Crossing into history?

'Weirdest house,' a tourist draw, faces demolition

A weird piece of Chicago could soon become a weird piece of Chicago history.

The owner of the "House of Crosses" near Chicago and Ashland is selling the oddity and said the only offer so far is from a developer who likely will tear it down to build condos.

"It's kind of fallen into disrepair," owner Donald Zaraza, 49, acknowledged.

The house, dubbed by some "the weirdest house in Illinois," is covered with brightly colored crosses, shields and tributes to movie stars and politicians.

It's a regular stop on the "Weird Chicago" bus tour and has been profiled in tour books and photographed by countless flocks of the curious.

The two-story, wood-frame house at 1544 W. Chestnut dates to 1879. Its exterior is the creation of eccentric former owner Mitchell Szewczyk, Zaraza's late uncle.

The factory worker lived in the upstairs apartment, while his elderly mother lived below. A devout Catholic fascinated with the Crusades, medieval history and movies, Szewczyk originally decorated his interior walls with crosses, according to Troy Taylor's book, Weird Illinois.

Szewczyk's mother forbade him to hang crosses on the house, but after she died in 1977, that rule did, too.

In 1979, with gang problems plaguing the neighborhood, Szewczyk nailed a red cross to the center of the front of the home, hoping to deter crime.

"Then, all of the sudden, the gang activity stopped," Zaraza said. "Then he just kept going and going and going."

At its peak, the house and the carriage house in the rear were completely covered with crosses, shields and more. Tourists started showing up.

"I went over one evening when my uncle was still alive," Zaraza said. "All of the sudden, all these flashbulbs started going off. I'm like, 'What the heck is going on?' He said, 'Oh, it's got to be another tour bus.'"

The neighbors didn't seem to mind, and Szewczyk liked the attention.

"Some friends thought, 'Wow, this guy's nuts,'" Zaraza said. "Others were like, 'I guess you've got to do your own thing.'"

Szewczyk died about 10 years ago. His sister, Zaraza's mom, continued to live there until about a year ago. Now it's empty -- and falling apart.

Zaraza took down many of the falling crosses and recently removed the rotting front staircase so souvenir-seekers won't get hurt.

"I hate to see this go," said Taylor, who runs the "Weird Chicago" tours. "I know it's in terrible condition, and it probably costs more to fix it up than to tear it down and start over again with condos. But it's still kind of sad because this guy put his heart and soul into it.

"No matter what you might think of it personally or how attractive you think it might be, it's definitely a unique little piece of Chicago history."

Zaraza's not opposed to selling it to someone who would preserve it. He just doesn't think that's going to happen.

"It would be nice if they did rebuild something, maybe just put a little cross on the top," Zaraza said.

stoomey@suntimes.com