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The iconic postmodern Thompson Center in the heart of Chicago’s Loop will be sold either for demolition or adaptive reuse.

It was built for the people of Illinois, by the people of Illinois, to inspire the people of Illinois. Designed by world-renowned architect Helmut Jahn to be Illinois’ “second state capitol building” in the state’s largest city, it sought to redefine the relationship between the citizens and their government with transparency, engagement, and energy.

Jahn's wildly exuberant James R. Thompson Center / State of Illinois building exceeded all expectations with a curvilinear façade, open plaza, and dazzling 17-story atrium designed to exhilarate and inspire.

Will this magnificent public building be demolished for a new non-descript high-rise? Or will a new owner finally realize the Governor Thompson's vision of a dynamic creative center overflowing with vibrancy and energy?

Live music, dance, arts and city festivals could be hosted daily on the plaza and year-round in the atrium, similar to the wildly successful Sony Center in Berlin also designed by Helmut Jahn.

Designated offices floors could become incubator for non-profits, arts organizations, start-up businesses, exhibit and gallery space. Other floors could be populated with a hotel, apartments and small businesses. A gourmet food court and café dining in the atrium could create a dynamic piazza experience protected from the elements. All located at a major transit hub that would allow equal access to Chicagoans all across the city.

Now is the moment in time to finally embrace the vision of the James R. Thompson Center as vibrant, authentic, fountain of creative energy in the heart of Chicago’s Loop.

Along with a diverse team of preservation partners, we urge the City of Chicago to recognize the potential of this important building and designate the James R. Thompson Center as a Chicago Landmark to protect it from harm and encourage its creative reuse.

"3179 N Clark St on the corner of Belmont and Clark in Lake View is currently threatened to be demolished. This historic bank building was originally the Lake View State Bank and later the Belmont National Bank. This bank building has been in our community since its completion in 1921. Let's celebrate it's 100 year old birthday by saving it, rather than loosing it to the wrecking ball.

"The bank is a wonderful two story limestone clad building by the Architect Ivar Viehe-Naess. According to Alderman Tom Tunney's website, Hubbard Group is going to demolish this structure and replace it with retail. This structure could easily be incorporated into the new design of the new development, as the rest of the development is a parking lot.

"Over the last 15 years Lakeview has lost a significant amount of pre-war architecture along Clark St and Belmont Ave. As we continue to demolish these structures we loose the historical legacy and identity that makes this neighborhood unique."

Please share and sign this community driven petition to urge Alderman Tom Tunney and Hubbard Group to incorporate this piece of Lake View history into the new development!

Perhaps this could begin the start of a larger conversation on how to protect what is left of the communities pre-war architecture. A landmark district would forever protect these structures.

"On April 22, Angela Ford of The Obsidian Collection closed on a $1.25 million loan to become new owner of Bronzeville’s long vacant, historic Lu Palmer Mansion.

"The nonprofit seeks to establish a museum, library and archive within the 12,000-square-foot building once owned by the late famed journalist and his wife. It also wants to offer community meeting space for rent and modest retail, such as coffee and T-shirts.

"Ford is free under Chicago ordinance to do the former. But she has become frustrated trying to obtain from the alderman the zoning change needed for the latter. Ford complains the alderman stopped responding to her ever-more-urgent requests for help as she sought to close a loan that was predicated on the zoning change.

"The mansion at 3654-3656 S. King Drive is in the 4th Ward of Ald. Sophia King, who earlier this year sparked controversy with her proposed “House Museums” ordinance that failed.

"'We’re still being blocked,' Ford alleged. 'I reached out to her before we went under contract. She told me in a Zoom call in November she would tentatively support it as long as we make sure there’s community support. Well, we’ve gotten the community support, and still, nothing.'

"The nonprofit met with the Greater King Drive Block Club representing its block to present the project. The block club gave its support, sending the alderman a letter urging approval.

"'As you know, the building has sat vacant for more than a decade, to the chagrin of residents on the block,' wrote Delmarie Cobb, a resident and the block club president. 'Given the African American history of the block, we believe The Obsidian Collection is a perfect fit. While we did express our concerns about a former art gallery that became an events space on the block, we believe Ms. Ford’s business model will not depend on attracting hundreds of rowdy visitors to her location."

"King responds that the Lu Palmer Mansion amendment has nothing to do with the 'House Museums' controversy, and Obsidian Collection is naïve about how long the process takes.

"Founded in 2017, The Obsidian Collection grew out of a visit by Ford to the Chicago Defender, looking for an article on her grandmother, Edna McClain Murray. Murray came to Chicago from Oklahoma in the Great Migration in 1936, settling in what was then the Black Belt. In the ’50s, she operated a charm school at 63rd Street & Dorchester Avenue, now called Woodlawn, and was frequently covered by the Chicago Defender.

"Discovering 110 years of newspapers and photographs inaccessible to the public and yet to be archived, Ford, of Washington Park, who has run her own real estate consulting and property management firm for 20 years, and a related nonprofit, began the journey to organize a national archive of digitized images of African-American history, arts and culture. What started with the Defender has expanded to include the Black press nationwide, private nonprofit collectors, Black photographers, and other individuals.

"'When we talk community support, who are we talking about? My family’s been in Bronzeville since 1936. We’ve never left the community,' Ford complained. 'It’s just crazy when there’s no other pathway for a small business owner except through the alderman’s approval. It shouldn’t be this difficult trying to just invest in your community.'

The Lutrelle 'Lu' Palmer and Jorja English Palmer Mansion has been on Preservation Chicago’s 'Chicago 7 Most Endangered' list. Built in 1888 for Justice D. Harry Hammer, it was bought in 1976 by the renowned community organizing couple.

"'People keep saying 'Congrats,'' Ford said. 'I’m like, 'On what? I’m still dealing with the alderman.' There’s no celebration until I know how we’re going to pay this back. I’m fighting to preserve this building. It would be nice if the alderman would support it.'"

THANK YOU to the nearly 33 thousand individuals who signed the petition to reject the proposed House Museum Ban ordinance. This petition by Preservation Chicago, our media outreach campaign, and advocacy effort in partnership with community organizations throughout Chicago played an important role in helping to defeat an ordinance that would have been devastating for dozens of house museums and cultural centers across Chicago.

In less than one week, the speed and magnitude of signatures helped thrust the proposed House Museum Ban ordinance out of the shadows and into the spotlight. This story seized the attention of Chicago and beyond. Many unknown details were revealed through the outstanding reporting of many Chicago reporters in over two dozen articles.

Preservation Chicago presented the petition along with a formal comment in opposition to the proposed house ban ordinance at the Zoning Committee of the Chicago City Council on March 23, 2021. Final petition totals were 1,488 pages of signatures and 35 pages of comments. Due to the advocacy effort and widespread opposition, the ordinance was withdrawn from a vote shortly before the hearing begin.

While the immediate danger has passed, the inspiring, diverse coalition of organizations and individuals that organized to resist the proposed ordinance will remain vigilant in the event that it resurfaces. We applaud every individual and organization that played a role in helping to oppose this legislation.

We strongly oppose any legislative maneuvers that seek to make more difficult the establishment of Chicago neighborhood house museums. In fact, we strongly encourage additional support to help nurture them.

Now is the time to recognize, honor and protect the many important contributions of African-Americans and traditionally underrepresented communities to Chicago. House museums are powerful vehicles for protecting the history and telling the stories of those who have come before us. House museums amplify the voices of those who have not been heard. It is essential that these voices be heard.

Read more at:

Alderman withdraws ordinance that would have restricted ‘house museums’; The decision by Ald. Sophia King (4th) was announced at the start of Tuesday’s meeting of the Chicago City Council’s Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards, Maudlyne Ihejirika, Chicago Sun-Times, Mar 23, 2021 

UPDATE: The developer of Lake Street Schlitz Tied House site objected to the Preliminary Chicago Landmark designation of the Lake Street Schlitz Tied House. This objection has triggered an expedited process with a "courtroom-style" Commission on Chicago Landmarks hearing complete with lawyers and expert witnesses on May 12, 2021 at 10:00 A.M. via Zoom. Preservation Chicago will testify in strong support of the building's protection and designation. Additionally, we will submit the full petition in support of protection with all signatures and comments in support into the permanent record.

"The former home of La Luce Italian restaurant, which was nearly torn down late last year, once again has been granted a reprieve from demolition.

"The Commission on Chicago Landmarks voted unanimously to grant temporary landmark status for 1393-1399 W. Lake St. following impassioned pleas from preservationists and dozens of citizens. Commissioners also rejected the owner’s permit application seeking to tear down the building 19th century, Queen Anne Victorian building.

"The commission’s approval of initial landmark status triggered an expedited process for permanently protecting the 130-year-old Fulton Market building. Under the city code, the commission must schedule a public hearing and notify City Council of its recommendation within 90 days.

"Commissioner Maurice Cox said the developers were sitting on a 'vintage' and 'pretty rare asset' in Chicago architectural history. The city doesn’t lose structures like this as part of a mass demolition, he added. 'You lose them one building at a time, until you are hanging on to one or two exemplars,' he said. 'I would encourage the development team for this particular site to embrace those assets that will in fact enrich [development.]'

"Preservation Chicago Executive Director Ward Miller said the building’s red brick, limestone, ornamental bays and copper features are 'nothing less than outstanding,' he said. The building was constructed in anticipation of the 1893 World’s Fair and is still visible for blocks, he added.

"Petitioners also provided 24 pages’ comments opposing demolition. Lauren Zawilenski wrote, 'More of Chicago’s history needs to be preserved. Buildings like this are getting knocked down and overdeveloped left and right!'

"Gregory Stepanek wrote, 'I pass this building on a daily basis, and always marvel at its uniqueness. We have lost far too much of our history. Let us NOT lose this gem. Let’s stop erasing our history.'

You can see signatures and comments here. (Peña and Alani, Block Club Chicago, 4/1/21)

Preservation Chicago is thrilled at this outcome. We have advocated for the building's preservation since 2016 and with urgency over the past six months since its change of ownership.

Petition to Save The Chicago Union Station Power House! with 31,408 signatures. Chicago Union Station Power House, Graham, Anderson, Probst and White, in 1931. Photo Credit: Darris Lee Harris http://darrisharris.com/industrial

The iconic Art Deco Chicago Union Station Power House is threatened with demolition.

This streamlined architectural masterpiece was designed in 1931 by Graham, Anderson, Probst and White, one of Chicago’s greatest architecture firms. Graham, Anderson, Probst and White designed many of Chicago’s most iconic and beloved landmark buildings including Chicago Union Station, Wrigley Building, Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, Lyric Opera House, Merchandise Mart, and the Old Chicago Main Post Office. The Chicago Union Station Power House should take its honored place among these world-class buildings.

To avoid repair costs, Amtrak wants to spend $13 million dollars to demolish it and replace it with a storage shed! But there is a better option....just sell it!

One of Chicago’s most experienced and successful developers wants to buy and restore the long-vacant Chicago Union Station Power House. Their restoration plans for the historic building include a tech data center and possibly a café along the Chicago River. Its located directly across from the “78”, the largest high-tech R&D development in the Midwest.

If sold, it would be a powerful win-win. Amtrak would save $13 million dollars, avoid maintenance, and earn money from the sale. These funds could better be used for true priorities like the long overdue upgrading of train stations to meet ADA requirements. (Chicago Sun-Times, Amtrak reverses course,1/20/20)

We urge Amtrak to respect this important historic building and encourage the City of Chicago to designate the Chicago Union Station Power House as a Chicago Landmark to protect it from harm.

"Whether its future holds a second life as a data center, an addition to the city’s expanding Riverwalk or something even more distinctive, the building should be saved for future generations to enjoy, Ward Miller said, noting that London’s Tate Modern Museum was once the Bankside Power Station.” (Chicago Sun-Times, Iconic South Loop power station should be saved, 10/9/19)

At the February 3rd hearing, Preservation Chicago strongly defended the importance of the historic Union Station Power House and countered many of the claims stated by Amtrak's development team.

Preservation Chicago applauds 25th Ward Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez for his strong leadership in this effort and for writing letters to the City of Chicago and Amtrak confirming his support for a Chicago Landmark Designation for the Chicago Union Station Power House and a preservation-sensitive outcome for the building.

"It all seemed so simple four years ago. The state would sell the iconic James R. Thompson Center to a developer, rid itself of a building that had become a deferred maintenance nightmare, get a shiny new skyscraper built on the site — and rake in a cool $200 million for the effort.

"Then the pandemic changed everything. Yet the Pritzker administration is forging ahead as if nothing has happened, taking steps to sell the building, aided by Ald. Brendan Reilly’s move last month to upzone the site to allow a taller structure, which would sweeten the pot for potential developers.

"Given Chicago’s seismic economic and real estate shifts of late, we’d urge caution regarding selling the Thompson Center.

"A complicated site - We’ve supported the state’s longstanding desire to get out from under the financial and operational burden of the Thompson Center. State officials say getting rid of the building would spare them from having to spend $300 million to repair the building.

"But that’s no reason not to conduct a clear-eyed reexamination of the plan right now and make sure this solution is the best for the city, and not one that just takes the state off the hook.

"We’re having a tough time, for instance, imagining a developer at this point paying the state $200 million for the building and then incurring the added costs of razing the 17-story structure, with its subterranean levels and basements.

"The challenge of pulling down the building and erecting a new one is further complicated by a city requirement that the Clark/Lake L stop — downtown’s busiest and accessed from the Thompson Center — remains open during demolition and construction. Same for the Blue Line station beneath the building.

"If we’re looking at this deal with an eye toward history — and in doing so, we’re reminded of the long years of unrealized grand plans for Block 37 on State Street — we have to at least raise the possibility that the state will have to convey the building to a developer on the cheap, if not for free, in order to spark new development there. This gives us pause.

