Saturday, February 1, 2025

LOUIS J. RUBIN and the BROADMOOR APARTMENT HOTEL

Long time readers of this blog know that in the past I have written about Howard Street several times.  For those who don't know, Howard Street is the dividing line between Chicago and Evanston, the first suburb north on the shores of Lake Michigan.   Years ago, it was called "Howard Avenue."  The eastern part of Howard Street is very old and sometimes I just like to drive around and try to soak up some of the history of the area.  That happened recently after a trip to Calvary Cemetery in Evanston.  I was heading west on Howard and I decided to drive around the area that used to be called "The Jungle."  I turned North on Bosworth Avenue and then stopped in front of a magnificent structure on the corner of Howard and Bosworth:  The Broadmoor Apartment Hotel.                


I knew virtually nothing about the Broadmoor.  In fact, I wouldn't have even known the name were it not for the plaques set into the wall on either side of the front doors:



Newspapers.com told me that the Broadmoor was developed by a man named Louis J. Rubin.  Before we look further into the history of the Broadmoor, let's see what we can dig up about Louis J. Rubin.

Unfortunately the first item I uncovered about Louis Rubin was the tragic story of his death from the The Edwardsville Intelligencer of October 17, 1930:


Interesting that the obituary mentions The Broadmoor, though not by name.  Let's go back even further to see what brought Louis Rubin to the Broadmoor, and that fateful night near Genoa, Illinois.

Louis J. Rubin was born September 25, 1885 in Lithuania to Joseph Rubin and Etta Marks Rubin (Etta/Ethel Marks/Max/May).  Little is known about Louis' parents other than their names.  They were prolific, however - Louis was one of eight children.  They are:  Mose (1870-1949), Barney (1874-1925), Lena/Mrs. Ben Painkinsky/Payne (1884-1920), Louis (1885-1930), Rose/Mrs. Meyer Berkson (1887-1955), Meyer (1888-1947), Rachel/Mrs. Joseph Goldberg (1889-????), and Bernice/Mrs. Bernard Idelman (1894-1969).  Louis' year of immigration is uncertain.  Some sources show it as 1896, others show 1897.  It appears that the family did not all come to America at the same time.  Mose reported that his arrival was in 1893.     

On September 1, 1910 Louis J. Rubin married Fannie (Fay) Gillis (1892-1966) in Chicago.  The groom was twenty-four years old; the bride was eighteen.  

Fannie Gillis was born February 24, 1892 in Chicago to Sol Gillis (1860-1930) and Rebecca Litman Gillis (1864-1954).  Sol was from Lithuania; Rebecca from Russia.  They had married on June 7, 1889 in Chicago.  In addition to Fannie there was a brother Arthur (1894-1961) and a sister Rose /Mrs. Charles Cohns (1890-1976).  Sol Gillis was an Insurance Agent by trade. 

Louis and Fannie were blessed with two sons:  Jay Gillis Rubin (1912-1985) and Edwin George Rubin who anglicized his name to Edwin George Roberts (1919-1992). 

We don't know how Louis J. Rubin found his way from Lithuania to Salem, Marion County, Illinois (Population 7,200) but he appears to have gone into the dry goods business with a man named H. S. Painkinsky as indicated by this ad from the Marion County, Illinois Republican newspaper from January 11, 1912:


In addition to the Marion County Republican, he also ran an ad in the Kinmundy (IL) Express (Pop 733) like this one from January 18, 1912:


Rubin and Painkinsky ran these ads every week into the beginning of 1913 but Rubin's name kept getting larger and Painkinsky's kept getting smaller.  This is from the Republican from January 9, 1913:


Neither Rubin nor Painkinsky was going bankrupt.  They bought merchandise from bankrupt merchants for pennies on the dollar and resold the merchandise at a tidy profit for themselves. 

By early 1913. Rubin decided to branch out and dabble a little in real estate.  He sold a lot on Madison Street at 42nd in Chicago:






He bought a lot on Halsted Street:





The 1920 US Census finds the Rubin family living at 7608 N. Sheridan Road in Chicago:

7608 N. Sheridan Road, Chicago

The family consisted of Louis J. Rubin (33 years old), wife Fay G. (26), sons Jay G. (7) and Edwin (9/12).  Louis said that he came to the US in 1896 and became a Naturalized Citizen in 1911.  Louis said he had been born in Germany, as had his parents.  He also said Fay's parents were born in Germany.  This, of course, is incorrect across the board.  Louis had been born in Lithuania, and his parents had probably been born there as well.  Fay's father 
Sol was born in Lithuania; her mother Rebecca in Russia.  He did correctly report that Fay had been born in Illinois.  They also had a Maid living with them, Rosa Morawatz (26) from Bohemia.

