Copy Lyman J. Allison, Architect, [1862-1945]

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Lyman J. Allison

Lyman J. Allison, Architect, [1862-1945]

Lyman J. Allison [†] was a very prolific architect throughout the Chicago area. Born in 1862 in Wisconsin, Allison moved to Chicago around 1892, perhaps lured by the promise of the World's Columbian Exposition. He established an office at 115 S. Dearborn in downtown Chicago and lived on south side of the city with his wife and children. In the first three decades of the 20th century, Allison made a name for himself designing affordable homes to meet the needs of homeowners and developers throughout the Chicago area. Like most early 20th century residential architects, Allison designed homes in a variety of historic revival styles, but he seemed to specialize in bungalows. He designed homes for individuals as well as developers, sometimes even designing groups of homes on a single street. He designed hundreds of homes in Chicago, from South Side neighborhoods like Austin and Beverly to North Side neighborhoods like Norwood Park and Logan Square. Many of Allison's homes can be found in National Register historic districts, including the Rogers Park Manor historic district, the Falconer historic district, adjacent to Koester and Zander's Section Line subdivision. Allison also designed homes in many Chicago suburbs, including over 100 in Oak Park and ten in Winnetka. In Sauganash, Allison designed 14 homes between 1924 and 1928; five of these homes are bungalows and six are Tudor Revival. Allison died in Chicago in 1945.

† Katie Macica and Stella Ress, Loyola University Chicago, Sauganash Historic District, Cook County, IL, nomination document, 2010, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places, Washington, D.C.