"So does the fate of the former Chicago Mercantile Exchange Building, 300 W. Washington St. The 17-story 1927 building was wrecked in 2003 — and that was when the economy was good — and was supposed to be replaced by a taller skyscraper. Instead, the site has been a vacant lot for almost 20 years.

"Patient public process needed - Ald. Reilly’s proposal to upzone the Thompson Center site to allow for a development of up to 2 million square feet does, though, open the door wider to something potentially beneficial happening there. A developer could put up a building as big and high as the 40-story Chase Tower, depending on the configuration.

"We also believe the state should take advantage of this lull in the local economy to broaden the number of suitors and possibilities for the site by making an imaginative reuse of the Thompson Center — not just tearing it down — a serious option.

"The state already is in the process of moving employees from the Thompson Center to a newly purchased West Loop building, which is unsurprising. Nobody is seriously talking about the state hanging on to Thompson Center.

"But that means the clock is ticking. And the last thing Chicago’s Loop needs is for the Thompson Center to become an empty glass tomb waiting years for a suitor." (Chicago Sun-Times Editorial Board, 4/12/21)

"On Wednesday, state and local officials including Gov. Pritzker and Mayor Lightfoot assembled in Jackson Park to announce the start of preliminary construction work on the Obama Presidential Center.

"Although groundbreaking on the center itself isn't expected until the latter part of the year, pre-construction work—such as relocating utility lines plus the closing and widening of several adjacent roadways—is a key step in the process.

"However, the same day that officials marked the start of preliminary construction work, nonprofit group Protect Our Parks filed a fresh lawsuit aimed at blocking construction.

"The group was behind an earlier lawsuit challenging the legality of handing over parkland to a private entity such as the Obama Foundation, and its latest legal complaint makes a similar argument.

"The new suit also alleges that the center will 'permanently destroy' the integrity of Jackson Park, and that the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review completed earlier this year was in violation of federal laws.

"'It seems to me that the obvious resolution is just to require a reconsideration that considers alternative locations,' Protect Our Parks president Herb Caplan told the Hyde Park Herald. 'In other words, just do the entire NEPA review all over again, but not limiting it solely to considering Jackson Park, but considering other locations.'

"In a statement reported by the Chicago Tribune, the Obama Foundation said it was 'prepared to vigorously defend against this lawsuit' and that the organization still anticipates 'groundbreaking in the fall of this year.' (Koziarz, Urbanize, 4/14/21)

Preservation Chicago welcomes the Obama Presidential Center to Chicago's South Side, but has consistently encouraged the Obama Foundation to locate it on private land. If the Obama Presidential Center had been located on private land, it would likely be open today. Additionally, the $250 million taxpayer funds earmarked for road widening could have been redirected to improving transit and bike lanes. Additionally, these funds could have been used to mitigate the catastrophic impact the skyrocketing housing costs caused by the OPC are having on the Woodlawn community, ensure affordability and take actions to reduce widespread displacement.

"An archeological dig of sorts is taking place at the Chicago Cultural Center, where a $15 million restoration project is underway to unearth the original beauty of the building’s Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Hall and Rotunda.

"On Thursday, the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events announced that work had begun in February on the rooms’ interiors, which were designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany in the 1890s. The rooms were created as a gathering place for Civil War veterans and their families, and as a memorial to the war’s dead. Subsequent renovations have obscured many of Tiffany’s colorful decorative flourishes.

"The big reveal is still nearly a year away, but the city has shared teaser images of the work in progress. The sneak peek shows the meticulous separation of layers of paint to expose original plaster surfaces, which had been finished in silver leaf and shaded with translucent color.

"Crews are also dismantling the G.A.R.’s stunning 62,000-piece art-glass dome. The glass will undergo restoration offsite and will be reinstalled. (The G.A.R. dome is one of two art-glass domes in the Cultural Center. Restoration of the first, in the center’s Preston Bradley Hall, was completed in 2008.)

"'This project reminds me of hunting for buried treasure. Instead of being buried under the ground, it’s a treasure of Tiffany coloration buried beneath layers of paint — and just waiting to be revealed in all its 1890s glory,' said Tim Samuelson, cultural historian emeritus for the city of Chicago. 'This is no ordinary preservation project. It’s an undertaking beyond belief, assembling the absolute top talents in historic restoration to revive one of the great lost treasures of decorative arts.'

"Chicago-based Harboe Architects was tapped to oversee the project, and has assembled the same team that recently completed restoration of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Unity Temple in Oak Park. The Landmarks Commission reviewed and unanimously approved the project and will provide additional oversight, DCASE said in a statement." (Wetli, WTTW Chicago, 4/22/21)

"Bronzeville's historic Armour Institute Building, which overlooks the Dan Ryan Expressway and Sox Park, is one step closer to being converted into 102 apartments. On Wednesday, the city's Community Development Commission voted to recommend allocating $5.5 million in tax increment financing (TIF) to support the property's long-discussed adaptive reuse.

"Situated on the Illinois Institute of Technology's near south side campus, the seven-story building was originally constructed in 1893 as part of the Armour Institute—a predecessor to IIT. Designed by architects Patten & Fisher, the building is considered a notable example of the Richardsonian Romanesque style and was designated a Chicago Landmark in 2004.

"IIT continued to use the building at 3300 S. Federal Street for administrative offices until 2007, and the school reached a deal to sell the building in 2017. Its new owner, developer Armour Institute, LLC, is led by Ohio-based MCM Company and includes local joint venture partner Washington Park Development Group.

"Dubbed 'Flats on Federal,' the $27 million redevelopment will produce 82 market-rate apartments and 20 affordable-rate units under the city's ARO rules. Nineteen of the 102 units will be micro studios while the remaining 83 units will be offered as one-bedrooms. In addition to seeking $5.5 million in TIF assistance, the developers intend to pursue more than $4.5 million in historic preservation tax credits." (Koziarz, Urbanize Chicago, 4/20/21)

The Illinois Institute of Technology (former Armour Institute) Main Building was a Preservation Chicago 7 Most Endangered in 2017. We worked with IIT towards a good reuse development and have continuously supported this project before the City of Chicago and Commission on Chicago Landmarks.

Pappageorge Haymes Partners Armour Institute Adaptive Reuse Project Progress with many photos

"A well-established developer is taking over the stalled residential conversion of a monumental church in Noble Square that has been out of service for three decades.

"Zev Salomon, principal of ZSD Development, said he has [partially] bought out Michael Skoulsky, whose Stas Development launched the rehab of St. Boniface Church in 2016. At the time, Stas’s plan was hailed as a breakthrough for a structure that had been deteriorating since 1990, when the Archdiocese of Chicago shut down the parish at Chestnut and Noble Streets. Nevertheless, the plan stalled.

"Moving forward with the long-delayed project, Salomon said, 'has a lot of moving parts. The church has been sitting there for 30 years, the roof is leaking, it’s a mess.'

"Salomon, whose firm has completed high-end condo projects in the West Loop and Lakeview and last week broke ground on an affordable housing development in East Garfield Park, said ZSD paid off Stas’s '$5 million-plus' mortgage on the property.

"Even in disrepair, the church 'is a handsome gateway to the community that stands there overlooking Eckhart Park,' said Ward Miller, executive director of Preservation Chicago. Miller’s group grew out of a community effort in the late 1990s to stop demolition of St. Boniface, which the Archdiocese had been using for storage since shuttering it. In the years since, successive efforts to reactivate the building with senior housing and other uses have failed.

"Miller said he was glad to see the rehab move ahead after a few years in limbo. It’s a model for other disused Catholic church buildings at a time when 80 Chicago parish churches 'are closing, on probation or being combined with other parishes,' Miller said. 'That’s more than any other city.'

'The city has been working to preserve the former church for more than a decade because of its unique design, its prominent location and the desire by Noble Square residents to save the building as a neighborhood focal point,' Peter Strazzabosco, deputy commissioner of planning and development for the city of Chicago, said in an email. 'It’s exciting to have a development entity in place that can finally move forward with an adaptive reuse plan that achieves several community goals.'

"The interiors are still being laid out, he said, but will incorporate historical features. The big rose windows, he said, will not be divided up but will remain as designed, each hanging in one condo. Top-floor units may have 20-foot ceilings, following the historical ceiling line designed by Henry Schlacks, architect of many historical Chicago churches." (Rodkin, Crain's Chicago Business, 4/5/21)

"Maurice Cox is a planning commissioner with a plan. If it works, and early returns are promising, he’ll be making headway against one of Chicago’s most intractable economic problems.

"It’s how do you get investors, developers and contractors interested in working in low-income neighborhoods where the long cycle of disinvestment still rules? And a corollary: How do you get Black and Brown people involved to prove that when construction starts, it’s not some gentrification plot?

"Cox is the commissioner of planning and development for Mayor Lori Lightfoot. As part of her Invest South/West effort, Cox’s agency has posted requests for proposals involving 11 stretches of well-traveled commercial streets with more to come. Areas covered include Bronzeville, New City, Englewood and South Chicago. Some properties the city owns; others are in private hands. All could be put to better use. The agency has emphasized properties on busy corners in the belief that improvements there could inspire others nearby.

"After taking community feedback, the city has picked winning proposals for three of the sites. For five more, the application deadline has passed and replies are being reviewed. Those eight sites accounted for 35 submissions, most including minority-owned partners, an impressive result for properties long ignored. The city just recently solicited proposals for three new sites.

"How are the properties picked? Cox said his staff knocked on doors. “We asked the community, ‘Where do you think we should start?’” Residents often pointed to empty, boarded-up buildings of design distinction.

"Examples include an Austin site at 5200 W. Chicago Ave., the old Laramie State Bank, and the former Pioneer Bank building at 4000 W. North Ave. and adjacent properties in Humboldt Park. The buildings are designated city landmarks, reminders of when banks were topped only by churches in bringing fancy architecture to neighborhoods. Banks needed it to sell themselves as a secure place to stash money.

"At the Laramie State Bank, the city has selected its favored development team. Heartland Housing Alliance and Oak Park Regional Housing plan a blues museum, bank branch, café and business incubator in the old space with a multi-story rental building on a parking lot next door.

"Pioneer Bank, for which proposals are being sought, was built in 1925 and is owned by an attorney, Loukas Kozonis. He’s developed residential buildings on the Northwest Side. Ward Miller, executive director of Preservation Chicago, said his group has tried to help Kozonis, but communication has been difficult. “We have sent developers his way in the past, but they weren’t able to proceed with any offers or agreements,” Miller said. Kozonis did not return calls for comment." (Roeder, Chicago Sun-Times, 5/3/21)

"Plans to turn a former Jefferson Park fire station into a brewery and apartments are set to move forward after a legal battle over the site.

"Developer Ambrosia Homes intends to add a third story to the 115-year-old building and create nine market-rate rental units, and Lake Effect Brewing Company plans to move into the ground floor.

"The $208,000 sale of the city-owned building, at 4841 N. Lipps Ave., closed Tuesday, said Ambrosia principal Tim Pomaville. The funds will be used to reimburse the developers for the costs of removing hazardous materials, such as lead paint, from the property.

"The firehouse was built in 1906 and served the Chicago Fire Department until the early 1990s, said Ward Miller, executive director of Preservation Chicago. For a time, it was used as a storage facility for city equipment but it has been vacant since around 2012, and has fallen into disrepair, he said. Preservation Chicago is pleased with the plans for the firehouse, particularly since Ambrosia included changes to its plan that preserve some of the building’s history, Miller said.

"'We’re really, really hopeful for the future of this building,' Miller said. 'And excited for the community of Jefferson Park to have a historic building reactivated, and to a use where people can reenter it and enjoy its history.'

"Ambrosia originally proposed a larger addition on top of the building, but after discussions with preservation and community groups decided on one extra story and set it back to clearly distinguish it from the original firehouse, Pomaville said. Ambrosia is also working to restore elements of the building facade.

"Pomaville said the brewery would include an outdoor patio, and Lake Effect could move in by the end of the year." (Freishtat, Chicago Tribune, 4/7/21)

Logan Square Workers Cottages. Image credit: Tom Vlodek / Chicago Workers Cottage Initiative

"As developers continue to raze workers cottages for single-family homes and condos in gentrifying Logan Square and other parts of the city, preservationists are embarking on a project to raise awareness about the historical yet overlooked homes and to shape policies that would save them from demolition.

"Leaders with Preservation Chicago and the newly-formed Chicago Workers Cottage Initiative recently teamed up with students in the historic preservation department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago on a data project that aims to shed light on the loss of workers cottages throughout the city.

"'If you see two poor-conditioned workers cottages next to each other, that’s a threat,' said Mary Lu Seidel with Preservation Chicago. “Developers will buy them up, get a 50-foot-wide lot and build their mega-mansion Barbie dream house.”

"After the surveying process is complete, the data will be sent to the city, Seidel said. The data is meant to lay the groundwork for city policies around preserving workers cottages, she said.

"Eventually, the group would like the city to craft a policy or legislation to protect workers cottages from demolition. Seidel said that could mean creating a thematic landmark district across city neighborhoods to protect against teardowns or helping the owners of workers cottages with renovation projects so they’re able to stay in their homes.

"In the coming months, the preservationists plan to expand the project and collect data in other neighborhoods home to a lot of vulnerable workers cottages, such as McKinley Park, Pilsen and Wicker Park. But the groups started with Logan Square because the gentrifying neighborhood has seen more teardowns in recent years than other neighborhoods.

"Logan Square resident Tom Vlodek, who helps run the Chicago Workers Cottage Initiative, said he’s watched many of the workers cottages around him disappear in favor of single-family homes and condos. Vlodek said in recent years he’s counted as least nine teardowns in the four-block radius around where he lives.

"In 2018, Logan Square resident Matt Bergstrom, who is also helping with the workers cottage effort, documented the transformation of his street, which at that time had lost roughly two dozen homes for construction.