The Rubins lived on the top floor of the three-flat.  Louis said he owned the building, but that it had a Mortgage.  Louis listed his Occupation as "Merchant of Dry Goods."       

But by the end of 1921, Louis J. Rubin decided to go for the gold, as reported in the National Hotel Reporter of December 23, 1921:


By February of 1922 the four story hotel that was going to cost $300,000 had become a six story hotel that was going to cost $900,000, as also reported in the National Hotel Reporter:


Rubin knew, like Charles W. Ferguson another subject of this blog, that there was money to be made in the Germania neighborhood.  This was the name given to the neighborhood north of Howard, west of Sheridan, south of Calvary Cemetery and east of Chicago Avenue. Louis J. Rubin had made the big time when his project was headlined in Al Chase's column in the Chicago Tribune.  If you were doing anything in Chicago real estate, Al Chase from the Tribune knew about it - or it was not worth knowing about.  Here's what he had to say on February 4, 1922:


It was the Roaring Twenties - and Chicago real estate was definitely roaring.  Here's the first picture of the apartment hotel from the Chicago Tribune of March 26, 1922:


It was certainly a misnomer to call the corner of Howard and Bosworth "Uptown," but Rubin knew there was no such thing as bad publicity.

Here's a photo of the Broadmoor at about the time it opened:



After putting plans together for the Broadmoor, Rubin decided to expand his empire a little further.  The Chicago Tribune announced on July 12, 1922 that Louis J. Rubin was appointed a director of the "New Howard Street Bank:"


In 1923 the Sixteenth Street State bank was in danger of failing.  The bank was located at Sixteenth Street and St. Louis Avenue in Chicago.  It had been chartered in 1919 by Samuel W. Maltz, a former railroad brakeman who decided to pool his money with that of other brakemen and conductors and open a bank.  The bank specialized in Second Mortgages.  After opening their doors in 1919 the bank prospered - depositors came in droves.  However, Maltz never diversified the bank's investments, continuing to mostly issue second mortgages.  These pay a higher return than first mortgages because they are a riskier investment.  As time went by it became apparent that the bank had overstated the value of its assets including the second mortgages.  The shortage was determined to be in excess of $150,000,  and so the Sixteenth Street State Bank was closed by State of Illinois Bank Examiners on March 20, 1923.

Remember this was prior to the FDIC insuring bank deposits.  If a bank went under the depositors lost their money.  Louis J. Rubin had such a sterling reputation that he was asked to join a panel of ten local bank executives to try to save the Sixteenth Street Bank, or at least to maximize the value of any of the bank's assets. 

The Broadmoor was an immediate success.  Early on, WBBM radio decided to move into the Broadmoor.  In 1925, radio studios for WBBM were built on the main floor of the hotel and the transmitter was installed on the roof. At the same time, the power of the station was increased to 1,500 watts.

If you take a closer look at the photo of the Broadmoor shown above, you can see the base of the radio transmission antenna:



On January 10, 1929 the Chicago Tribune announced that Louis J. Rubin had been appointed Third Vice President of the Howard Trust & Savings Bank:



On July 9, 1929 the Tribune reported that Rubin had refinanced the Broadmoor:


On November 24, 1929, the Chicago Tribune printed an article full of interesting information about Louis J. Rubin and others:


The new building being built would have an address of 1737 W. Howard in Chicago.  It was razed in 1998 to make way for the Gateway Centre Plaza development.

The article also reported that the Washington National Fidelity Insurance Company would be leasing two floors of the new building.  I worked for what became Washington National Insurance Company for 24 years - not on Howard but after the company moved to Evanston in the late 1930s.

