overhanging eaves protect the porch from rain. A single door provides entry to the house, and is offset in a wall clad in wide horizontal siding.
Capped with a flat roof which extends beyond the facade, the building is clad in a buff brick laid in a running bond pattern. A small flat-roofed two-car garage borders the easternmost end of the lot and is accessed by an overhead rolling garage door which faces 86th St. The east, taller massing of the building is solid with narrow ribbon clerestory windows located just below the roof edge. At the west elevation, high sliding ribbon windows with taller proportions light the spaces within. A six-foot masonry privacy screen wall, constructed of brick laid in an open honeycomb bond, circles the perimeter of the house. At the east elevation, four glazed French doors open onto a rear patio.
Recent work has been done to the exterior of the building. Windows and doors have been replaced across all facades. Adjacent to the primary entrance, floor-to-ceiling windows were removed or over-cladded with the siding that is currently in place. At the east elevation, a sliding glass door was infilled and clad in siding, the top portion replaced with a sliding window at a level with the adjacent ribbon windows.
