Preserving Architectural Heritage
Take a stroll down Hoyne Street through one of Chicago’s oldest neighborhoods, and you’ll see some of the most beautifully crafted wrought iron fences from here to Nova Scotia. They have posts that look like chess pieces painted black as night. Lily-shaped spikes are fixed to the tops of narrow poles (known as fleur-de-lis, but also called Romeo spikes because protective parents installed them to keep young lovers from trying to sneak into their daughters’ bedrooms late at night). Running between poles are carefully fashioned spirals that make the solid iron they’re crafted from seem fluid and full of movement.
You don’t have to be a landscape architect to recognize the craftsmanship and history encased in these iron masterpieces. Whether you notice them or not, everyone who walks past these fences is filled with a sense of nostalgia for Old Chicago. They serve as visual representations of an age that has come and gone. Something extraordinary and unique that left its mark on the world and made people proud to call Chicago home.
Passersby hoped that by glimpsing these artifacts from Chicago’s history, they might get a taste of how it once was — when an exploding jazz scene made the whole city swing, and gangsters in pinstripe suits ran the streets. They are vestiges of Chicago’s Golden Age, which kicked off with the World’s Fair in 1893, heralding the arrival of the modern era, and ended with the stock market collapse of 1929. These fences are a powerful reminder of what makes the Windy City so unique.
Hall of Fame Fencemakers
Adorning the gates of Chicago’s most famed fences are small shields indicating the steel companies that crafted them. These include W.T. Barbee Fence Works, Cincinnati Iron Fence Co., and The Stewart Iron Works. At Bespoke Fence, we continue to draw inspiration from these master metal workers as we work to create custom fences for Chicago homes.
What Happened to Classic Chicago Fences?
The greatest challenge to preserving these historic landmarks is the nemesis of all ironworks — rust. Iron is particularly susceptible to rust compared to other metals, which is why so many of these once-great fences have sunken into a state of decay.
Following the Stock Market collapse in the late 1920s and then the boom of mass-produced consumer goods in the 1950s, traditional iron Chicago fences fell out of style. They weren’t as affordable as the newly popular and lighter-weight aluminum fencing, which, unlike iron, doesn’t rust. And the elaborate style of the old neighborhoods’ more traditional fences simply didn’t match the style of more modern homes.
However, Chicago iron wrought fences persist in a newer, more modern form. Stripped of their more extravagant qualities and made with longer-lasting materials, the look of old Chicago still persists with aluminum fences.
Old Chicago Style Fences for Modern Homes
Celebrate your Chicagoland land heritage by installing a Chicago Aluminum Fence from Bespoke Fence!
Durable, affordable, and quintessentially Chicago — Bespoke’s aluminum fences capture the essence of Old Chicago without the over-the-top baroque style, which, though it might work for historic homes, clashes with modern designs. Because Bespoke’s fences are made with aluminum instead of iron, they won’t rust, are lighter and easier to install, and are infinitely more affordable.
Bespoke’s Chicago Aluminum Fence balances Midwestern tradition with modern design. And nothing looks better next to a Bears sign!