In addition to Louis J. Rubin being an officer of the bank, Howard J. Ure was one of the directors.  Howard Ure was of course, the man Howard Street was named after:

https://undereverytombstone.blogspot.com/2012/11/he-was-howard-of-howard-street-howard-j.html

The 1930 US Census, taken on April 5, 1930, would find the Rubin family living at the Broadmoor.  The family consisted of: Louis J. (43 years old), wife Faye (38), sons Jay (17), and Edwin (10).  Also included were the twenty-five people living at the Broadmoor.  Louis indicated that he was the Head of Household.  Remember, in the 1920 Census Louis said that he and his parents had been born in Germany.  For the 1930 Census he said that he and his parents had been born in Poland, but that Yiddish was their native tongue.  He said that he owned the Broadmoor, and that it was worth $500,000 ($9.45 million in today's funds.)  Louis said that he was 23 when he married, and that Faye was 18.  He said he came to the US in 1897 and was a Naturalized Citizen.  He listed his Occupation as "Manager-Mortgages."

Louis J. Rubin was killed at 6:10 PM on the evening of October 16, 1930.  It was a dark, rainy and foggy night.  Rubin had left Genoa, Illinois and was driving alone in his big Lincoln sedan up Route 23 toward Marengo.  After his business in Marengo he intended to drive back home to the Broadmoor.  Fog and mist obscured his vision.  He approached the crossing of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad.  The crossing has no gates but has a warning signal, consisting of a flickering red light.  The country is open prairie and the view of the tracks unobstructed.  Here is a photo of the crossing today:



Just after the train passed through the crossing, Mr. Rubin ran his sedan into the side of a baggage car.  A huge dent in the side of the baggage car revealed that he had hit the train with his heavy automobile at an estimated 50-60 miles per hour.  The train stopped immediately and the crew hurried to render first aid only to find that Rubin was dead with a broken neck.  His sedan was wrecked.  Not even a wheel remained intact.  Both arms were crushed and his chest was terribly mangled.  Death was instantaneous.     

News of the sudden death of Louis J. Rubin appeared in newspapers all over the country.  Here's a typical writeup from the Des Moines (IA) Register from October 17, 1930:


Of course the local newspapers went into a lot more detail, as in this from the Chicago Tribune of October 17, 1930:


Here is his Death Notice, also from the Tribune of October 18, 1930:


As mentioned in his Death Notice, Louis J. Rubin is buried in Rosehill Cemetery.  The Rubin Family Plot is in Section U:




Louis J. Rubin - retailer, banker, hotelier - may he rest in peace.



The Rest of the Story

Louis J. Rubin's widow Fay Gillis Rubin never remarried.  She died in Seattle, Washington on January 14, 1966 at the age of 73.  She is buried next to her husband in Rosehill Cemetery.



Louis and Fay's eldest son Jay G. Rubin worked before World War II as a Salesman for Glenmore Distilleries, a Wholesale Liquor Company in Chicago.  After the war he was assigned Army Port Captain for the Port of Honolulu, Hawaii.  He moved to Portland, Oregon in 1967 where he worked with the Portland office of the Military Sealift Command until retiring in 1972.  He died February 1, 1985 in Portland, Oregon at the age of seventy-two.  He was Buried at Sea. 

The Rubin's younger son, Edwin spent his life in retail after receiving a MBA from the Harvard School of Business.  He was President at various times of Franklin Simon Department Stores, J. L. Hudson and the May Co.   He died in his home in Westwood, California on October 7, 1992 at the age of seventy-three.  He is buried in Westwood Memorial Park:


   

The Broadmoor Apartment Hotel still stands supreme on the northwest corner of Howard and Bosworth in Chicago.  This six-story building was one of the most luxurious buildings of its day. It had 90 apartments and 7 stores, which were accessible from the lobby and the street. From 1924 to 1927, WBBM radio station (there are many explanations for these call letters, including ‘‘We Broadcast from the BroadMoor”) broadcast live jazz and big band programs from its ballroom.  The ballroom included an elegant restaurant and a dancing area. The lobby floor was laid with terrazzo tiles and the ceiling was decorated with Roman and French style ornamentation. A 1982 Tribune article is quoted as saying “The Broadmoor’s charm kept her 90 apartments occupied most of the time, and on Saturday nights, women in silks and furs and men in top hats and tails flocked to her ballroom to dance.” The outside of the building was clad with terra cotta. The Sopcic family acquired the building in October 2007 and recently completed the renovation of the interior, including the lobby and other common areas and the rental units.  The Broadmoor currently has 27 units over six stories.

