This article is about the lawyer and real estate speculator Paul Cornell see Paul Cornell for the British writer,. Paul Cornell appearing on Doctor Who Confidential Paul Cornell (born July 18, 1967) is a British writer best known for his work in television drama as well as Doctor Who fiction. ...

Cornell and his Property
Paul Cornell [1] The Hyde Park House at 53rd Street & Lake Michigan Paul Cornell's Estate at the current corner of 51st Street (East Hyde Park Boulevard) and Harper

Cornell's Stone
Paul Cornell's Stone in front of the Hampton House

Paul Cornell (1822-1904) was a New York Lawyer and visionary Chicago real estate speculator who is the founder of Hyde Park on the south side of Chicago. Image File history File links Paul Cornell File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Paul Cornell File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The Hyde Park House was an upscale hotel built and run by Paul Cornell, that served as the centerpiece for Hyde Park social life from 1857 until 1879. ... Sunset on Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. ... Hampton House - 22Oct2006 // The Hampton House is a Chicago, IL residential condominium located in the Hyde Park neighborhood on the property that once housed the Hyde Park House, a hotel built by Hyde Park founder Paul Cornell in the 1850s. ... Official language(s) English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  Ranked 27th  - Total 54,520 sq mi (141,205 km²)  - Width 285 miles (455 km)  - Length 330 miles (530 km)  - % water 13. ... Nickname: The Windy City, The Second City, Chi Town Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location in Chicagoland and Illinois Coordinates: Country United States State Illinois County Cook Incorporated March 4, 1837 Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Area    - City 606. ... Real estate is a legal term that encompasses land along with anything permanently affixed to the land, such as buildings. ... Speculation is the buying, holding, and selling of stocks, commodities, futures, currencies, collectibles, real estate, or any valuable thing to profit from fluctuations in its price as opposed to buying it for use or for income - dividends, rent etc. ... Hyde Park is a neighborhood on the south side of Chicago, located seven miles south of the Chicago Loop. ... Nickname: The Windy City, The Second City, Chi Town Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location in Chicagoland and Illinois Coordinates: Country United States State Illinois County Cook Incorporated March 4, 1837 Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Area    - City 606. ...

Hyde Park

He was from a very distinguished New England family. He moved to Chicago in 1847. In 1853, on the advice of Senator Stephen Douglas he bought 300 acres of Hyde Park property between 51st Street and 55th Street as a speculative investment. The Hyde Park community was 7 miles south of the mouth of the Chicago River and 6 miles south of downtown Chicago. In the 1850s Chicago was still a walkable urban area well contained within a 2 mile radius of the center. In 1856 Paul Cornell essentially invented the Chicago railroad suburb. In an effort to improve his land value, he deeded 60 acres to the Illinois Central Railroad in exchange for a train station and a commitment of 12 daily trips to Chicago’s Central Depot. He then marketed the neighborhood to wealthy Chicagoans as a resort area. This article is about the region in the United States of America. ... Stephen A. Douglas Stephen Arnold Douglas (April 23, 1813 - June 3, 1861), American politician from Illinois, was one of the Democratic Party nominees for President in 1860 (the other being John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky). ... Downtown buildings line the Chicago River The Chicago River is 156 miles (251 km) long, and flows through downtown Chicago, Illinois. ... The Illinois Central (AAR reporting mark IC), sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad carrier in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. ...

At about the same time he built the Hyde Park House a 4 story hotel at 53rd Street and Lake Michigan.^[2] The hotel became the focal point of the community and drew affluent guests with leisure time and discretionary income. This site is now occupied by the Hampton House The Hyde Park House was an upscale hotel built and run by Paul Cornell, that served as the centerpiece for Hyde Park social life from 1857 until 1879. ... Sunset on Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. ... Hampton House - 22Oct2006 // The Hampton House is a Chicago, IL residential condominium located in the Hyde Park neighborhood on the property that once housed the Hyde Park House, a hotel built by Hyde Park founder Paul Cornell in the 1850s. ...

Paul Cornell specifically forbade heavy industry development in Hyde Park. This philosophy later became a part of the Burnham Plan. He maintained the character of Hyde Park, which was intended to be an elite suburb bordering Chicago, by selling only large lots that the affluent could afford. The neighborhood flourished for the next two generations.

In 1889, the entire Hyde Park township (the area south of 39th Street, north of 138th Street, and east of State Street)[1], which had quintupled in population from a 1880 population of 15,716 to a 1889 population of 85,000^[3], voted for annexation to the City of Chicago.

He planned and advocated a town with a lakefront park, a Plaisance, an adjoining park and boulevards shaped the town. His plan for a cornerstone institution to rival Evanston's Northwestern University was at first thwarted by the decision to establish a theological seminary on the North Side. However, his vision for a cornerstone institution to complete the implementation of his plan arrived with the University of Chicago that resulted from the philanthropy of John D. Rockefeller and Marshall Field in 1890. Midway Plaisance is a linear park located near Lake Michigan in Chicago, Illinois approximately 5 miles from the downtown Loop area. ... Incorporated City in 1872. ... Northwestern University is a private, coeducational, non-sectarian research university, located in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, U.S.. Northwesterns main campus is a 240-acre (970,000 m²) parcel in Evanston, along the shore of Lake Michigan. ... The University of Chicago is a private university located principally in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. ... John Davison Rockefeller, Sr. ... Marshall Field (1834 -1906) was founder of Marshall Field and Company, the Chicago based chain of department stores. ...