"'You’d be hard-pressed to think of [workers cottages] as affordable housing or anything in Logan Square anymore, but I see this as our mandate. These are Chicago’s original affordable, single-family homes, built for workers that built the city. Once you tear down one of those homes, there will never be an affordable home there again,' he said." (Bloom, Block Club Chicago, 4/15/21)

"Nearly three dozen historic Pullman homes that have sat vacant for decades are now being restored as part of a collaboration that includes the city and county.

"The effort to restore the homes got a boost in July when the City Council approved a $900,000 grant. The project is a joint effort between the city, the Cook County Land Bank, the Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives nonprofit and a private developer.

"They’re expected to sell for $125,000-$150,000 each, according to Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives, a nonprofit which works to coordinate resources and bring development projects to under-resourced neighborhoods.

"The row houses, the last unoccupied historic homes in North Pullman, will maintain their exteriors, which were built as worker housing for George Pullman’s railroad company. Their interiors will be completely rehabbed, with new furnaces, air conditioning, plumbing, electrical and appliances.

"Last year, after City Council approved the $900,000 grant, Housing Commissioner Marisa Novara said the project is a way to preserve the homes and get them into the hands of first-time homeowners.

"'Built more than 100 years ago but left to languish in the late 1990s, like Pullman itself, the housing has ‘good bones,’ is sturdy and ready to meet the housing needs of this century’s occupants,' Novara said in a statement.

"With the rehab of these homes, more than 70 historic Pullman homes will have been restored in the past six years.

"The homes will be within walking distance of the Pullman National Monument site and other amenities in the neighborhood, such as the One Eleven Food Hall at 756 E. 111th St." (Chiarito, Block Club Chicago, 4/30/21)

Save Our Church Protest on March 3, 2021 at All Saints - St. Anthony Church, 518 W. 28th Place. Photo Credit: Ward Miller / Preservation Chicago

"Over two dozen parishioners called out the Archdiocese of Chicago on Wednesday for what they say is putting profit over the faithful by closing a number of churches over the last several years.

"Julie Sawicki, president of the Society of St. Adalbert, which looks to preserve St. Adalbert Church in Pilsen, said immigrants like her family came to Chicago to help build these churches that are now on the verge of being sold to developers.

"'When our immigrant ancestors toiled and saved their pennies, nickels and dimes to build these magnificent houses of worship for our entire community, these churches were turned over to the Catholic church for stewardship' Sawicki said. 'I don’t think any of my Polish immigrant ancestors imagined a day would come where negotiations for this would be done with real estate developers.'

"Parishioners gathered in front of the defunct All Saints St. Anthony Church, 518 W. 28th Place, in protest of the archdiocese’s Renew my Church program, which they say has been used for closing churches in the Chicago area.

"The self-proclaimed “God Squad” represents 25 parishes and churches that have shuttered or are on the cusp of closure and have filed canonical appeals to save the buildings.

"'It is especially disappointing and painful that the Archdiocese of Chicago embarked on a path of closure, liquidation and sale instead of one of renewal and revitalization,' Sawicki said. 'Cardinal [Blase] Cupich we ask you please follow canon law, guide the faithful, cater to the faithful, not to investors.'

"The news of church closures and subsequent sales of them has also gotten the attention of Preservation Chicago, a group working to protect historic buildings in Chicago. The organization recently listed all the city’s Roman Catholic churches on its annual '7 Most Endangered Buildings' list.

"These are architecturally significant, as well as historically, culturally and all embracing of each of our communities,' said Ward Miller, executive director of Preservation Chicago. 'It is really tragic to see these being closed in such a wholesale way without the sensitivity that is really required.” (Ramos, Chicago Sun-Times, 3/3/21)

"The Chicago Loop Synagogue was founded in 1929 to serve the religious needs of Jews working downtown as well as Jewish visitors to Chicago. The current building was designed by Loebl, Schlossman and Bennett. It was built in 1957 to replace a structure on the same block that had been lost to fire. The entrance is marked by a sculpture by Henri Azaz called "Hands of Peace" that features a blessing in both Hebrew and English. A wall of stained glass by Abraham Rattner breaks the reserved minimalism of the sanctuary, leading one critic to describe it as 'perhaps the most beautiful synagogue interior in the United States.' (Open House Chicago)

"Just three stories high and hemmed into a small 5,000-square-foot lot, the building at 16 S. Clark St. is a small jewel box situated amid this city’s dense urban fabric. Exuding an aura of cool simplicity, the structure’s facade is composed of glass, metal and concrete planes. Its name is etched in delicate gold lettering: Chicago Loop Synagogue.

"The only consistently operating Jewish house of worship in Chicago’s Loop, the 1.5-square-mile area touted as the second largest business district in North America, the Loop Synagogue has been unusual since it was conceived in 1929. Few members live anywhere nearby. Before the pandemic, most popped in for lunch or a prayer service during the workday while spending Shabbat at their home synagogues in the suburbs. In recognition of that unusual arrangement, dues top out at $180 — meaning that the congregation’s 400 members generate far too little revenue to keep operations afloat.

'We are in dire straits,' administrator Mary Lynn Pross said. Overall, operating expenses for the building run approximately $400,000 a year, and the synagogue has no endowment or large donors.

"Letting go of their mid-century modern structure, however, is hardly the ideal answer. Never mind that it is an architectural gem or that the congregation’s most significant asset – its property located just blocks west of Millennium Park – is worth millions. Relinquishing the building would also doom the fate of Chicago Loop Synagogue’s monumental stained-glass window.

"Designed by the renowned New York-based artist Abraham Rattner especially for the synagogue, the work was the subject of a 1976 exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and a 1978 exhibit at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. Insured for $1.5 million, the spellbinding window is simply too large to fit anywhere except where it sits now: inside the prayer space for which it was created. To create the work, Rattner drew inspiration from the opening passages of Genesis, honing in on the hidden meanings of the words '… and there was light' to channel cosmic creative energies of the Divine.

"After two years working on conceptual and design schemes, Rattner spent another year engaged in the window’s fabrication in the Paris studio of stained-glass artist Jean Barillet (where other American synagogue stained glass has also been fabricated). The scale was expansive. At 40 feet wide and three stories high, it was devised to fill the entire eastern wall of the synagogue. Jutting into the prayer space from the far-left corner of the window, Rattner incorporated the ark that would house the Torah scrolls. He surrounded it with flames – integrated into the glass – leaping up and out, drawing attention to the presence of God in the very heart of the sanctuary.

"Today the synagogue’s vast space, cathedral-like in its openness, is dominated by the window. A kaleidoscope of blues and purples pierced by electric shades of yellow take on the forms of planets, trees, Hebrew letters and the Israelite tribes hovering and extending toward one another. Those who enter are 'awestruck,' Blau said. And Pross, who herself is not Jewish, recalls people dropping into the building before COVID-19. 'They came just to sit in the sanctuary. It’s hard to explain to someone who has not been here. You have to be in that room, with the light streaming through that window … the experience transcends religious identity.'

"Lee Zoldan, the congregation’s president, has convened a task force charged with imagining a new future for the congregation and its building: one that will generate revenue while allowing them to preserve the Rattner window intact and continue meeting in their space. Possibilities include identifying an organization to co-locate in the building, such as an education center, a theater or an event space. The most desirable of the options on the table: create a national sanctuary for synagogue stained-glass. Envisioned in part as a light-and-color experience and in part as a museum, this 'stained-glass sanctuary' would provide dissolving synagogues across the county safe haven at Chicago Loop Synagogue for their own colorful windows.

"'I don’t want to see it divided up into pieces and sold off as scrap,' Zoldan said, pausing and taking a deep breath before continuing.' That window has been the centerpiece of our sanctuary since the day it was installed. We are attached to it. The window, our location, our historic building — they are all integral to who we are.'" (Cooper, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 4/14/21)

Preservation Chicago has outreached to Lee Zoldan to discuss possible options for the preservation of the building, including the magnificent art-glass windows and sculpture. This includes consideration of the building as a Designated Chicago Landmark. This designation could protect the building's exterior features and interior sanctuary and make it eligible for Adopt-a-Landmark funding.

"A long-discussed plan to restore the 109-year-old Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church, one of the most recognizable buildings in Logan Square, has received a major boost in funding.

"The Chicago Commission on Landmarks on Thursday unanimously approved allocating $250,000 to the restoration project through the city’s Adopt-A-Landmark grant. The red brick church also known as Minnekirken at 2614 N. Kedzie Ave. is in the Logan Square boulevard landmark district.

"Church leaders won conditional grant approval back in 2019, but Thursday’s vote makes it official.

"The grant will allow church leaders to make 'critical' repairs to the church, which has suffered from water damage and a crumbling brick facade. Church leaders say it’s important the work is done soon because major construction projects are planned for the square that could cause further damage to the building.

"With the grant approved, restoration work will likely begin next month, depending on when city permits come through, said Barnaby Wauters, the project’s preservationist architect. The project is expected to be completed by the fall, Wauters said.

"Under the project, crews will focus on stabilizing the church’s brick facade and making repairs to prevent water from running down the building and seeping in, Wauters said. No work will be done to the sanctuary, which is in good shape and doesn’t need renovations.

"The city grant only pays for a portion of the project, which costs $725,000 in total. The rest of the funds will come from the church’s coffers and donations. Church leaders have raised more than $100,000 from 120 donors since late 2019.(Bloom, Block Club Chicago, 3/5/21)

Preservation Chicago has long supported the Minnekirken and the use of Adopt-a-Landmarks funds for the restoration of the building. We applaud Logan Square Preservation for their strong and ongoing support for this and other religious buildings within the Logan Square community. We also applaud the Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church for deciding to opt-in to the Logan Boulevards Landmark District in 2005. At that time, Ward Miller strongly encouraged the church leadership and board that consent to designation was in the best interest of both the church and wider community.

"A Victorian-era home in Lincoln Park is no longer at risk of being torn down after a developer withdrew an offer to buy the home.

"The home and coach house, located at 1932-34 N. Seminary Ave., was built in 1894 and has been on the market since last year. An unnamed developer wanted to buy the property, but its sale was contingent upon builders being able to tear it down and construct something new.

"Neighbors opposed the demolition, saying the buildings have historic qualities that need to be preserved. They’ve also said they were worried about what type of construction would replace the historic structures.

"Property owner Sarah Howard confirmed Tuesday the developer backed out of the deal, and she’s looking for a family to move into the home instead.

"'It became clear to the developers that what they wanted to do with the property was not supported, so they withdrew their offer,' Howard said. 'It’s clear that the community is very attached to the house, sees its historical value and how it adds to the character of the neighborhood.'

"The two-story, 5,500-square-foot property in the Queen Anne style is being offered for about $2.5 million, according to its listing. Tucked into a corner between Armitage and Clybourn avenues, it sits across from a playground park and a few blocks from the North Branch of the Chicago River in the Sheffield Historic District, which itself made Landmarks Illinois’ list of most endangered historic places in the state in 2019.

"The property includes the two-story home at the front of the property as well as its private side yard, two-story coach house and an outdoor parking area behind the coach house, Howard said. 'It’s the house I grew up in and there are a lot of things I loved about it,'' Howard said. 'But I think the yard is one of its great features. There are few places in the city, especially in that neighborhood, where you can have that kind of private, outdoor, natural space.'

"Before the developers pulled out of the sale, a demolition permit for the two buildings was requested in December 2020, according to city records, but the property was placed under a 90-day demolition day because of its historic qualities.

"After outcry from neighbors like Alex McGhee, who lives directly behind the property’s coach house, Howard had the demolition hold extended so she and the developers could continue 'looking for an option that preserves the house. There’s a big unknown if the developers will be good neighbors while they’re building over the next few years … which is a huge concern for us,' McGhee said. “Whereas this Victorian home is clearly one of the oldest homes in the neighborhood, it sits right across from the park and it contributes to the family feel of this neighborhood.'" (Wittich, Block Club Chicago, 4/14/21)

"A fire ripped through an 1890s home on Logan Square’s Kedzie Avenue late Tuesday afternoon, damaging the historical building but causing no injuries.

"The fire at 2228 N. Kedzie Ave. was caused by crews doing work on the home’s roof, Fire Department spokesman Larry Merritt said.

"The home, which is in the city’s Logan Square Boulevards District, was ravaged in the blaze, but it will be restored, owner John Concannon said. The house was boarded up on Wednesday afternoon with workers on the scene.

"'We’re going to restore it back to how it was,' said Concannon, whose family has lived in the home since 2002.

"Concannon declined to answer further questions, but Andrew Schneider, president of Logan Square Preservation, a neighborhood group dedicated to preserving historic structures in Logan Square, said Concannon and his family have been 'tremendous stewards' of the home and he expects a good preservation outcome.

"The Kedzie Avenue home was built in the 1890s at the same time as another home on the stretch, Schneider said. A pair of business partners who ran a furniture company together built the homes for their respective families, he said." (Bloom, Block Club Chicago, 4/28/21)

In 2016, the distinctive celadon-green terra cotta façade was removed from the Art Deco/Art Moderne façade of the orange-rated Szykowny Funeral Home located at 4901 S. Archer Building as part of a building modernization. At that time, Preservation Chicago had advocated for its preservation, but the construction permit was released and it was assumed that the celadon-green terra cotta façade had been destroyed.

Then in fall 2020, the owners of the Szykowny Funeral Home, Jonathan Siedlecki and his wife Nancy, contacted Preservation Chicago and, to our surprise, revealed that they had carefully disassembled the entire historic celadon-green terra cotta façade. After years of storage, they were hoping to find a new permanent home for the decorative terra cotta.

Preservation Chicago outreached to a wide-range of organizations, developers and other possible users seeking a permanent location for the one-story terra cotta façade. Comprised of over two dozens pallets with hundreds of terra cotta block, it was a challenge to find a new home for the terra cotta façade.