                                         

Wednesday, January 1, 2025

THE MAN WHO RENUMBERED CHICAGO - Edward Paul Brennan

Years ago, as people came together to live in communities they decided to name the streets around them created by the new community.  They used names like "First" Street and "Main" Street or the street named in the Bible "the street that is called Straight." (Acts 9:11)  As the communities got larger it became necessary to assign numbers to each building on a particular street.  Typically they started with #1, #2, etc.

As you know Chicago is made up of  many smaller communities that came together over time to form one big city.  There are currently 178 distinct neighborhoods in Chicago, and each one probably had their own numbering system in place that had no relation to the numbering of the surrounding neighborhoods.  It was said that because of rapid-fire annexations carried out in the late 1800s, the city's street system was no system at all, but a crazy quilt of names and numbers that confused residents and mystified visitors.

The fact that Chicago has an orderly arrangement of streets and street numbers today is due to a man named Edward Paul Brennan (1866-1942).  

Edward Paul Brennan


Brennan was not a famous civic leader, nor a politician, nor a noted cartographer - he was a bill collector for Lyon and Healy, a company that sold sheet music and musical instruments.

Before we get into the four-decade crusade that would change the face of Chicago, let's see what we can "dig up" about Edward Brennan.

Edward Paul Brennan was born January 30, 1866 in Chicago.  He was the firstborn of Matthew James Brennan (1835-1915) and Bridget Frances Kinsella (1843-1914).  Matthew and Bridget were both born in County Carlow, Ireland, but were married at St. John's Church in Chicago on February 26, 1865.  The groom was 29; the bride was 21.  Matthew came to the US from Ireland in 1848, Bridget came in 1850.  Matthew was a boot and shoe maker by trade. 

Matthew and Bridget were blessed with seven sons:  Edward Paul (1866-1942), Thomas P.F. (1868-1951), Ambrose Matthew (1871-1948), Louis J. (1873-1876), Martin Bernard (1877-1932), Francis Joseph (1879-1881), and Leo Marquette/Brother Louis, CSC (1882-1950).   

Edward Brennan makes his first appearance in the 1870 US Census.  The Brennan family was living in Chicago's 8th Ward.  The family consisted of Matthew Brennan (35 years old), Bridget (24), Edward (11), and Thomas (2).  There were also two "Domestic Servants" Eliza Purvis from Scotland and Ellen Kehoe from Ireland.  Matthew reported his occupation as "Boot and Shoe Maker."  He said that he owned Real Estate worth $12,000.00 ($289,000 in today's funds) and personalty of  $600.00 ($14,000 in today's funds). 

Of the seven Brennan brothers, five made it to adulthood.  Louis had died in 1876 and Francis in 1881.  Both are buried in the Brennan Family Plot in Calvary Cemetery in Evanston in Section O - Block 1, Lot 17.  Here is their tombstone:



The 1880 US Census finds the Brennan family living at 539 (now 1242) S. Canal Street in Chicago.  A FedEx Office Print & Ship Center occupies that plot today.  The family now consisted of  Matthew Brennan (45 years old),  wife Bridget (35), sons "Eddy Paul" (14),  Thomas (12), Ambrose (9), Martin (3) and Francis (6/12).  According to the Census all of the Brennans could read and write.  I think it's safe to say that Francis could not, and perhaps Martin.  None of them were "Sick," "Blind," "Deaf and Dumb," "Idiotic," "Insane," or "Disabled" all categories on the 1880 Census form.

The 1890 US Census for this area is lost.

The 1900 US Census finds the Brennans living at 4018 S. Vincennes Avenue in Chicago.  The plot is now occupied by Phase IV of the Paul G. Stewart Apartments.  The Brennan family consisted of Matthew (64 years old), Bridget (55), Edward (34), Thomas (32), Ambrose (29), Martin (23), and Leo (18).  Living with them was "Servant" Mary Murphy (26).  Matthew and Bridget said they had been married for thirty-five years.  Bridget said she had given birth to seven children; five were still living in 1900.  The dates that Matthew and Bridget immigrated and their Naturalization Status was "Unknown."  Matthew and Bridget did not report Occupations.  Edward was a "Collector (Music)," Thomas was "Superintendent of a Facing Company," Ambrose was a "Cashier," Martin was a "Clerk (Books)," and Leo was "At School." They could all read, write and speak English.