Hyde Park maintained it social status as a community by enforcing racially restricted covenants to the exclusion of African-American residents. This guideline remained in force for nearly 100 hundred years until struck down by the United States Supreme Court. The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C., (large image) The Supreme Court of the United States, located in Washington, D.C., is the highest court (see supreme court) in the United States; that is, it has ultimate judicial authority within the United States...

Grand Crossing

Paul Cornell also purchased the swampland and prarie 8 miles South of the Loop at the intersection of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad and the Illinois Central Railroad at a location that now is 75th Street and South Chicago Avenue in 1855. He subdivided parcels for sale through the 1870s. The area, which was first named Cornell, became Grand Crossing. Greater Grand Crossing, one of the 77 official community areas of Chicago, Illinois, is located on the citys south side. ...

Chatham

Paul Cornell established the Cornell Watch Factory at 76th and the Illinois Central tracks in 1876 in the Chatham Community. Chatham, located on the south side, is one of the 77 official community areas of Chicago, Illinois. ...

Oak Woods Cemetary

He served as secrtary for a group of Chicagoans who purchased 167 acres in 1853 to create Oak Woods Cemetery.

Civic Leadership

Cornell is considered the "father of the South Parks System" for his efforts after the Civil War to create a parks system south of Chicago. Repeated attempts eventually got a plan through the Illinois General Assembly.^[4] Today, Jackson Park, Washington Park and Harold Washington Park stand as a testement to his efforts. Cornell served on the South Parks Commission, which regulated parks South of the City. As a civic leader he along with his peer William Le Baron Jenney, the West Parks commissioner, commissioned urban landscape designers such as Frederick Law Olmsted, Calver Vaux, Ossian Simonds, H. W. S. Cleveland, and Jens Jensen to create landscaped cemeteries, to implement a coordinated parks and boulevard system and to design the railroad-served suburbs to complement urban civilization. Jackson Park or Jackson Park Highlands is a 500 acre (2 km²) park on Chicagos South Side located in the South Shore community area, bordering Lake Michigan and the neighborhoods of Hyde Park and Woodlawn. ... Washington Park refers to a neighborhood and a park on the South Side of Chicago, USA. Washington Park is a 380 acre (1. ... The Home Insurance Building in Chicago built in 1885 Leiter II Building, South State & East Congress Streets, Chicago, Cook County, IL William Le Baron Jenney (25 September 1832—14 June 1907) was an American architect and engineer who became known as the Father of the American skyscraper . ... Frederick Law Olmsted, oil painting by John Singer Sargent, 1895, Biltmore Estate, Asheville, North Carolina Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822 – August 28, 1903) was a United States landscape architect, famous for designing many well-known urban parks, including Central Park and Prospect Park in New York City, the country... Jens Jensen was an Australian politician. ...

Family

He was a cousin to Ezra Cornell, founder of Cornell University. He was married to the sister-in-law of John Evans. Evanston, IL was named after him. He had many strong local connections being related to founders of Northwestern University (Evans and Orrington Lunt) and to George Kimbark of Riverside Improvement Company fame.^[5] His brother-in-law Kimbark, purchased the area between 51st and 55th and Dorchester and Woodlawn to the west of Cornell's purchase. Cornell later purchased this as well as other land's purchased by his Uncle, Hassan A. Hopkins, to add to Hyde Park. Ezra Cornell, co-founder of Cornell University Ezra Cornell (January 11, 1807 – December 9, 1874) was an American businessman and, with Andrew Dickson White, was the founder of Cornell University. ... Cornell redirects here. ... John Evans (9 March 1814–3 July 1897) was a US politician, physician, railroad promoter, and namesake of Evanston, Illinois. ... The Arch, the main entrance to the Evanston campus of Northwestern University Evanston (elevation 600 ft. ... Northwestern University is a private, coeducational, non-sectarian research university, located in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, U.S.. Northwesterns main campus is a 240-acre (970,000 m²) parcel in Evanston, along the shore of Lake Michigan. ...

Trivia

Harold Washington Park was at one time referred to as Cornell Park.

Cornell Drive was presumably named after him.

Sources

Eds. Grossman, James R., Keating, Ann Durkin, and Reiff, Janice L., 2004 The Encyclopedia of Chicago, The University of Chicago Press

Grinnell, Max, Images of America: Hyde Park, Illinois, 2001 Arcadia Publishing

Keeting, Ann Durkin, Chicagoland, 2005 University of Chicago Press

Block, Jean R. Hyde Park Houses, 1978 University of Chicago Press

Pacyga, Dominic A. and Ellen Skerrett, Chicago: City of Neighborhoods, 1986 Loyola University Press

Notes

1. ^ Photo from Hyde Park Houses who noted the Chicago Historical Society as its source
2. ^ Hyde Park Houses, pg. 4.
3. ^ Encyclopedia of Chicago, pg. 405.
4. ^ Chicago: City of Neighborhoods
5. ^ Hyde Park Houses, pg. 3.