We were thrilled when John Edel expressed enthusiasm for the material and offered to store the façade. He is owner of “The Plant” and “Bubbly Dynamics,” a South Side innovation center, located just a few miles from the original funeral home location of the terra cotta material. Additionally, there are possible reuse ideas for the façade as part of future educational additions to the innovation center.

Preservation Chicago applauds everyone involved in this effort and we look forward to future when this unique part of Chicago's historic Archer Avenue fabric is reassembled for future generations of Chicagoans to enjoy.

It is with great sadness that we share the news of the unexpected passing of Richard H. Driehaus of natural causes on March 9, 2021 at the age of 78. His brilliance for business was surpassed only by his passion for philanthropy.

He founded Driehaus Capital Management which became one of Chicago's largest and most successful investment firms. In 1983, he created the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation and used his fortune to powerfully support historic preservation, the arts and community organizations throughout Chicago and the nation.

"Reflecting on nearly two decades in philanthropy, Richard wrote, 'I have devoted my professional life to the field of financial management and have been blessed with remarkable success. I recognize, however, that the measure of one's personal holdings is of less importance than the impact of our collective aspirations made real. I have further come to understand that maximizing the impact of donated dollars can be considerably more challenging than earning those dollars in the first place.

"Philanthropy enriched Richard's life immeasurably, and he would often paraphrase Winston Churchill's quote: 'We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.'

"'Richard was a dear friend, my professional mentor, and a lifelong philanthropist,' said Anne Lazar, executive director of the Driehaus Foundation in their news release. 'He spent decades making an impact in Chicago and his legacy will live on through his foundation. He was a true gentleman of grace and humility, and it is the foundation's honor and privilege to continue Richard's legacy of support.'" (Driehaus Foundation statement)

"'Richard led a life of zest and intellectual curiosity. His path and personal story were larger than life, and the impact he made as an investor is perhaps only rivaled by the extensive legacy he left as a philanthropist,' said Steve Weber, president and CEO of Driehaus Capital Management, in their news release. 'Our thoughts are with his daughters Tereza, Caroline and Kate, his sisters Dorothy and Elizabeth, and his extended family. Richard will be dearly missed by all who were fortunate enough to know him.'" (Driehaus Capital Management statement)

"'Richard’s an amazing person,' said David Bahlman, the former president of the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois. 'The causes he supports and the projects he has funded over the years have had a great impact on the appreciation of art and architecture in Chicago.' (Sharoff, Chicago Magazine, 9/27/2007)

"In 2015, he received the AIA Chicago Lifetime Achievement Award to recognize his tireless support of historic preservation and sponsorship of architecture award programs and design competitions. Zurich Esposito, former AIA Chicago executive vice president, said, 'Richard's engagement with preservation, his recognition of working architects, and his philanthropic reach have had an immeasurable impact on the practice. His commitment to classical architectural and planning ideas, forms and principles—coupled with his willingness to support and embolden those actively working in the profession—has left a lasting legacy on the contemporary landscape.' (Massie, Architect Magazine, 8/6/2015)

His deep commitment to Chicago's architectural heritage lead him to purchase and beautifully restore the 1883 Samuel Mayo Nickerson Mansion which serves the Richard H. Driehaus Museum of Decorative Arts and the 1886 Richardsonian Romanesque Ransom Cable Mansion which serves as headquarters for Driehaus Capital Management.

"'It’s my gift to the city. The museum is about protecting the past. The idea is to display the period, the materials and objects, and to organize that as a whole experience. It’s not about any one object. It’s about the environment, the space,' said Richard Driehaus in a 2007 Chicago Magazine profile regarding the Driehaus Museum of Decorative Arts and the restoration of the Nickerson mansion. (Sharoff, Chicago Magazine, 9/27/2007)

Richard Driehaus and the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation was a longtime friend and supporter of Preservation Chicago. We are deeply grateful for his long support for our organization, our mission, and for the preservation movement in Chicago. He will be dearly missed, but his legacy will live on through all of his incredible achievements during his lifetime and through so many preservation wins yet to come.

The Demolition Delay Ordinance, adopted by City Council in 2003, establishes a hold of up to 90 days in the issuance of any demolition permit for certain historic buildings in order that the Department of Planning and Development can explore options, as appropriate, to preserve the building, including but not limited to Landmark designation.

The ordinance applies to buildings rated red and orange in the Chicago Historic Resources Survey (CHRS), but it should be modified to include all buildings included in the survey. These buildings are designated on the city's zoning map. The delay period starts at the time the permit application is presented to the department's Historic Preservation Division offices and can be extended beyond the original 90 days by mutual agreement with the applicant. The purpose of the ordinance is to ensure that no important historic resource can be demolished without consideration as to whether it should and can be preserved.

Preservation Chicago is advocating to extend the existing Demolition Delay Ordinance to at least 180 days or longer, in order to create the time community members, stakeholders, decision makers, and elected officials need to conduct robust discussions regarding the fate of these historic buildings and irreplaceable Chicago assets. The support of the Mayor and City Council is necessary to advance this effort.

Address: Second Church of Christ Scientist 2700 N. Pine Grove Avenue, Lincoln Park

#100903102

Date Received: 01/07/2021

Ward: 43rd Ward Alderman Michele Smith

Applicant: Second Church of Christ Scientist c/o Fenton Booth

Owner: Second Church of Christ Scientist

Permit Description: Alterations to the interior of the existing masonry church building, including seven-story and basement additions containing 26 residential units, and 30 basement-level parking spaces. Work includes the demolition of the interior structure, the roof and the north wall of the existing church, exterior east, west and south walls to remain on the building.

Status: Released 04/14/2021

Preservation Chicago has been advocating to save the Second Church of Christ Scientist for many years and it was a Chicago 7 Most Endangered in 2019. Second Church of Christ was designed by Solon S. Beman in 1901. By any measure, it should be a Designated Chicago Landmark.

Preservation Chicago was able to secure the interest of a major philanthropic foundation with plans to restore the magnificent church building and convert it into a cultural arts center. The congregation would have continued to have access for religious services. The congregation flatly rejected the offer preferring to monetize the value of the land. The decision of the development team to save the exterior walls is an improvement over the initial plans, but the building, including its magnificent dome, should be preserved in its entirety.

Address: 1399 W. Lake Street, West Loop (Lake Street Schlitz Tied House / La Lucé)

#100901650

Date Received: 12/02/2020

Ward: 27th Ward Alderman Walter Burnett

Applicant: Spirit Wrecking and Excavation, Inc.

Owner: Veritas Chicago, LLC C/O Anthony Giannini

Permit Description: Demolition of a 4-story, multi-family, mixed-use masonry building.

Address: Address: 7443 S. Kimbark Avenue, Near West Side

#100907049

Date Received: 01/28/2021

Ward: 8th Ward Alderman Michelle Harris

Applicant: KLF Enterprises

Owner: VILA CO. c/o Vitalija Sileikyte

Permit Description: The demolition of a 3-story frame residential building.

Status: Released 04/29/2021

Address: 4500 N. Spaulding Avenue, Albany Park

#100908603

Date Received: 02/18/2021

Ward: 33rd Ward Alderwoman Rossana Rodriguez

Applicant: D. S. Construction, Inc

Owner: Chicago Milal Church

Permit Description: Demolition and removal of a 2-story masonry church

“It’s an old, common cry in a city where demolition and development are often spoken in the same breath, and where trying to save historic homes from the wrecking ball can feel as futile as trying to stop the snow. My Twitter feed teems with beautiful houses doomed to vanish in the time it takes to say ‘bulldozed.’ Bungalows, two-flats, three-flats, greystones, workers’ cottages. The photos, posted by people who lament the death of Chicago’s tangible past, flit through my social media feed like a parade of the condemned en route to the guillotine,” mused Mary Schmich in her Chicago Tribune column on July 12, 2018.

462 N. Morgan St, West Town Demolished April 2021. Photo Credit: Gabriel X. Michael

"Among the stern pandemic tutorials of 2020: Without full access to Lake Michigan’s wonderful waterfront, Chicago is a more cramped, less enticing place. Like Tennessee without the Great Smoky Mountains, or Wyoming without Yellowstone.

"Think of it as a valuable preview: If over time Chicagoans let buildings and projects that sound beneficial limit broad public access to the lakefront, the still life of 2020 gradually could return. A more restricted shoreline would be a damning memorial to modern generations that, incursion by incursion and restriction by restriction, allowed people with money and clout to say Keep Away.

"Fortunately a new and respected voice is rising to warn about threats to the Lake Michigan waterfront. In its latest annual list of the city’s most endangered buildings, the advocacy group Preservation Chicago placed the lakefront — obviously not a building — right at the top. “(The lakefront) frames our downtown,” says Ward Miller, the group’s executive director. “It gives us breathable space. It protects us from those rough days on Lake Michigan, and it’s really a spectacular attribute to Chicago that makes our city special. But we continuously see issues with giveaways of parklands, privatization of parklands. We really think this is not a good place to be.”

"Preservation Chicago’s recommended solution should be a conversation starter: Turn the entire lakefront into a national park. That designation, says the group, would protect the lakefront from further development, attract federal dollars for upkeep and — a factor that caught our eye — reduce local politicians’ role in decisions about lakefront land use.

"We would want to know much more the implications of the national park notion before endorsing it. But we applaud Preservation Chicago for pointing up the threats to what’s arguably this city’s most valuable natural resource.

"...That highlights the recurring problem with each generation’s bright ideas for developing the lakefront: Many proposed projects do have broad appeal. And, yes, each generation of Chicagoans — including each generation of local politicians — likes to leave its bold imprint.

"But always remember that the only reason today’s citizens can debate the lakefront’s future is that for almost 200 years, this city has generally stuck to principles that would defend the lakefront for future centuries of Chicagoans. That defense has meant repeatedly denying the grand dreams of well-intentioned civic leaders. Every proposal has some glossy allure; we’ve noted before that no one ever will propose a sheep slaughterhouse for Grant Park.

"Remember, too, that no other U.S. metropolis features an oceanlike waterfront buffered from a towering cityscape by such a necklace of open spaces. Special protections have stopped influential people and civic groups from overwhelming that lakefront expanse with their worthy-sounding pet projects.

"The pols often cave to the sales pitch that “just this one more exception” won’t harm the lakefront. But to look at all the construction already permitted there is to realize an unpleasant truth: Obstructions accumulate. The presence of structures such as the Field Museum makes the open space that remains all the more vulnerable to “just this one more exception.”

"Forgive us, then, if we don’t salute when the Park District frets that converting the lakefront to national parkland would diminish local control. That’s the point: If City Hall were a reliable steward, ready to fight each proposed encroachment and to create more public access, the lakefront’s future wouldn’t be in doubt.

"So we’re glad Preservation Chicago has started a conversation about permanently protecting some of the most rare and valuable urban real estate on earth. We hope Chicagoans will defend it for centuries to come." (Chicago Tribune Editorial Board, 3/12/21)

Newcity Editor's Letter: The Thompson Center by Brain Hieggelke. Cover art by Jimenez Lai

"Thirty years ago, I attended “Dancing in the State,” an immersive performance that brought 150 dancers from Chicago and New York dance companies, along with art, lighting and sound installations to the then-six-year-old State of Illinois Building. This spectacle activated every aspect of the young building, from its plaza to its sculpture to its magnificent atrium, epitomizing the vigorous, creative spirit that infused the new center.

"I fell in love with Helmut Jahn’s masterpiece that day, sensing that I was present at the beginning of a fresh public engagement with civic space.

"Unfortunately, it was both beginning and an end, since I’ve never been back for anything other than the most mundane of reasons, driver’s license renewals, CTA transfers, or a quick visit to the nondescript food court. But that atrium never fails to stir my soul.

"For years, we’ve watched them weave a narrative around the inevitability of this outcome. Now just watch them roll in the wrecking crews, with or without an actual plan, like they did when they bulldozed the landmark McCarthy Building in 1989 to let it its emptied footprint lie fallow as Block 37 for twenty-seven years, or when they tore down eight Walter Gropius-designed Michael Reese Hospital structures in 2009, even though the city had already lost its Olympics bid, the rationale for destroying our only buildings designed by the Bauhaus legend.

"In early 2019, when our film “Knives and Skin” was having its world premiere in Berlin, we stayed in Potsdamer Platz. Nearly every day, or night, I found myself in Helmut Jahn’s magnificent Sony Center, a direct descendant of his Thompson Center. Combining bars, restaurants, movie theaters and grand public spaces with offices and residences, this 2000 edifice works as a public square in the best sense.

"In F. Philip Barash’s outstanding piece about the state of the Thompson Center in this issue, Jahn shares his idea for a reimagination of the Thompson Center, which he calls “Inside Out,” a proposal that would open up the space literally and figuratively, reviving and transcending the spirit of that long-ago dance activation that remains so unforgettable to me. This would be a public square for Chicago, a vision that, unlike the vague notions of colossal private skyscrapers favored by politicians, is tested and proven to work, and one in which the public stays front and center.

"This is the imagination we deserve." (Hieggelke, Newcity, 4/29/21)

"Drive south on the Bishop Ford Expressway to Altgeld Gardens and you'll pass plenty of reminders you're in a landscape not meant for inquisitive visitors. There are looming grain silos next to a parked shipping freighter, a village-scaled water reclamation plant, and plenty of anonymous warehouses. But once you pass 130th Street and drive into the Chicago Housing Authority's (CHA) largest surviving traditional public housing community, that spell breaks on approach to the new Altgeld Family Resource Center (FRC), a combined childcare center, community center, and Chicago Public Library.

"With more than 1,500 townhouse apartments over 157 acres, Altgeld was built in the mid-40s for returning Black WWII veterans, and was one of few places in Chicago they could live. It was meant to be self-contained and comprehensive, and included a library, schools, an auditorium, a clubhouse, and a shopping center.