The Chicago Street Renumbering Project

The Standard Guide to Chicago from 1891 tried to outline the problems with the way Chicago was laid out:

Street nomenclature in Chicago is likely to confuse the visitor. It is not clear even to old residents. There is an entire absence of system in the naming of streets, and where a system has been attempted it has only served to increase the confusion. For instance, the streets running east and west, south of the Chicago river, are named South Water, Lake, Randolph, Washington, Madison, Monroe, etc. Now from Washington south it was the evident intention to name the streets after the presidents, but those which are so named are not in the proper order, and Jefferson and Lincoln sts. are on the West Side, running north and south, while Johnson is a little back street in the southwestern part of the city. Streets named after trees, such as Elm, Oak, Pine, etc., are on the North Side, and Walnut is on the West Side.

There is a Lake st. and a Lake ave., the latter miles away from the former. There is a Park ave. on the West Side and a South Park ave, miles away, on the South Side. We have a Garfield ave. on the North Side, Garfield Park on the West Side, and a Garfield blvd. on the South Side. We have a Washington St., Washington ave. and Washington blvd., each in a different district of the city. So also we have Madison st. and Madison ave. Again, we have Michigan st., Michigan ave. and Michigan blvd., Indiana St. and Indiana ave. etc., etc. There is at present a scheme before the authorities for correcting the nomenclature of streets, but it is so radical as to be unpopular. Practically there is no distinction between streets and avenues. Both run north and south, east and west, and diagonal.

By 1901 the situation was even worse:   In 1901, Chicago had 13 streets called Washington, 13 called Center and 14 called Park. It had nine Forest streets, nine Sheridan streets and 10 Oak streets. Seven were called 40th, and eight were named 42nd. There were even five named for former U.S. Vice President Schuyler Colfax.

Depending on the part of the city you were in, the street just west of Halsted was called Green Street, Lime Street, Dayton Street, Florence Avenue, Craft Street, Reta Avenue or Newberry Avenue. 

Frankly it's amazing that anyone was ever to get where they were going.  In the Summer of 1901 Edward Brennan went on a planned a trip to Paw Paw, Michigan with an armload of Chicago maps.  He came back with a set of proposals making the city’s street system rational. He wanted to change the way streets were named and numbered so that residents and tourists could find their way around easily. 

 

Edward Brennan from about the time when he proposed
 the standardization of Chicago streets and numbering 

After his Michigan vacation Brennan, wrote a letter to the Committee on Street Nomenclature and suggested that Chicago be ordered as a large grid with a uniform street numbering system, and proposed State and Madison Streets as the city’s primary north-south and east-west axis.  His letter contained five main proposals:

(1) Rename hundreds of streets. Over the next 23 years, that’s what the aldermen did, giving new names to more than 1,200. At least 130 of those names, and maybe as many as 300, were suggested by Brennan.

(2) Establish a numbering system that used State and Madison as baselines. The Council agreed, and, on Sept. 1, 1909 --- just two months after the publication of the Burnham Plan --- the intersection of those streets became the nexus of the street grid. All numbers north, south, east and west proceed from 0 at that corner.

(3) Use a numbering system that would indicate how far a house address was from the base lines. Because of this, a system was imposed under which each 800 in an address generally indicates a mile. Thus, a home in the 6400 block of North Paulina Street is roughly eight miles north of Madison while a store in the 2400 block of West Cermak Road about three miles west of State.

(4) Use odd and even numbers to indicate the side of a street on which a house is located. Ultimately, the Council established that odd numbers are on the east side of north-south streets, and even numbers on the west side. For east-west streets, odd numbers are on the south side, and even numbers on the north side.

(5) Use street names beginning with the same letter to designate north-south streets within the same mile as an indication of how far west they are of State Street. This resulted in the streets between Crawford Avenue (now Pulaski Road) and Cicero Avenue being rechristened with names beginning with K, such as Keeler and Karlov. Further west, there were the L streets, then the N streets, then the O streets, such as Oketo.

Don't think for a minute that Edward Brennan just walked in with his proposals, the aldermen looked them over and approved them as submitted.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  It was estimated that Brennan, during his quest, attended more than 600 City Hall meetings.  

Brennan knew that getting politicians to agree on anything was difficult at best, so he decided he needed backup for his proposal.  At the same time that he sent his proposal to the city's Committee on Street Nomenclature he also forwarded it to the Chicago Record-Herald newspaper, and most importantly gave a copy to his second cousin, Chicago alderman Charles Byrne.  He hoped that if there was pressure coming from all sides, the City would be unable to oppose the changes.  Over time he was able to get the support of the City Club of Chicago, as well as major Chicago businesses such as Marshall Field's.  

