Chicago Landmarks
 

Elam House

Exterior, by Walter Street     Address: 4726 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr.
Year Built: 1903
Architect: Henry L. Newhouse
Date Designated a Chicago Landmark: March 21, 1979

Melissia Ann Elam This 32-room, Chateauesque-style mansion was built by Simon L. Marks, the owner of a wholesale custom tailoring company. It was purchased in 1926 by Melissia Ann Elam, who operated it for many years as an elegant boarding house for single, African-American working women. The house was an important community institution when this area was the center of the city's African-American cultural life.