"At Altgeld, the buildings are small but landscapes are vast. These are industrial tracts comprising landfill hills, factories, and refineries; infrastructural landscape behind fences and retaining walls, inaccessible and inhuman. Altgeld was alone on an industrial frontier. But these 50-some landfills and hundreds of industrial facilities spread beyond their borders via the water, soil, and air, and residents of Altgeld have suffered from cyanide-contaminated drinking water, polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination, and 250 leaking underground storage tanks, and more, with some pollutants dating back to George Pullman's railcar empire in the late 19th century.

"In the 1970s, water left the faucets with a light brown hue. The community had the highest incidence of cancer in the entire city. In response, Altgeld's Hazel Johnson created the People for Community Recovery (PCR) in 1979 to lobby for remediations that could clean up what became known as the "toxic doughnut." (She got a bit of help from a young community organizer named Barack Obama, including a push to expand the neighborhood's library.) Now known as the "mother of environmental justice," a stretch of 130th Street has been named after her.

"For Black veterans returning from WWII, a chance to live at Altgeld Gardens was an Edenic dream deserving of its name. Long time residents tell stories of a neighborhood chorus, Halloween bonfires, and block clubs with enough kids to each field a baseball team.

"Boxed out of expanding suburbs by racist lending practices and redlining during a historically tight housing market, Altgeld offered Black families subsidized housing in a tidy suburban atmosphere. Generous shared courtyards connected long, two-story apartment blocks with gabled roofs that could look quite a bit like single-family homes if you squinted. In J.S. Fuerst's book When Public Housing Was Paradise: Building Community in Chicago, Claude Wyatt, a resident of Altgeld for ten years from the mid-40s to mid-50s, tells of the revelatory joy at not having 'to go into a big building. I would put my key in the front door, go out through the back, come around to the front door again, and walk in and go through—again. I couldn't believe it.'

"Despite its failings, Altgeld's design pedigree put residents on even footing with the burgeoning middle classes. Altgeld was designed by the Chicago architecture firm Naess and Murphy and built in 1945, and the development was joined by the Philip Murray Homes in 1954. Altgeld made historic preservation nonprofit Preservation Chicago's 2017 most endangered list, and Executive Director Ward Miller says it should be considered for the National Register of Historic Places for three reasons.

"First, there's the history of President Obama's involvement there, and second, the history of the environmental justice movement, embodied in Hazel Johnson. But there's also the architecture. Miller praises Altgeld's quirky stepped parapets that frame its gabled roofs, and its intimate neighborliness. It "exudes a certain human scale," he says. "It has a certain charm about it."

"Altgeld offered a quality of life that was "perhaps not too different from suburban developments happening at the same time," says Miller. Unlike the maligned high-rises to come, it was "an attempt to connect people to the ground around them"; a dark irony, considering what was below the surface." (Mortice, Chicago Reader, 4/27/21)

"Chicagoans familiar with the local highway system have undoubtedly heard of the Bishop Ford Freeway, a stretch of Interstate 94 from Interstate 57 to 170th street in South Holland. Originally known as the Calumet Expressway, the highway was renamed for Bishop Louis Henry Ford in 1996. Ford was well-known as the presiding bishop of the 8.5 million member Church of God in Christ and eulogist at Emmett Till’s funeral. He was considerably less well-known for being Chicago’s first historic preservationist.

"In 1941, Bishop Ford purchased Chicago’s oldest-surviving building. Built in 1836 and known as the 'Widow Clarke House,' it was then at 4526 S. Wabash Ave. in Grand Boulevard. He began a nearly four decade effort to preserve the home, fundraise for its upkeep and advocate for its importance.

"'The Clarke House was purchased during a period when redlining had not become the ‘banner’ of blocking Black people from owning property,' said Kevin Anthony Ford, Bishop Ford’s grandson and third-generation pastor at the St. Paul Church of God in Christ. 'My grandfather made history by buying Chicago’s oldest house in 1941.'

"Birthday teas were held on the property each year, with each generating funds for the upkeep of Clarke House and boasting attendance by senators, congressmen and mayors. Bishop Ford made it a priority to hire Black professionals to complete all skilled and non-skilled labor at the home, from carpenters to masons.

"In August 1955, Bishop Ford and Bishop Isaiah L. Roberts of the Robert’s Temple Church of God in Christ comforted Mamie Till Mobley as she collapsed after viewing the casket containing her son Emmett Till’s body after it arrived at Illinois Central Station from Money, Mississippi. Bishop Ford gave the eulogy at Emmett Till’s funeral at the Robert’s Temple Church of God in Christ.

"As government-funded demolition cleared the way for the Dan Ryan Expressway and the Robert Taylor Homes, a few blocks west of the St. Paul Church of God in Christ, Bishop Ford continued to bring attention to the Clarke house as the neighborhood changed all around it.

"During the 126th anniversary celebration in 1962, he was interviewed in the Chicago Tribune: 'Chicago has often been referred to as the city which doesn’t have a place for landmarks. We will continue to fight off demands to tear down this building because we feel it deserves a place in Chicago on an equal footing with the Water Tower.' He looked to the future of the programming and stewardship of the Clarke House. 'I hope the citizens of Chicago will help us relocate the building to its original site at 16th Street and Michigan Avenue, complete with a park and museum.'

"The work to care and maintain the Clarke House by Bishop Ford and the St. Paul Church of God in Christ with a vision for its preservation occurred decades before any other actions to preserve historic buildings in Chicago, via movement or ordinance. The Commission on Chicago Historical and Architectural landmarks was not created until 1957, leading the way to the 1968 Chicago Landmarks Ordinance, which granted the commission the responsibility of recommending to City Council which historic landmarks in Chicago should be protected by law.

"The work to save and maintain Clarke House predates the organized protest to save Louis Sullivan’s Garrick Theatre, demolished in 1961, as well as the effort by architects to save the Glessner House, designed by H.H. Richardson in, 1966. The National Historic Preservation Act, which created official standards for preservation and established the National Register of Historic Places, wasn’t enacted until 1966.

"In October 1970, Clarke House became one of the first buildings to gain local landmark status in Chicago, and conversations began in earnest regarding the future of the house, with Bishop Ford’s vision to move the house closer to Downtown becoming a reality. The Commission on Chicago Historical and Architectural Landmarks was put to task to study how the house could be moved, but also worked to trace members of the Clarke family, who had been obscured after the Great Chicago Fire.

"With the recent designation of the Emmett Till and Mamie Till Mobley Home as a Chicago Landmark, and the push to establish Robert’s Temple Church of God in Christ as a National Monument, the importance of Bishop Ford’s role in saving Clarke House but also launching the grassroots historic preservation movement in Chicago becomes vital to telling the full story of not only what becomes a landmark, but who worked to keep buildings around long enough for them to get there." (Blasius, Block Club Chicago, 4/30/21)

"In 2018, Chicago’s Department of Planning and Development felt that they had a progressive plan to preserve one of the city’s most rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods. Pilsen, on the city’s southwest side, was home to Eastern European immigrants in the 19th century; in the 20th century, it drew newcomers from Mexico. The overlapping waves of arrivals left enduring marks on the neighborhood’s architectural fabric, where ornate 'Bohemian Baroque' buildings carry brilliant murals painted to express the area’s Latinx heritage. But residents of Pilsen were facing growing affordability pressures: According to the Chicago Sun-Times, median home prices went from $76,000 to $198,000 from 1990 to 2015, and the median sale price in 2019 was $430,000, per Chicago Magazine.

"To protect more than 850 buildings in Pilsen, the city proposed establishing a historic district, primarily focused on simple, vernacular building types. In a first for the city, the plan called for the neighborhood’s murals to be preserved, a feature that moved preservation beyond bricks and mortar to more ephemeral signifiers of culture. Perhaps most importantly, the historic district was just one part of a larger preservation strategy that included housing supports, economic development measures, park space, and more. The hope was that these measures would relieve pressure on over-burdened neighbors struggling to stay in their homes, easing the path forward for landmarking.

"In May 2019, the city’s landmarks commission unanimously recommended the district move forward and its regulations were tentatively in effect until the district was brought up to a vote before the City Council Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards. Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez, who represents much of Pilsen, successfully lobbied to delay the vote for a year to give the community time to consider the effects of landmarking. The planning department itself tacked on an extra six months to try to sell neighbors on the plan and respond to community concerns, holding three community meetings in English and Spanish.

"'You have to tailor the district to the specific community,' says Maurice Cox, DPD commissioner, who joined the department in 2019, after the landmark plan was assembled. '[This isn’t] a one-size-fits all. We acknowledged that there was a fairly unique community and that there would have to be guidelines that we tailored to where they are — their income range, the circumstance of ownership.'

"During negotiations, the city proposed shrinking the size of the district significantly, and offered an expansion of funds available through the Adopt-a-Landmark Program. But by December 2020, it had become clear that DPD’s effort didn’t work: The public remained 'almost unanimous' in opposition, says Cox. After hearing neighbor after neighbor inveigh against the historic district, Cox pulled his support, and each of the 18 members of the Zoning Committee voted the district down.

"The opposition came from a grassroots coalition of neighbors and neighborhood organizations, deploying some of the same tactics often used by preservationists to relay their causes. Voices from within the working-class Latinx community made it clear that they were unconvinced that landmarking would provide relief from displacement and gentrification.

"And no wonder: Those are problems that historic districts — and preservation at large — were not developed to address." (Blasius and Mortice, Bloomberg CityLab, 4/8/21)

Preservation Chicago is thrilled to announce Max Chavez as Director of Research and Special Projects. Max recently completed a six-month National Trust for Historic Preservation Mildred Colodny Diversity internship at Preservation Chicago. We are excited to continue to work with Max who has enthusiastically jumped into a wide number of challenging and interesting Chicago preservation projects.

Originally from Los Angeles, Max is a recent graduate of New York University in London’s Historical & Sustainable Architecture graduate program. He is committed to the preservation of underrepresented heritages, most specifically those of the LGBTQ+ and Latinx communities. In addition to his interests in social and community issues, Max is also a self-avowed enthusiast of architectural history and is very excited to be in a new city full of beautiful sites to explore.

Max was drawn to preservation as a way to tell more diverse stories about our cities and the people that live in them. His graduate thesis, which won NYU in London’s Gavin Stamp Memorial Award for Outstanding Thesis, focused on managing and reusing sites of what Max termed burdened architecture: contentious sites marked by historical traumas and injustices.

We applaud the National Trust for Historic Preservation's commitment to supporting the next generation of talented, diverse preservationists by providing them the opportunity for direct, hands-on advocacy experience in the field. Additionally, these bright and enthusiastic emerging preservationists bring valuable additional capacity to local preservation organizations working on the front-lines of preservation efforts. We consider this local/national partnership to be a best practice and are hopeful that this model that can be replicated in the future.

"Preservation Futures is set to explore the future of historic preservation through research, action and design—but the Chicago-based firm does things differently. Founded by architectural historian, writer and photographer Elizabeth Blasius, and Jonathan Solomon, architect and associate professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Preservation Futures goes beyond historic preservation’s traditional approach to saving buildings, to identify and shepherd future landmarks that elevate the social and cultural history embedded in places and spaces.

"'Our work includes preservation of public buildings and spaces; preservation of the recent past; and preservation as a tool to increase justice, equity and resiliency in the built environment,' say the founders, stressing the importance of working in the present and looking to the future. 'We believe in maintenance and care as values in society and in a built environment in which more is appreciated and less is forgone, and we think that preservation can help lead us there. Gratitude is our attitude!'

"We founded Preservation Futures to [affect] historic preservation through research, action and design. Our mission includes preservation of public buildings and spaces; preservation of the recent past, and preservation for the public good, as a tool to increase justice, equity and resiliency in the built environment.

"We work with the existing tools of preservation, but try to use them better. We prepare landmark register nominations and navigate tax incentives and benefits related to preservation for clients that might not have access to. We produce research that informs public processes and policy decisions for the public good. We also work to expand preservation’s range and purview. We go beyond historic preservation’s traditional approach to saving buildings to identify and shepherd future landmarks that elevate the social and cultural history embedded in places and spaces. We plan programming and design creative interventions that develop audiences and engage communities.

"Collaboration is important to us, and we are very aware that there are no firsts in preservation. Everything we do is built on the work of others. We believe that preservation is a futurist profession, that we need to always be working in the present and looking to the future.

"History is always a moving target, but preservation in Chicago has not been keeping up. The city’s last survey, The Chicago Historic Resources Survey (CHRS), was completed in 1995, and it has not been updated. Moreover, it was completed in a way that left out a lot of important history. The CHRS focused on buildings fifty years old or older, with very few exceptions made for buildings by well-known mid-century modern architects.

"Most buildings built after 1940 were not included, leaving [examples of] neighborhood modernism like Pride Cleaners in Chatham, or the catalogs of the work of architects like John Moutoussamy and Gertrude Kerbis not recognized as historic or covered by Chicago’s Demolition Delay ordinance for historic structures. Moreover, by focusing architectural value and other majority narratives, the CHRS left out Chicago’s Black and Latinx heritage, the work of female architects, its indigenous heritage and other histories no less deserving of preservation.

"We are trying to remedy this. In the 2020s, the 1970s will turn fifty. What about the next ten years? And the next? Preservation needs to continually develop research and scholarship, test tools and techniques, and engage public interest that will enable us to preserve the 1980s, the 1990s and beyond.

"Instead of thinking about preservation as limited and precious, we think it should be popular and widespread, the standard, not the exception. Henri Lefebvre wrote “La Droit à la Ville,” the right to the city; we believe part of that right is a right to history, to have our stories held and elevated collectively in our built environment.

"Right now we are working, with Landmarks Illinois and AJ LaTrace, to nominate the James R. Thompson Center to the National Register of Historic Places. This postmodern gem is a vitally important part of Chicago’s architectural history and although it was only completed in 1985 it is under threat from demolition

"We are also working with Blacks in Green and Pax Design on a National Register nomination for the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley House, which was only recently granted status as a Chicago landmark. We are grateful to be part of the work to elevate the history of Chicago as a Great Migration metropolis in this way. We are also excited by our broader collaboration with Traci Sanders at Pax Design, which includes a pilot cultural heritage survey of Woodlawn.