Although Brennan's suggestion pointed to his civic-mindedness, there was actually a more selfish reason for his proposals.  As a bill collector for Lyon and Healy, he had to travel all over Chicagoland in his attempts to collect delinquent accounts.  He had the customer's address, to be sure, but in actuality he had no idea where that address was located.  Finding an address in Chicago was a nightmare for all the reasons outlined above.  By getting all Chicago addresses standardized he was in effect making his job much easier.        

After literally years of debate, the Council approved Brennan's numbering system in 1908, and it went into effect in 1909, everywhere except the Loop.  It worked so well, though, that five years later the Loop addresses were reoriented to State and Madison. 

While all this was going on, Edward Brennan was also living his life and continuing to work for Lyon and Healy.  The 1910 US Census is the last one where Edward would be living with his parents.  The Brennans were still living at 4018 S. Vincennes Avenue in Chicago.  The family consisted of: Matthew J. (75 years old), wife Bridget (65), and sons Edward (43), Thomas (40), Matthew (37), Martin (28) and Leo (24).  Also living with them was "Servant" Margaret Sullivan (19).  Matthew and Bridget said they had been married for 45 years.  Bridget said she had given birth to seven children; five of whom were still alive in 1910.  Matthew said he had come to the US in 1848; Bridget said 1850, and they were Naturalized Citizens.  Matthew reported his occupation as "Own Income," Edward as "Manager of a Piano Company,"  Thomas as "Bookkeeper for the Stockyards," Andrew as "Bookkeeper for a Liquor House," Martin as a "Salesman in a Department Store," and Leo as an "Artist at College."  Matthew said that the owned their house free and clear.

On June 29, 1910 Edward Paul Brennan married Beatrice Angelica Jeffers (1884-1953) in Chicago.  The groom was forty-four years old; the bride was twenty-six.  

Beatrice Angelica Jeffers was born July 23, 1894 in Chicago to George J. Jeffers (1849-1890) and Julia A. Maher (1850-1891).  George and Julia had four children altogether:  Margaret Elizabeth/Mrs. John J. McCormick (1878-1961), Mary Aloysious/Mrs. John E. Butler (1879-1938), George Joseph Jr. (1883-1955) and Beatrice Angelica/Mrs. Edward Brennan (1884-1953)

Edward and Beatrice were blessed with three daughters:  Agnes Isabella (1912-1999), Mary Beatrice/Mrs. Leo McGraw (1911-2004), and Adelaide Frances/Sister Mary Beatrice, BVM (1914-2014).

Edward's parents, Bridget Kinsella Brennan and Matthew J. Brennan died within a few months of each other.  Bridget died April 3, 1914 and Matthew died on Christmas, 1915.  Here is Bridget's Death Notice from the Chicago Tribune of April 6, 1914:


Matthew Brennan rated both an Obituary and a Death Notice from the Tribune of December 26, 1915:

 

Both are buried in the Brennan Family Plot at Calvary Cemetery in Evanston:

 



The 1920 US Census shows Edward Brennan and his family living at 6446 N. Wayne Avenue in Chicago:

6446 N. Wayne Avenue, Chicago

The family consisted of:  Edward P. (55 years old), wife Beatrice (36), and daughters Mary (8), Agnes (7), and Adelaide (5).  In addition Beatrice's brother George Jeffers (38) and his wife Bessie (36) were living with them.  Edward said that he owned the building, and it had no mortgage.  The Brennans lived in one unit and rented the other out.  The only people who reported occupations were Edward "Manager of a Music Company," and George Jeffers "Clerk in a Shoe Company."  They all could read, write and speak English. 

The 1930 US Census finds the Brennans still living at 6446 N. Wayne Aenue in Chicago.  The family consisted of:  Edward P. (63 years old), wife Beatrice (55), daughters Mary (19), Agnes (17) and Adeline (sic) (15).  Edward said they owned the building, and it was worth $20,000 ($378.000 in today's funds).  Not surprisingly with three daughters in the house, the Brennans owned a radio.  Edward said he was 44 when he was married; Beatrice said she was 26.  Edward had been promoted at Lyon and Healy - he was now the Building Superintendent.  They rented the other unit in their two-flat to the Griffin family for $100.00/month.  ($1,900/month in today's funds.)

