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Monday, October 2, 2006

Chicago and the Places of His Dwelling

The second in an occasional series about where John Bellairs lived during his time in Chicago.

We've already touched upon Bellairs's first residence, the International House (or I-House) at the University of Chicago. He left at the end of the spring 1961 term and where he went after this is a bit hard to pinpoint.  There are a few gaps in the timeline and, for all we know, he may have returned to the I-House for a semester or two.

Woodlawn Apartment (summer 1961)

In January 1961, Dale Fitschen lived in an apartment on 56th Street with roommates John Drew, Lew McFarlane, and John Moriarty.  These four lived here only for a quarter before "John Moriarty found a bigger, better apartment on Woodlawn near 53rd Street." That summer, Bellairs moved into the Woodlawn apartment with Dale Fitschen, McFarlane, and Moriarty [1].

Unknown (fall 1961)

It is unknown where Bellairs lived for the autumn and winter quarters of classes.  The Fitschens speculate he could have returned to International House or found a new roommate, Joe Ryan, and shared an apartment on 59th Street [1].

Apartment Across the Midway (spring 1962)

Bellairs lived in an apartment "across the Midway" with Joe Ryan, another Ph.D. candidate who attended the University of Notre Dame [2].

Alpha Delta Phi House (summer 1962)

Bellairs and Bernard Markwell took rooms at the university's Alpha Delta Phi House in the summer of 1962.

Unknown (fall 1962 to summer 1963)

This is another period when we don't know the details about where Bellairs lived.  By spring 1963, he likely knew he would leave whatever housing he had in Chicago to move Winona, Minnesota. 

Resources

[1] Correspondence with Marilyn Fitschen.
[2] Correspondence with Bernard Markwell (2003).

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