"Finally, we are about to kick off a Preservation Clinic, in partnership with Preservation Chicago, to serve members of the public who qualify for tax credits and other incentives but don’t have access to the expertise to claim them. If we can help even a small group of property owners improve their homes or shops, they can help show others, and on and on, and we can have a big impact. We are excited about all these projects and delighted to be a part of the future of historic preservation in Chicago!" (Rigou, Newcity Design, 4/21/21)

"The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy’s spring tour program embraces a virtual format to showcase six Wright-designed structures dispersed widely across the country – three of which are the only ones built in their respective states. Transcend geography to see five private homes and one church, all in places where it might be more challenging to visit during our in-person events. Tours will couple the beauty of Wright’s designs with the compelling personal narratives of those who occupy, love and work hard to preserve these important buildings.

"How this event works: There will be two tour sessions each on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Sessions will take place at 12:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. CDT each day; see the list of tour destinations below for the schedule. Each session, featuring a single building, will take place live via Zoom, with time for interactive questions and discussion. A recording will be available to view shortly afterward. Only one registration per household is necessary. Registrants will receive access to an online event hub with links to all live sessions and recordings. If you have any questions or require assistance registering, please email preservation@savewright.org.

Registration rates:

Members $80

Non-Members $130 (includes a one year Friend-level membership)

Students $35

Chicago: Crossroads of Modern America

The 2021 National Symposium will be held online.

"As Docomomo US celebrates its 25th anniversary, we are headed back to where it all began, Chicago, Illinois. It was in 1995 that a group of volunteers gathered during the first Preserving the Recent Past conference to set in motion a Docomomo chapter in the United States. As we look back on 25 years of preserving modernism, we hope you will join Docomomo US and Docomomo US/Chicago VIRTUALLY for a deep dive of where we've been and what challenges lie in store.

"Join us for the 2020-21 Docomomo US National Symposium where we explore our thematic vision which views innovation and change through the lens of the Modern Movement. Experience Chicago's history and the prospects for the recognition, interpretation, preservation and the extension of these forms and ideas of modernism in the middle of America.

Vivian Maier took everyday moments and transformed them into something extraordinary. A discarded newspaper, a child resting her face in the sunlight of a ferry window, a scowling woman licking an ice cream cone outside a department store window―Maier’s photographs on the streets of Chicago and its suburbs encourage viewers to look beyond the ordinary.

Maier died before her life’s work was shared with the world. She left behind hundreds of prints, 100,000 negatives, and about a thousand rolls of undeveloped film, which were discovered when a collector purchased the contents of her storage lockers. There is no proof that she ever made a concerted effort to show her work to any dealers or other artists―gifting us the mystery of an elusive woman behind the camera.

Vivian Maier: In Color is a multimedia exhibition featuring 65 color images made during her time as a suburban Chicago nanny from the 1950s to 1970s, most of which have never been on display, as well as film clips, quotations, and sound bites.

Opening May 8, 2021

at the Chicago History Museum

The Most Endangered Building in Chicago [Thompson Center], Architecture w/Stewart Hicks. Image Credit: Stewart Hicks

"In this video, we visit Chicago's most endangered building--the Thompson Center--and discuss issues related to its preservation and impending demolition."

"Perhaps no building in Chicago is closer to a date with the wrecking ball than the Thompson Center. While those responsible for initiating this threat cite years worth of deferred maintenance and high costs of operation as the primary reasons for their decision, these are not the real reasons for the building’s demise. It suffers from a much more lethal ailment — treating it like a normal building. In this video, Stewart explains why the Thompson Center is definitely not a normal building and offers alternative ways to evaluate it. What if we considered it to be a piece of urban infrastructure or public plaza instead? Relating the building to Rem Koolhaas’ theory of ‘Bigness’, this video builds the case that the Thompson Center should be valued for how it brings people together in space rather than its colors, or material palette, or any other normal ways of evaluating mere buildings."

"Roseland’s South Michigan Avenue Commercial District is the commercial center and heart of this Far South Side community, located approximately 15 miles from downtown Chicago. Situated on a hilltop ridge, the corridor extends between 100th Street and the viaduct just south of 115th Street, with the central core of the existing commercial district located between 110th and 115th Streets.

"Once referred to by local residents as 'The Avenue,' the street’s viability as a commercial corridor began to deteriorate and fade in the mid-1970s. Over the decades, some historic buildings have been remodeled and covered with new facades, and many other notable and significant commercial buildings, which further helped to define the district, have been lost to demolition.

"However, it is important to protect, restore and reuse the remaining structures, many of them noteworthy in their overall design and materials. This would honor the legacy and history of this remarkable community and encourage a holistic approach to further promote economic revitalization along the South Michigan Avenue commercial corridor." (Preservation Chicago)

Special thanks to project partners including the Greater Roseland Chamber of Commerce, the Roseland Community, Andrea Reed, Alderman Beale, Open House Chicago, Chicago Architecture Center, and Preservation Chicago staff!

Host, Ward Miller, Executive Director of Preservation Chicago guides you on a tour of one of Lincoln Park's most important historic districts.

Learn how the district developed following the 1871 Great Chicago Fire: from modest frame homes to enormous mansions built by noted architects for prominent Chicago families.

Ward meets restoration expert, Susan Hurst with Bloom Properties for an exclusive tour of the newly restored Sarah Belle Wilson House at 522 W. Deming Place.

Features special guests, historian and Preservation Chicago board member, Diane Rodriguez; and Ed Vera, Formlinea Design+Build and Vera Rice Architects.

The Preservation Chicago 2021 Chicago 7 Most Endangered presentation was pivoted to a virtual platform due to the pandemic. The beautiful photos and mixed-media made the presentation the most polished to-date, but the attendance was truly remarkable. The maximum capacity of the virtual event was 1,000 registrations and it sold out. The presentation was viewed live by approximately 550. For those who missed the live event, the entire one hour presentation was recorded and has been posted on Preservation Chicago's website and YouTube channel.

The 2021 Chicago 7 Most Endangered announcement and presentation was held at noon on Wednesday, February 24, 2021. The event was held in partnership with the Chicago Architecture Center. In 2022, we hope to be able make the presentation in front of a live audience in a large venue with live virtual simulcast.

Since 2003, the “Chicago 7 Most Endangered” has sounded the alarm on imminently threatened Chicago historic buildings to mobilize the stakeholder support necessary to save them from demolition.

The Chicago 7 Most Endangered 2021 Reporting has been robust.

These are Chicago's 7 most endangered places; Preservation Chicago's annual list includes a Washington Park greystone that housed Black women during the Great Migration, and the lakefront, which faces “multiple threats," Dennis Rodkin, 2/24/21

City’s 7 ‘Most Endangered Buildings’ Of 2021 Unveiled By Preservation Chicago; Preservationists revealed their annual list of the seven places and spaces in Chicago they fear may be lost to demolition, development and Mother Nature Wednesday, Maxwell Evans, Block Club Chicago, 2/24/21

“Forever open, clear and free” aligns with the spirit of a core American ideal, and almost appears to reflect the words, expression and thoughts of the Founding Fathers of our Nation.

Yet this quote in its fullness “Public ground”—“A common, to remain forever open, clear and free of any buildings, or other obstructions,” was an early ideal and vision of our City’s earliest pioneers and legislators, to protect the Chicago Lakefront and to insure it was accessible to the public. Dating to a year before the City’s incorporation in 1836, this forward-thinking vision was adopted by our City and State, and land was set aside in Chicago for parkland, greenspace and open space near the early lakeshore to be enjoyed by all. In theory, this larger concept is a very democratic ideal.

However, after more than a century of additions and parkland improvements along the lakeshore, recent years have brought various changes and proposals to the Chicago Lakefront which have raised a new awareness of and genuine concerns for this most amazing resource. These extend from the Lakefront sites proposed for the 2016 Olympics which would have adversely impacted almost all of Chicago’s parks, and eliminating thousands of old-growth trees, while adding stadiums and other ancillary structures, to the additions to Soldier Field. Also extending these same adverse and harmful ideas to proposals such as the relocation of the Children’s Museum in Grant Park and the Lucas Museum in Burnham Park.

The proposed 20-acre Obama Presidential Center on the Lakefront in Jackson Park poses a special burden on this tenet of “forever open, clear and free.” We have a remarkable president whose roots are connected to Chicago, and we welcome a center named in his honor located in Chicago. However, the Jackson Park proposal for the Obama Presidential Center would result in a clearing of 20 acres of trees, parklands, recreational facilities and ball fields, many for children, to an expansion and widening of Lake Shore Drive and Stony Island Avenue, and impacting more than 400 trees to be cut and discarded. There is the possibility for the loss of more trees, wildlife habitats and migratory flyways for this development, along with roadway expansions and incursions into Jackson Park at both the east and west perimeters of the park. In reality the roadway closures adversely impact other areas of the park, where closed roads are replaced with new asphalt surfaces, thereby widening other nearby streets and Lake Shore Drive.

While Preservation Chicago welcomes the Obama Presidential Center to Chicago and to the South Side, we are of the opinion that nearby private non-parklands would be a more appropriate site for these large structures and this new presidential complex. We also acknowledge that the Chicago parks have fallen into terrible disrepair, with many buildings needing extensive repairs, and in some cases even complete reconstruction to address long-deferred maintenance. It often appears that parkland giveaways have become a remedy for reinvestment in our neglected parks and portions of our Lakefront, which is really tragic, as these should be priorities to protect, maintain and steward in perpetuity.

Also alarming and of great concern on the Chicago Lakefront are proposed plans for revisioning and an overhaul of North Lake Shore Drive, one of Chicago’s most beautiful thoroughfares. The overhaul plans would rethink the lakefront from Navy Pier near Grand Avenue at the south to Hollywood Avenue at its northernmost border. The project is called “Redefine the Drive: North Lake Shore Drive,” with studies conducted by both the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and the Chicago Department of Transportation(CDOT), has the potential to destroy and ruin many of the unique characteristics of this world-class boulevard and drive.

The Lake Shore Drive redefining proposals have included such concepts as removing many of the historic overpasses and bridges, with their scenic vistas, undulating and rolling perspectives as they rise and fall over the dramatic panoramic views of the downtown buildings, the parks and Lakefront. This proposal also extends to the straightening of many of the gentile curves, while also adding vast areas of landfill and high berms, which will often obscure views of Lake Michigan for motorists. It also proposes widening the thoroughfare in certain locations and an underground tunneling of huge areas of the drive from Navy Pier to Oak Street Beach along with some areas to the north. The tunneling for automobile traffic is equivalent to a deep and wide dry riverbed set within a depression in the earth, and it is more akin to sections of Interstate I-90 and I-94–the Dan Ryan Expressway, and I-290–the Eisenhower Expressway than a boulevard fronting parklands and Lake Michigan.

Other sections of Lake Shore Drive will be expanded, with medians and their planted trees cut and removed, shrubbery and perennials lost, and parkland and greenspace incursions in Lincoln Park for new and expanded entry, exit and bus ramps. Preservation Chicago is of the opinion that everyone should have the experience of Chicago’s parklands — whether by walking, jogging, bicycling, or even driving in an automobile. These parklands and Lakefront lands are special to all of us no matter how they are enjoyed in many various ways and experiences.

Yet these public lands and spaces are often looked upon by some as vacant lands expendable for private development when indeed these are developed lands as public places and recreational environments. Some of these lands have been dedicated to the public for more than 150 years, and most all of them for over a century. These are sacred places that belong to us all as a place of refuge, reflection and recreation. These parklands and shoreline allow for a break from our daily lives, and to once again commune with nature — refreshing and energizing one’s spirits. Unfortunately, these same public and sacred grounds are also subject to political giveaways and gifts by elected officials for pet projects, sometimes to the highest bidder. Instead, we should be converting more private lands to public and using air rights over rail yards to expand these parks and lakefront lands, and if necessary, build new museums and facilities on newly created parkland sites.

Preservation Chicago supports a commitment to the Chicago Lakefront and its many parks, realizing that this is a very special feature of Chicago and a gift to its citizens which is to last in perpetuity. We continue to be grateful for these amazing parks and the great asset of Lake Michigan, its shoreline mostly “forever open, clear and free for all.”

In the future, the laws protecting the parklands with the “forever open, clear and free to all, without obstruction” regulations in downtown Chicago, specifically Grant Park and elsewhere, should be extended to include protections in perpetuity to the entire Lakefront and Lakefront parks system.

We realize the challenges in managing the vast Lakefront lands, and we want to encourage partnerships realizing the costs associated with this massive endeavor. To that end, we want to encourage the City of Chicago and the Chicago Park District to pursue a national park designation for the entire Chicago Lakefront. Chicago can partner with the National Park Services to continue the legacy of protecting this precious resource for the enjoyment of all. Such an idea could lift and share the burden of maintenance of these sacred grounds, providing much-needed repairs to many of the park buildings and structures.

Some structures in Jackson Park, like the Daniel Burnham-designed Comfort Station on South Lake Shore Drive near 67th Street, are in a state of near total collapse. The Comfort Station’s roof is buckling and partially collapsed, with its concrete columns delaminating. Another Comfort Station, to the immediate south of the Museum of Science and Industry, is without a roof. Its massive fieldstone walls have been covered in blue tarps for more than two years. This is a sign of a lack of funding and resources to the parks, the long-term impacts of Tax Increment Financing projects and their unintended consequences to both our schools and our public lands and Lakefront.

The idea of a national park and shared responsibilities for these vast Lakefront parklands would allow for improved maintenance, less privatization of recreational lands and facilities, and access to more funds for new parklands in communities across Chicago. This concept would also free up funds for park programming and services for people of all ages.

