Uptown and Edgewater, Chicago: fire damage restoration

Uptown and Edgewater were one community area until 1980, when Edgewater was separated again ^[2]. Together they cover the lakefront from Montrose Avenue north to Devon Avenue, and they share a building stock dominated by multi-unit housing.

In Uptown, Sheridan Park is mostly six-flats, courtyard apartment buildings and single-family houses, Buena Park mixes mansions and Prairie-style houses with nearby high-rises, and Margate Park has historic mansions, mid-rises and terracotta-clad apartment hotels, some converted to condos and co-ops ^[1]. In Edgewater, the lakefront has high-rise apartments and condominiums and some mid-rises, a few old mansions remain along Sheridan Road, and the western blocks are mostly single-family homes and two- to four-story flats ^[2].

Most residents of both neighborhoods live in buildings with several or many units. That shapes everything about fire restoration here: more neighbors are affected, shared systems carry smoke, building managers control access, and several insurers are often involved.

The six-flat is a Chicago staple and common in Sheridan Park ^[1]. It usually has three floors with two units on each, around a central front stair, plus rear stairs or porches for each side. The central stair is the main path for smoke. A fire in one unit fills the stair, and smoke enters the other five units through door gaps.

Water flows down from the floor that burned, through the units directly below. A third-floor fire often leaves the second- and first-floor units on the same side with wet ceilings and walls, and water may reach the basement where the boiler and laundry are.

The rear porches are another concern. Many six-flats have wooden rear porches and stairs serving each floor. A fire on one porch can spread to the others and leave all the rear units without a second exit until it is repaired. Restoration of a six-flat should include the stair, every affected unit, the basement and the porches, not just the unit where the fire started.

Edgewater's lakefront along Sheridan Road, and parts of Uptown near the lake, are lined with high-rise apartment and condominium buildings ^[2]. In a tower, the building's construction usually keeps a fire within one unit, but smoke can reach corridors and nearby units through doors and shafts, and firefighting or sprinkler water can damage several floors below.

Restoration in a tower depends on cooperation with management. The association or owner controls the corridors, elevators, loading dock and building systems, and contractors usually need approval and proof of insurance. Unit owners handle their interiors and contents; the association handles common elements under its declaration and policy.

If you live in a tower and smoke or water reached your unit from elsewhere, document it, tell management and your insurer, and ask how common areas will be cleaned. Odor that keeps returning may be coming from a corridor, shaft or ventilation system that only the building can address.

Margate Park has terracotta-clad apartment hotels from the early twentieth century, some converted to condominiums and co-ops ^[1]. These buildings combine features of hotels and apartments: long corridors, many small units, central mechanical systems and ornate exteriors.

In a co-op, residents own shares in the building corporation rather than their units outright, and the co-op board controls repairs and insurance for the whole building. After a fire, the board's decisions and the building's master policy matter even more than in a condo. Ask the board how damage to your unit's interior is handled.

Terracotta facades can crack or spall from heat and from water used in firefighting followed by freezing. Repairs to these facades call for specialists in historic masonry, and if the building is a designated landmark, exterior work may need review ^[3].

Both neighborhoods have many historic designations. In Uptown these include the Uptown Square Historic District, the Buena Park Historic District, the Sheridan Park Historic District, the Dover Street district, which has Chicago landmark status, and the West Argyle Street Historic District ^[1]. Edgewater has the Bryn Mawr and Lakewood Balmoral historic districts ^[2], and the Andersonville commercial district along Clark Street is also recognized ^[1].

Some of these are National Register listings, which generally do not restrict a private owner's repairs, and some are Chicago landmark designations, which can. For designated Chicago landmarks and properties in Chicago landmark districts, exterior work that needs a permit is generally reviewed by the Commission on Chicago Landmarks ^[3]. After a fire, that can include windows, masonry, porches, roofs visible from the street and facade repairs.

Interior cleaning, drying and contents work are unaffected, and temporary protection such as board-up should go ahead promptly. If your building has a designation, tell the contractor when you call.

West of the lakefront towers, Edgewater changes character. Andersonville, around Clark Street, and the blocks around it have single-family homes and two- to four-story flats ^[2]. Many are brick or frame buildings from the early twentieth century with plaster interiors, wood floors and rear porches.

Fires in these buildings behave much like those in other North Side flats: smoke through shared stairs, water into lower units and garden apartments, and damage to wooden rear porches. Older frame houses may have balloon framing that lets smoke and fire move up inside the walls, so the attic and wall cavities deserve inspection.

Along Clark Street, mixed-use buildings with shops below and apartments above are common. A fire in a ground-floor business can send heavy residue into the apartments, and multiple insurers may be involved.

