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Introduction
In more recent times, the “Jackson Park Highlands” neighborhood south of Jackson Park, east of Stony Island Avenue, and north of Seventy-first Street has been known for being an “integrated residential community” boasting “some of the finest homes in Chicago.”1 The swampy, low-lying land south of the park became the Highlands around 1900 when Frank Bennett, a Chicago lawyer, began subdividing and developing the site for residential purposes. Educated in Chicago public schools and a graduate of the Union College of Law, Bennett led the demanding life of a public “livewire,” practicing law, serving on the city council, participating in numerous voluntary organizations, yet still managing to be “actively engaged in real estate business.”2 Involvement in a variety of city affairs provided Bennett with a keen awareness of the high regard many Chicagoans had developed for dwellings located in “improved” residential landscapes. “Do You Want to Build or Buy a Home in the Best ‘Home’ District?” was the question Bennett posed to Chicagoans when promoting the lots in Jackson Park Highlands during 1911.3 Despite his position as only a part-time operator in the real estate industry,