The concept of a national park within the City limits of Chicago could be a huge asset, much like the Pullman National Monument on the City’s South Side potentially drawing additional tourism dollars to our City, which in turn supports both small and large businesses alike. National parks have a tremendous amount of visitors each year to different sites across the nation. The Pullman National Monument–a planned industrial development and community important for its links to architecture, planning, labor history, African-American history and Civil Rights, along with railroad history–is expected to draw 300,000 annual visitors when the former Administration and Clock Tower Building opens as a Visitor Center in the coming year. It would be a tremendous resource for Chicago to have two national parks within its borders, recognizing the significance of these public lands fronting one of the world’s largest freshwater resources–Lake Michigan.

Recently, the Indiana Dunes State Park and the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore became one of our most recent national parks. After years of talk and discussion by numerous politicians and scholars, — including United States Senator Paul Douglas, United States Senator Paul Simon, University of Chicago botanist Henry Cowles, and local resident Dorothy R. Buell of the Indiana Dunes Preservation Council — the Indiana Dunes National Park was realized. This national park stretches along 15 miles of the southern shore of Lake Michigan and includes 15,000 acres of beaches, lakefront, dunes and forested area, just 25 miles from Downtown Chicago.

Such ideas should be embraced for the Chicago Lakefront National Park. This could also encourage the former South Works-United States Steel Sites, now a vacant brownfield site, to be transformed into an extension of Chicago’s legendary Lakefront parks. It would fulfill a great obligation and long-term vision with the National Park Service and the Federal Government to assist in the clean-up of this former steel mill and industrial site. It would return these now-toxic land into a public amenity for the people of Chicago and its visitors.

Similarly, another toxic site exists near the mouth of the Chicago River, where it meets Lake Michigan, located close to Navy Pier in Downtown Chicago. This area of land has been promised to be developed into parkland for many years, and named in honor of Chicago’s first non-native settler, Jean Baptiste DuSable whose home was once located nearby. Recently, developers of several large high-rise building projects, near this site have been tasked with making this toxic brownfield a public park. However, to date those plans have not materialized. However, a U.S. National Park designation may provide the funds required to realize this vision honoring DuSable.

Preservation Chicago embraces the idea of converting, rather than demolishing, the Lakeside Center at McCormick Place into a Mid-South Side Fieldhouse and Cultural Center. Such a concept would engage this little-used convention center into an indoor extension of the Chicago Lakefront recreational areas and part of the Lakefront Trail. The large glass-walled halls could serve a variety of recreational programs, from indoor running tracks, basketball and tennis courts, and include both indoor and outdoor cafés and restaurant service.

As an alternative option, the large glass-walled convention halls with views of the Lakefront and Chicago skyline could also be used for large cultural exhibits, much like the aviation museums of a similar scale in Europe. The lower-level convention halls of the base plinth structure of the Lakeside Center could be repurposed for aquatics, perhaps containing Olympic-sized swimming pools, that could overlook Lake Michigan. Adding windows in the brick walls could transform spaces into additional training facilities, gymnasiums, and community rooms.

All of this could be coupled with a reactivated Arie Crown Theater—the City’s largest theater space—to join the building together as a “Mid-South Bronzeville Cultural Center.” The rooftop of the Lakeside Center, measuring the size of three football fields, could contain a running track, outdoor recreational facilities, a green roof and perhaps a solar-cell network to provide power for the facility. The same could also hold true for the plinth and outdoor platform area, adjacent to the large glass-walled convention rooms, and hold cafes and restaurants, health and wellness classes and be considered an extension of the Lakefront parks. Such ideas would foresee this building as perhaps the world’s largest fieldhouse and cultural center, all under one roof, in a building of great architectural significance.

Lakeside Center at McCormick Place, when constructed, was comparable in both its architectural and engineering achievements to the City’s tallest superstructures like the Sears Tower and John Hancock Building. It was designed by the seminal firm of C. F. Murphy, notable for many large buildings including the Chicago Landmark Richard J. Daley Center and Plaza, and under the direction of architect Gene Sommers and Helmut Jahn.

It is a remarkable structure, which has the possibility to be one of Chicago’s greatest Lakefront assets and turning what was a building on the Lakefront for conventions into a year-round fieldhouse and cultural facility—an extension of the Lakefront parks under roof. Such ideas would be revolutionary for the Mid-South/Bronzeville/Douglas Community and perhaps even more popular than Millennium Park. It would be in the vein of the famous Daniel Burnham quote: “Make no little plans!”

As the City of Chicago works across all levels to become a more equitable place, we need to honor and elevate African American sites of significance like the Phyllis Wheatley Club and Home.

A stalwart and resolute group of Black women in early 1900s Chicago joined together to create the Phyllis Wheatley Home, a program to house and educate other Black women and girls who either traveled to Chicago during the Great Migration or found themselves without stable housing. The well-known settlement houses at the time, like the Jane Addams Hull-House and the YWCA (Young Women’s Christian Association), were segregated and did not accommodate women of color. Recognizing the great risk that young women encountered when moving to an unfamiliar city, the founders of the Phyllis Wheatley Club created a safe haven for the flourishing development and protection of the young women they supported.

The third and final Phyllis Wheatley Home was built at 5128 S. Michigan Avenue. At its peak, it could house over 22 women and girls. It functioned as the Phyllis Wheatley Home for 50 years and has been in private ownership since the 1970s. In recent years, the 125-year-old home has suffered from deferred maintenance and significant water infiltration. A hearing is scheduled for March 16, 2021 in demolition court to address code violations. A plan for immediate action to stabilize and restore the home is essential to avoid a possible demolition order. The need is urgent to find a preservation solution to save this building which is a testament to the power of Black women and their role in addressing societal needs in 1900s Chicago.

We at Preservation Chicago continue to uncover additional stories of the extraordinary women in the Phyllis Wheatley Club and their work to improve the lives of African American women, girls, and the community at large.

Water infiltration and temperature fluctuations are always significant threats to historic buildings across the country. These same elements have harmed the Phyllis Wheatley Home. The roof is in need of full replacement as it is highly compromised. The home’s rear wall has greatly deteriorated and requires major repairs or perhaps complete reconstruction. Water damage and other failures have also wreaked havoc on the Wheatley Home’s interiors. However, the home’s basement, foundation, and remaining elevations appear to be in stable condition. Despite these many issues throughout the property, original wood cabinetry, decorative trim mouldings, doors, historic light fixtures, and the original wood staircases are all intact.

The current homeowners, Dr. Ariajo “JoAnn” Cobb Tate and Martin Tate, are committed to restoring the property and its important history, although they are struggling to secure the resources needed for a complete restoration and renovation of the building.

Without an immediate and viable plan for restoration, along with funding, the home could be potentially ordered demolished at its March 2021 hearing before the City of Chicago’s Buildings Division Court.

Chicago has an unfortunate record of demolishing settlement house buildings. Even the Hull-House, the most renowned settlement house in the city, suffered this fate—during the 1960s, all but two of its thirteen buildings were destroyed to make way for the University of Illinois at Chicago campus. As few sites of Black social settlements remain in Chicago or across the nation, preserving the Phyllis Wheatley Home is essential. Preservation advocates and the City of Chicago should prioritize elevating this history as we strive to embrace diversity, equity and inclusion in everything we do.

The Phyllis Wheatley Home is one of few surviving testaments to the power of Black women who were committed to being part of the solution toward housing and living conditions that were especially hard on Chicago’s Black residents. It is imperative that all divisions in the City of Chicago (especially the Building and Planning Departments) work with the current owners, the Alderwoman, the Washington Park community, and the preservation community to find a solution that will ensure its protection from demolition and a solid plan for its restoration.

The building’s estimated rehabilitation costs are roughly $700,000 for the necessary exterior repairs and range from $1 million to $1.5 million for the entire structure. These costs may exceed the post-rehabilitation value of the home, so public subsidies or philanthropic contributions will be required to make these substantial repairs.

Preservation Chicago is committed to working with all stakeholders to achieve a preservation outcome of restoring this place that tells the important story of Black women’s clubs, suffrage efforts, and settlement houses in Chicago. In a full circle moment of great synergy, a group of professional Black women has organized to find solutions to save the Wheatley Home. Preservation Chicago would be honored to support their work in every way we can.

Update: Preservation Chicago has been working with urgency to generate stakeholder support and emergency funding prior to the March 16 Building Court date. Due to the advocacy around this building, the building court date has been extended to July 14. Additionally, Preservation Chicago recommended the Phyllis Wheatley Home as a suggestion for Chicago Landmark Designation on January 26 at the Program Committee hearing of the Commission on Chicago Landmarks.

This year, the Cornell Store & Flats has been selected once more as a Chicago 7 Most Endangered after first being listed in 2017. Designed by Walter Burley Griffin, a prolific designer of both buildings and landscapes, this exceptional building is an outlier in Griffin’s career. Compared to his largely residential designs here in the United States and his city plans in Australia, the Cornell Store & Flats is the rare example of a combination commercial and residential Griffin-designed building.

The Cornell Store & Flats is located on once-bustling East 75th Street near its intersection with South Chicago Avenue. Considered by some architectural historians to be one of the most significant buildings in Chicago, this Prairie School structure has been beset by years of neglect. This has been further exacerbated by disinvestment in the neighborhood of Greater Grand Crossing, near the western border of the South Shore community. The building’s future has been uncertain since the passing of its long-time owner, even approaching permanent loss after entering demolition court in 2016. Preservation Chicago is of the opinion that with the right owner and development plan, a viable path for reuse exists for this irreplaceable structure.

In an additional effort to further spotlight the significance of the Cornell Store & Flats, our statewide preservation partner, Landmarks Illinois, listed it as one of the “Most Endangered Historic Places in Illinois” in 2016. Still, the building remains vacant and further deteriorating with each year that passes. We are hopeful that the Cornell Store & Flats can still be preserved and repurposed, ensuring that this landmark by one of the country’s most accomplished architects continues to serve its community long into the future.

Due to deferred maintenance and disinvestment in the neighborhoods of Greater Grand Crossing and South Shore, the Cornell Store & Flats remains in as precarious a position as it did when it was first listed as a Chicago 7 in 2017, if not worse. As each winter passes, additional decay erodes the building. Of additional concern is the fact that the site is largely unsecured: unlocked front gates allow access to a rear entrance where the absence of a door allows unrestricted entry. This leaves the Cornell Store & Flats vulnerable to occurrences of vandalism or destruction. The building has been in demolition court once already—a second time may further jeopardize the future of the Cornell Store & Flats.

Preservation Chicago enthusiastically supports the designation of the Cornell Store & Flats as an official Chicago Landmark. Numerous Griffin-designed buildings have already been Landmarked including multiple houses in the Walter Burley Griffin Place District within the Beverly community. Landmarking the Cornell Store & Flats would be another logical testament to Griffin’s place in Chicago’s architectural legacy.

It is additionally crucial to the survival of the Cornell Store & Flats that its current owners, South Shore Management LLC, make progress towards renovation or transfer the property to an owner with clear plans for restoration.

Returning the site to a residential and retail mixed-use purpose, for example, would serve the local neighborhood and honor the legacy of the Cornell Store & Flats’ original design. As an additional incentive, because the site is adjacent to the 75th Street/Grand Crossing Metra station, a transit-oriented development here could secure additional state or federal funding. The building should also be explored for potential as a transit hub and train station for both the Metra Electric and South Shore train lines, and perhaps a bus line, serving both Chicago and nearby suburbs.

Preservation Chicago is confident that there are multiple opportunities for a redevelopment project that will ensure the retention and reuse of the Cornell Store & Flats while also investing in the communities of Greater Grand Crossing and South Shore.

Another grand Masonic Temple, designed by Clarence Hatzfeld, the architect of the now-demolished South Side Masonic Temple, could be headed toward demolition as well.

Despite decades of being vacant, there is no denying the grand building on the southeast corner of 91st and Exchange is extraordinary and worth exploration for adaptive reuse potential. With $26 million being invested in the former South Chicago YMCA just two blocks east, this is a great opportunity to further spur redevelopment with a plan to restore the South Chicago Masonic Temple.

The Classical Revival 1916 Temple was designed by noted Chicago architect Clarence Hatzfeld. Hatzfeld designed several Chicago Park District fieldhouses, and has 30 properties listed in the Chicago Historic Resources Survey either under his name individually or his firm, Hatzfeld & Knox.

Years of vacancy have left the South Chicago Masonic Temple in a badly deteriorated state. Even while in use, maintenance appears to have been lax on the building. The property taxes have remained unpaid since Tax Year 2010. The annual tax statement due on the property is now over $100,000. Tax bills and notices sent to the owner of record have been returned to the County, giving the impression that the current owners have walked away from this building.

The property was listed for sale, but the $750,000+ price tag likely exceeds the value of the building in light of the extensive work needed to restore it to a viable reuse. The prior listing agent has noted that she is no longer the agent for the South Chicago Masonic Temple.

Despite the disinvestment and blight which overwhelmed the South Chicago community after the closing of the steel mills, there are positive indicators that the neighborhood has tremendous redevelopment potential. South Chicago was chosen as one of the City of Chicago’s INVEST South/West communities, and redevelopment of the shuttered YMCA at 3039 E. 91st Street into affordable housing represents an estimated $26 million investment in the immediate area. Claretian Associates, in partnership with Interfaith Housing Development Corporation, is also planning a 78-unit affordable housing development at 3211-3229 E. 92nd Street. The $30 million development is expected to be complete in 2023.

Redeveloping the South Chicago Masonic Temple would have a great impact on the immediate commercial area. The building sits adjacent to the Chicago Family Health Center, a thriving health facility with several locations throughout Chicago.

The City of Chicago can package INVEST South/West incentives and resources for a catalytic redevelopment project in South Chicago. Placing this property back into a vibrant use would further advance historic preservation as an economic development engine in the community. South Chicago has its share of vacant land, and it is well-represented by strip mall-like development. Keeping this history and character alive will contribute to a revitalized South Chicago – one that values its history as it grows stronger.

