Fire guts architecturally striking graystone on Chicago's West Side

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Fire raced through a graystone on the city's West Side Thursday morning, gutting the building.

The fire broke out in the back of the graystone at 3442 W. Jackson Blvd. in the East Garfield Park neighborhood. Firefighters were on the scene around 6:30 a.m.

The back of the house and the roof went up in flames.

At one point, Chicago Transit Authority buses needed to be rerouted because of the Fire Department activity.

The elegant building at 3442 W. Jackson Blvd. features a variety of striking architectural ornamentation—including a pair of figures flanking the arched front doorway with Ionic capitals over their heads. The figure on the left is depicted playing a wind instrument.

On the portico over the doorway, a pair of cherubim hold a shield with a winged torch above and a horned grotesque below.

Real estate records indicate that the graystone was built in 1900, and most recently sold this past May.

There was no word late Thursday on the cause of the fire or injuries.