Buena Park has mansions and Prairie-style houses ^[1], and a few mansions from the 1880s to the 1920s survive along Sheridan Road in Edgewater ^[2]. These large houses have many rooms, open grand staircases, servants' stairs, extensive woodwork, decorative plaster and large attics.

Open stairs and large volumes let smoke spread widely, and the fine interior finishes are worth careful restoration rather than replacement. Expect a longer assessment, more contents work and more specialized cleaning for woodwork, leaded glass and plaster. Many of these houses are in historic districts, so exterior repairs may need review ^[3].

A large share of Uptown and Edgewater residents rent. After a fire, the landlord's insurance covers the building, but not your belongings; the Illinois Department of Insurance notes that a landlord's policy does not cover a tenant's personal property ^[5]. Your own renter's insurance covers your belongings and, often, extra living expenses if you cannot stay in your unit.

Document everything in your unit, even if the fire was elsewhere in the building. Smoke odor in clothing, furniture and bedding is damage. Keep receipts for meals and lodging if you are displaced. Ask your landlord in writing about the repair timeline and when you can return.

Contents cleaning is available to renters too; many smoke-damaged belongings can be cleaned rather than replaced.

Most Uptown and Edgewater buildings predate 1978, and many date from the 1910s and 1920s. Lead paint is likely, and EPA's renovation rule requires certified firms and lead-safe practices for work that disturbs painted surfaces ^[6]. Old boiler and pipe insulation, floor tiles and some plaster may contain asbestos and should be assessed before they are disturbed ^[7].

Many older buildings heat with central boilers and steam or hot-water radiators. A fire that damages the boiler room or forces the building's heat off affects every unit. In winter, protecting the plumbing from freezing becomes urgent. Radiators in smoke-affected units collect residue and release odor when heated, so they are cleaned along with the walls.

Parking in Uptown and Edgewater is tight, especially near the lake and around the Red Line stations. Restoration crews need room for a truck with extraction and drying equipment and sometimes a dumpster. Alley access helps for six-flats and courtyard buildings; towers usually have loading docks and freight elevators that management schedules.

When you call, mention the building type, the nearest cross streets and whether there is alley or dock access. That helps the crew arrive with the right equipment and a plan to get it inside.

This page covers ZIP codes 60640, which includes most of Uptown and the southern part of Edgewater, and 60660, which covers northern Edgewater. ZIP 60613, which includes Buena Park's southern edge, is also covered and is described on our Lakeview page. ZIP 60625 to the west, covering Lincoln Square and parts of Albany Park, is covered as well.

North of Devon Avenue, Rogers Park is not part of the coverage listed on this site. Whether a given lakefront address is served depends on which contractors are taking calls there, which can shift, so the quickest check is to call.

Courtyard apartment buildings are common in Sheridan Park ^[1] and across both neighborhoods. Each is a U or a series of connected wings around a landscaped court, with separate entries, each serving its own stack of units. Smoke from a fire usually fills the stair of the entry where it started and seeps into the units off that stair.

Smoke and odor can also move into other entries through the shared attic or roof space, basement corridors and old ventilation shafts. A unit in a different wing can have odor even though its stair stayed clear. For that reason, the assessment should cover the whole building's attic and basement as well as the affected stack.

Many courtyard buildings here have been converted to condominiums. The association handles the shared structure, roof and common areas, and owners handle their unit interiors. Rental courtyard buildings are the owner's responsibility for the structure, with tenants covering their own belongings.

Being close to Lake Michigan brings strong winds and, in winter, heavy cold. Temporary roof tarps and window boards on lakefront buildings need solid fastening to stay in place through a windy night. Units left without heat after a fire in January can see frozen pipes within a day or two, especially on exposed corners and upper floors.

Summer humidity near the lake slows drying and makes residual smoke odor more noticeable. Restoration crews here lean on dehumidifiers and air scrubbers rather than open windows. If odor returns on a humid summer day months after a winter fire, tell the contractor; it usually means a source was missed.

Uptown’s commercial streets, including Broadway, Lawrence, Wilson and the West Argyle Street Historic District ^[1], mix restaurants and shops with apartments above. Restaurant kitchen fires are a frequent cause of smoke damage in the flats overhead, leaving a greasy protein residue that spreads up stairs and through floors.

Cleanup for the apartments above a restaurant fire usually means degreasing walls, ceilings, cabinets and fixtures, cleaning shared stairs and treating odor, rather than a simple wipe-down. The business, the building owner and each residential tenant typically have separate policies, so each household should document its own damage.