In the immediate area of the South Chicago Masonic Temple are at least two other vacant buildings, facing an uncertain future, that could be grouped together in a larger redevelopment plan.

Eckhart & Swan Company Mill/ B.A. Eckhart Mill/ ADM Wheat Mill, Flanders and Zimmerman, 1897 with later additions, 1300 West Carroll Avenue in West Loop/Fulton Market District. Photo Credit: Serhii Chrucky

In the late 19th and early 20th century, Chicago’s Loop central business district was surrounded by a ring of fine-quality industrial buildings. Often these loft buildings were of mill construction, and typically employed masonry construction on its exterior facades, with a heavy timber structure behind. This was later followed by fire-proof reinforced concrete construction methods, to accommodate the heavy loading required by many industrial uses of the era. These structures are often characterized by a brick façade and expansive windows to maximize natural light. Ceiling heights were tall, often ranging from 10 to 14 feet. They are typically low to mid-rise, often between three to seven stories and have a wide footprint.

Ornament in industrial buildings is typically restrained for reasons of economy, but many exhibit a high level of architectural design. Pride of ownership likely contributed to the attractive design. These industrial buildings were typically owned and built by the business owner and as such, the buildings came to represent the company to visitors including customers, vendors, and professionals. Additionally, these buildings served as collateral for business loans to support growth. As a result, many of Chicago’s finest architects were commissioned to design these buildings.

Henry J. Schlacks is best known for designing some of Chicago’s most beautiful Roman Catholic churches. Certainly, there were vast differences between designing religious buildings and an industrial building. When he was hired in 1902 to design a new factory and headquarters for the Tyler & Hippach Glass Company Building, Schlacks applied his architectural brilliance to this very different genre and focused on material, massing, and composition. The results were an impressive building and an outstanding example of the “Chicago School or the Chicago Commercial style.”

The same design elements that were so important to industrial users in the late 19th century, including wide, open floor plans, expansive windows to maximize natural light, tall ceilings, and fireproof construction are many of the same design elements that are important to contemporary residential developers and residents. This helps to explain the success and desirability of many of the Chicago School Industrial buildings that have been converted to condos or apartments.

While many Chicago School Industrial buildings have been successfully converted to residential or office lofts, those that remained industrial have more recently been targeted for demolition and replacement by developers of high-rise residential or office towers. The proximity to the Loop central business district makes the location attractive to developers looking to convert an industrial use to a residential or office use. Additionally, the typical wide footprint covered by a single building and owned by a single entity creates an ideal site for a new high-rise tower which requires a large parking garage on the lower floors.

Chicago School industrial buildings are highly adaptable for residential or office use, but the critical factor that determines whether a developer will choose conversion or demolition is typically the underlying zoning. If the height allowed by the zoning generally matches the existing building, then developers typically find it more economical to adaptively reuse the existing historic building and convert it to residential or office.

However, if there is a zoning mismatch where the underlying zoning allows for a building that is twice, five times, or even 10 times taller than the existing building, this essentially ensures the demolition of the historic building. The potential profits from a 25-story building versus a five-story building are simply overwhelming. Regardless of the quality or significance of the building, even if the historic building were built of solid gold, the zoning mismatch seals the ultimate fate of the structure and condemns it to demolition. The primary method to redirect these powerful market forces into a more preservation-sensitive direction are to adjust zoning to match the historic buildings or in certain extraordinary cases to designate the building as a Chicago Landmark.

The Eckhart & Swan Company/ B.A. Eckhart Milling /ADM Wheat Mill and Silo complex at 1300 West Carroll Avenue at the west end of the Fulton Market District is an amazing series of buildings which should have been creatively reused for an innovative development. The existing 250,000-square-foot ADM mill facility sits on a 2.2-acre site and includes a series of brick loft buildings ranging from three to six stories tall and a soaring concrete structure with more than a dozen silos. The oldest buildings in the complex were built in 1897 and were designed by William Carbys Zimmerman and John J. Flanders. It was reportedly the largest mill in Illinois at the time it was built.

The grain elevator was designed by M. A. Lang in 1927 and the grain silos were built by Bulley and Andrews in 1948. The complex was in constant operation until it was shuttered by ADM in 2019. It was reported to be Chicago’s last active grain elevator.

Shortly after Archer Daniels Midland announced plans to close the historic wheat plant in June 2017, the property was sold to Sterling Bay, one of the most active developers in the Fulton Market District and Chicago. Preservation Chicago met with Sterling Bay to encourage adaptive reuse of at least some portion of the historic building complex. Sterling Bay has experience with the adaptive reuse of historic buildings, and initial renderings released by Sterling Bay in January 2020 indicated the adaptive reuse of the 6-story mill building and a few of the silos.

Preservation Chicago would have celebrated the development if it had proceeded per the rendering. It would have been a creative adaptive reuse that recognized and honored this interesting building and the Chicago history it represents.It also would have represented a significant investment in the construction of a large, modern office building.

But the renderings were only conceptual and aspirational. With no protections in place to prevent demolition of the historic building, a demolition permit was applied for, issued, and demolition commenced the following day in February 2021. When pressed, Sterling Bay admitted that they planned to clear the entire site.

Experience developers know that it is far easier to develop a vacant lot than to replace a historic building, so they often will seek to demolish historic buildings prior to beginning the process of seeking approval for a new construction project. This way community stakeholders will be presented with the option of supporting either a building or a vacant lot.

The timing of the demolition is unfortunate, but not surprising. Neither the specific development plan nor the necessary increased zoning request has yet been presented by the developer to the City, Alderman, or neighborhood. By the time these stakeholders have an opportunity to comment on the proposed development, all of the historic elements will have been demolished. Any potential future negotiation to grant a highly valuable zoning increase in exchange for preserving some of the historic building has been eliminated by the timing of the demolition.

Preservation Chicago recommends that the City of Chicago eliminate this problematic “scorched earth” loophole. If the demolition permit and construction permit were issued simultaneously, this issue would be addressed. One of the potential solutions is the City could require a two-year freeze on zoning increases for properties after they demolish a building 50 years or older, unless the demolition permit and construction permit were issued simultaneously. Another option would be to mandate detailed review of all demolition requests for buildings 50 years or older. Recommend reuse where appropriate, and place greater fees and building material reclamation requirements to foster more opportunities to consider reuse.

The Tyler & Hippach Mirror Company Factory / Wm. J. Cassidy Tire Building, located at 344 N. Canal Street, is threatened with demolition to make way for a new 33-story apartment tower.

Tyler & Hippach Glass Company was founded in 1887 and produced high quality glass and mirrors for furniture companies in Chicago and across the country. In 1902, they hired renowned architect Henry J. Schlacks to design their new headquarters and factory on Clinton Street. Schlacks was a highly accomplished architect who is better known for designing many of Chicago’s most beautiful churches. He was no stranger to commercial architecture and began his architectural career working in the office of Dankmar Adler & Louis Sullivan. The building is an excellent example of a “Chicago School” or “Chicago Commercial Style” and is a fine example of a steel-framed structure of its era.

The Chicago & North Western Rail Company purchased the building from Tyler & Hippach and made plans to move the entire 6,000-ton structure approximately 220 feet to the south and east. William Grace & Company was hired, and they brought in Harvey Sheeler, a highly regarded engineer and building mover, to prepare plans to move the massive brick factory building. Sheeler had patented a system for moving large and heavy objects on steel rollers, a system which was celebrated for its great successes.

In 1908, tracks, screw jacks and teams of workers were assembled to move the building 52 feet south and 168 feet east to the building’s current location at 344 North Canal. At the time, Sheeler claimed it was the largest building ever moved. Others marveled that not a single crack formed in the masonry or that even one brick was loosened.

Preservation Chicago believes the building could be considered for Chicago Landmark designation as it was designed by a prominent architect. Other structures by Henry Schlacks are protected under a Chicago Landmark designation, and this is a rare surviving example of an industrial building by him.

Preservation Chicago has encouraged the City of Chicago to take steps to create a Chicago Landmark designation and encourage the developer to incorporate the Cassidy/Tyler & Hippach Glass Company Building into the larger residential development proposed for this site. There is ample room for both new and old to coexist.

Due to skyrocketing valuations, the Salvation Army is planning to sell it’s building complex at 509 N. Union Avenue. The Salvation Army had considered renovating the four buildings on the site, but ultimately decided to offer the property for sale. The complex of buildings is expected to sell for between $30 million and $40 million. The underlying zoning would allow new development much taller and denser than the existing structures.

The Wrigley Lodge / Salvation Army Building is a unique blend of two distinct architectural styles. A soaring Streamline Modern element joins the 5-and 6-story red brick industrial lofts to create wonderfully balanced asymmetry. The result is an iconic building. Its distinctive appearance and important history make this building an important one to save.

The Wrigley Lodge served as a homeless shelter throughout the Great Depression and World War II. Following the war, it increasingly served as a veterans’ rehabilitation center to assist returning servicemen.

After the war, the Salvation Army began a fundraising campaign to remodel the building, and on December 9, 1947, a permit was issued for the alterations. It was remodeled in the Streamline Moderne style including the striking, asymmetric, vertical entryway with glass block and rounded corners.

Once an important element of Chicago’s historic urban skyline, the number of rooftop water tanks in Chicago has declined steeply. However, the Salvation Army water tank atop the building was restored in 2017. The Salvation Army is to be commended for restoring the building’s highly visible and iconic rooftop water tower and saving an important remnant of a once ubiquitous part of Chicago’s cityscape.

Due to skyrocketing valuations, the Salvation Army is planning to sell the building complex at 509 N. Union Avenue. The underlying zoning would allow new development much taller and denser than the existing structures. It is likely that a developer would demolish the historic buildings and clear the site.

The Salvation Army building is an outstanding structure that should be protected and preserved as part of any redevelopment of the site. Preservation Chicago encourages the Salvation Army, 27th Ward Alderman Walter Burnett, and the City of Chicago to make this a requirement upfront so that potential buyers will accommodate this in their plans from the outset.

Last year, Preservation Chicago announced the selection of the Central Manufacturing District’s Pershing Road District as part of our Chicago 7 Most Endangered list. This year, the Central Manufacturing District’s Original East District (CMD East) has been selected for inclusion. CMD East was in fact the precursor to the Pershing Road District and served as a first chapter in the story of the development whose financial success ensured the construction of CMD Pershing Road just over a decade later.

The Central Manufacturing District was the nation’s first planned industrial park, a revolutionary design that gathered many of the city’s manufacturing powers together in one localized region. The concept and idea was such a well-executed experiment that it further spurred on Chicago’s industrial might and inspired imitations throughout the nation in the first half of the 20th century. Its significant historical background is further bolstered by the robust architectural heritage found throughout CMD East. Designed in a variation of styles that include Art Deco, Gothic Revival, Prairie School, Classical Revival, and Mid-Century Modern, Central Manufacturing District’s Original East District is unlike any other architectural complex and grouping in Chicago.

CMD East is a crucial and irreplaceable artifact of industrial history and design both in Chicago and the United States. Unfortunately, without designation as a Chicago Landmark District, CMD East is threatened by a combination of demolition and neglect. While recent efforts to help protect the district have increased, those efforts are still insufficient. In an effort to acknowledge the importance of this site and the need for its continued preservation and maintenance, CMD East was listed in 2015 on the National Register of Historic Places with support from Preservation Chicago and our statewide preservation partner, Landmarks Illinois.

The greatest danger confronting the CMD East is that of rampant demolition unrestricted by any historic protections. Nowhere is this clearer than along the district’s western boundary of South Ashland Avenue, which is marked by multiple vacant parcels where once stood impressive hubs of industry. A 32-acre lot at the corner of South Ashland Avenue and West 35th Street, owned by real estate investment company Avgeris and Associates, has been the site of some of the most widespread demolition in CMD East. These losses include the Wrigley Company’s historic factory and the Larkin Company Building, which housed both the Larkin Soap Company and Jewel Food Stores during its long history.

The demolition of the Wrigley Company’s factory was the final act in a series of missteps that could have been easily prevented by a Chicago Landmark designation. In 2002, the City of Chicago agreed to provide the Wrigley Company $16 million worth of incentives to remain in Chicago, build additional facilities on Goose Island, and keep their historic factory open. However, the city never secured a written promise from Wrigley. Once Wrigley was acquired by Mars Inc. in 2005, it was announced that the factory would be sold. Its demolition began in 2013, a year after being purchased by Avgeris & Associates, with the company claiming that the razing was “safety related.” In the absence of any historic protections, the demolition moved ahead with no ordinances in place to delay it.

The most pressing issue facing CMD East is demolition, a danger that can be countered by designating it a Chicago Landmark District. Although CMD East is indeed listed under the National Register of Historic Places, this honor still leaves it vulnerable to the wrecking ball—a reality made clear by this year’s loss of the Larkin Company Building. Preservation Chicago wholeheartedly supports the protection of the area’s remaining structures through the creation of a CMD East Historic Landmark District. The recent Landmarking of the Spiegel Administration Building is an encouraging sign that Landmark status can and should be extended to the remaining structures of the CMD’s Original East District.

Furthermore, there are numerous buildings that exist within or on the periphery of the official CMD East boundaries outlined by the National Register of Historic Places that we at Preservation Chicago feel are worthy of inclusion in future advocacy efforts. Even if these structures do not fall within the official scope of CMD East’s development, they contribute to the historical and architectural continuity of the district. We would be remiss to ignore these buildings as part of any future Landmark designations as they strengthen the district’s cohesion and paint a fuller picture of CMD East and its environs. (Link to list)

In keeping with the spirit of the Central Manufacturing District’s mission to support smaller businesses and serve the Chicago area, we feel that CMD East offers opportunities to invest in the nearby McKinley Park and Bridgeport communities. