Greystone (architecture)

File:Dewes House.JPG, in the Baroque Revival style]]

File:20070601 Wells House (2).JPG, built in the Romanesque Revival style ]]

File:King-Nash (Patrick J. King) House.jpg, featuring Sullivanesque, Colonial Revival, and Prairie styles ]]

Greystones are a style of residential building most commonly found in Chicago, Illinois, United States. As the name suggests, the buildings are typically grey in color and were most often built with Bedford Limestone quarried from South Central Indiana.{{cite web|title=What is a Greystone?|url=http://www.nhschicago.org/site/3C/category/what_is_greystone|publisher=Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago|accessdate=16 November 2012}} In Chicago, there are roughly 30,000 greystones, usually built as a semi- or fully detached townhouse.{{Cite web|url=https://www.curbed.com/2016/6/2/11833698/brownstone-greystone-chicago-new-york-city|title=Brownstones vs. Greystones: Why They're Different, and Why It Matters|last=Khederian|first=Robert|date=2016-06-02|website=Curbed|access-date=2019-08-27}}

The term "greystone" is also used to refer to buildings in Montreal, Quebec, Canada (known in French as pierre grise). It refers to the grey limestone facades of many buildings, both residential and institutional, constructed between 1730 and 1920.{{cite book|title=Combat du patrimoine à Montréal (1973–2003)|last=Drouin|first=Martin|publisher=Presses de l'Université du Québec|year=2005|location=Québec, Canada|pages=128–130}}

History and usage

The building style first began to appear in the 1890s, initially in neighborhoods like Woodlawn and then North Lawndale, and Lake View, and continued through 1930s with two major approaches in design. The first style, between 1890 and 1905, was Romanesque in nature with arches and cornices. This initial style and the choice of grey limestone occurred as the city rebuilt and grew in economic power after the Great Chicago Fire in 1871, though the buildings were designed for a wide range of socioeconomic classes. The second style was predominately built in a Neoclassical design incorporating smoother limestone blocks featuring columns and bay windows.{{cite web|last=Williams|first=David|title=Greystones: Chicago's Answer to Brownstones|date=4 May 2010 |url=http://stories-in-stone.blogspot.com/2010/05/greystones-chicagos-answer-to.html|publisher=Stories in Stone|accessdate=16 November 2012}}

Greystones were built in a wide variety of sizes to accommodate different residential needs with most being two to three floors in size, many commonly containing two to three flats but some up to six.{{cite web|last=Williams|first=David|title=Greystones: Chicago's Answer to Brownstones|date=4 May 2010 |url=http://stories-in-stone.blogspot.com/2010/05/greystones-chicagos-answer-to.html|publisher=Stories in Stone|accessdate=22 August 2015}} Regardless of their size, they were always built with the limestone facade facing the street to take advantage of the limited size of standard Chicago lots {{convert|25|×|125|ft|m}}. There are an estimated 30,000 greystones still remaining in the city and many citizens, architects and preservationists are working to revive those that remain through the Historic Chicago Greystone Initiative.{{cite web|last=Kolson Hurley|first=Amanda|title=Q&A with Charles Leeks|url=http://www.architectmagazine.com/community-projects/qa-charles-leeks.aspx|publisher=Architect Magazine|accessdate=16 November 2012}} Many greystones are preserved as the multi-family structures which they were designed and built as.

Today, greystones often retain original Romanesque or Neoclassical details such as "roughly carved blocks of greystone and intricately carved column capitals," though many were built in other styles.

Styles

File:Church-of-Vuolijoki.jpg and Art Nouveau styled greystone church in Vuolijoki, Kainuu, Finland.]]

There are many different styles of greystones, with the City of Chicago defining most attributes for the style for landmark status.{{cite web|title=Landmark Styles|url=http://webapps.cityofchicago.org/landmarksweb/web/styles.htm|publisher=City of Chicago|accessdate=16 November 2012}}

= Romanesque Revival =

"Heavy, rough-cut stone walls
Round arches and squat columns
Deeply recessed windows
Pressed metal bays and turrets"{{Cite web|url=http://webapps1.chicago.gov/landmarksweb/web/styledetails.htm?styId=207|title=Romanesque Revival|website=Chicago Landmarks|access-date=2019-08-27}}

= Queen Anne =

"Rich but simple ornament
Wide variety of materials, including wood, stone and pressed metal
Expansive porches
Pressed metal bays and turrets
Irregular roofline with many dormers and chimneys"{{Cite web|url=http://webapps1.chicago.gov/landmarksweb/web/styledetails.htm?styId=203|title=Queen Anne|website=Chicago Landmarks|access-date=2019-08-27}}

= Chateauesque =

"Vertical proportions
Massive-looking masonry walls
Ornate carved stone ornament
High-peaked hipped roofs, elaborate dormers and tall chimneys"{{Cite web|url=http://webapps1.chicago.gov/landmarksweb/web/styledetails.htm?styId=200|title=Chateauesque|website=Chicago Landmarks|access-date=2019-08-27}}

= Classical Revival/Beaux Arts =

"Symmetrical facades
Minimal use of bays, towers, or other projecting building elements
Classical ornament, including columns, cornices and triangular pediments
Wide variety of materials, including brick, stone and wood"{{Cite web|url=http://webapps1.chicago.gov/landmarksweb/web/styledetails.htm?styId=204|title=Classical Revival/Beaux Arts|website=Chicago Landmarks|access-date=2019-08-27}}