In 1933 there was a proposal put forth to change the name of Crawford Avenue to Pulaski Road after the noted Polish patriot Casimir Pulaski.  There were many people in favor of the name change, and many against.  One man firmly opposed to the change was Edward P. Brennan, as reported in the Tribune of November 14, 1933.  The article said, "Edward P. Brennan, chairman of the subcommittee on street names of the City Club protested against the proposed Crawford Avenue change on behalf of the Chicago Historical Society.  "We have no Bowling Green, as has New York, no Commons as does Boston; no Independence Hall, as does Philadelphia.  All of our landmarks were wiped out by the fire.  All we have left of historical significance is names, and the Historical Society is opposing the wiping out of the names of the families which helped build Chicago."  Any Chicagoan who has driven down Pulaski Road knows that this time Brennan was not successful.        

Apparently not all of the Chicago address problems had been fixed in 1908-1909.  The Chicago Tribune reported on November 9, 1935 reported that although the grid system had solved the address problems, there were still myriad problems with the names of the streets themselves:


Who did the City turn to for a solution to the "Muddled Street Names" issue?  Edward Brennan, of course. 

There was an article in the Tribune from January 6, 1935 about early settlers of Chicago who were Irish.  Edward P. Brennan is mentioned as a son of Matthew Brennan:


Apparently everything regarding street naming finally had been resolved as noted in the Chicago Eagle newspaper from April 20, 1937:


The 1940 US Census would be the last one for Edward Brennan.  The Brennans were still living at 6446 N. Wayne Avenue as they had been in 1935.  The family consisted of:  Edward P. (73 years old), wife Beatrice (55), daughters Mary (29), and Agnes (27).  In addition, two of Edward's brothers were living with them:  Thomas (71) and Ambrose (69).  Where was Edward's daughter Adelaide?  In 1937 she joined the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and took the name Sister Mary St. Beatrice, BVM.

One interesting part of the 1940 Census was the part that asked for the Highest Grade Completed in one's education.  Edward reported that he had one year of college.  The rest had four years of high school.  

Edward and Beatrice did not report any occupation.  Mary was a Stenographer for a Publishing Company," Agnes was a "Bookkeeper for a Finance Corp."  Ambrose Brennan reported that he was an "Accountant in Private Practice."

The Brennans reported that their building was now worth $5,000.00 as opposed to the $20,000.00 they reported in 1930.  $5,000.00 in 1940 would be worth approximately $113,000.00 in today's funds.  Their apartment was still rented to the Griffins but the rent had been reduced to $75.00/month as opposed to the $100.00/month in 1930.  $75.00 in 1940 would be worth approximately $1,691.00 in today's funds.  The Great Depression of the 1930s had been hard on everyone.   

Since he had now finally fixed all of the problems with Chicago's street names and addresses, Edward Brennan needed another crusade to occupy his free time.  In 1941 it was announced that Brennan wanted another star added to the flag of the City of Chicago.  this from the Chicago Tribune of February 27, 1941:


Pop Quiz for Chicagoans:  The Flag of the City of Chicago currently has four stars.  What do the stars represent/commemorate?  Every Chicago school student should know the answer to this question.

1.  The Founding of Fort Dearborn  
2.  The Great Chicago Fire of 1871
3.  The World's Columbian Exposition of 1892-1893
4.  The Century of Progress Exposition from 1933-1934  

There have been recent proposals for additional stars for:

Mayor Harold Washington
The Great Chicago Flood of 1992
The Dominance of the Chicago Bulls

The latest proposal was made by Former Mayor Lori Lightfoot who wanted a star added to commemorate the city’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

None of these was adopted; neither was Brennan's proposed star.

Edward P. Brennan died January 10, 1942.  He was 75 years old.  Here is his Death Notice from the Chicago Tribune of January 12, 1942:





He was buried in the family plot in Calvary Cemetery, Evanston:





In 1947, five years after his death, the Chicago City Council named a two-block street in a new subdivision Brennan Avenue.  It's between 96 and 98th streets at 2300 east.




In 2013, as a further acknowledgement of Brennan's contributions to Chicago, the corner of State Street and Madison Avenue was designated "Honorary Edward Brennan Way." 


Edward Brennan - he made it possible for Chicagoans to get where they were going.  May he rest in peace.