We often drive past the brick entrance columns to our neighborhood and don’t give them a second thought; however, these columns are important. The columns mark the edges of the community in addition to identifying it. They set our neighborhood apart and are a visible link to our past.

The entrance columns set the tone for the neighborhood – The brick construction with a “limestone” cap is similar to the design of our front porch columns, often even using the same color and style of brick. Being of a more recent era, they are an intentionally less ornate design than the Victorian era entrance markers in Woodruff Place, for example.


These columns were built at the same time the neighborhood was being developed, making them 100 years old. You can imagine how they helped identify the neighborhood for passengers on the streetcar line that ran along Michigan and Emerson. They are also one of the features of our neighborhood that reflect the City Beautiful design movement. You can see early photos of the columns in the photo gallery on our website under “Development Book”. We aren’t aware of any columns ever being on 10th Street.

Unfortunately many of these columns are in poor condition. Some have been altered, poorly repaired or are missing altogether. EHCO has been exploring ways that we can restore the existing columns and replace the ones that are missing entirely. Of course we want to be sensitive to the original columns by using the same type of brick, mortar and methods. We also want to avoid changing the basic design.

The goal is to have the columns completed well in advance of the centennial celebration for our neighborhood in 2012.With a restoration that focuses on staying true to the original intent of these columns, as well as structural integrity, we can highlight the link to the past, mark the neighborhood boundaries and again set the tone of the neighborhood for another 100 years in the future.

The entrance column restoration is a project of the EHCO Revitalization Committee. We need volunteers who will help manage projects like this. To volunteer, contact Rebecca Seifert or Kurt Wiegand.