Below is a sampling of the standard Chicago Mid-Century storm door. It's got a solid bottom quarter panel, and a three-part upper section, with two sidelights flanking a clear central panel. The sidelights typically sport an applied geometric pattern, or a translucent, textured, colored plastic panel. The frame is built with stainless steel, polished to a mirror shine. Sometime the main panel is a series of movable slatted windows, allowing the storm door to double as a screen door.
Much like the colored glass blocks, they appear all over Chicago, as if one builder or manufacturer had a chokehold on the entire industry. They're mostly on suburban-style ranch/bungalows, but I've even seen them on houses with medieval stylings, where they look strangely out of place.
With the right elements, though, they're a key part of the Chicago mid-century look.
2 comments:
I wonder how many of these came from Carson's (yes, as in Carson Pirie Scott). They used to have a home improvement department years ago.
If only I could find a door like this now. Years of neglect have left the storm door on my 1955 ranch hanging on by a thread. I'd love to replace it with a brand new one like those pictured here, especially the one with the green side glass.
Any ideas of where to find something like this?
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