As difficult as it was to photograph Park Castle as a whole, Park Gables proved impossible. It fronts Estes St., whose right of way I was standing in and which was vacated in the 1960s to provide a green front lawn for Park Gables; because the oaks along Estes have been able to luxuriate next to lawns, not asphalt (and salt), they're positively huge. Curiously, the sidewalks still remain in place.

Park Gables is a full block deep and about a third wider than Park Castle, with the same double courtyard (W) shape. However, its southern orientation and high gables give it additional visual prominence. It exemplifies the ambitions of Chicago circa 1927 -- the apogee of the city's 70-year Long Boom, which saw 37,000 apartments built in just that year. Really, we've just been coasting along ever since.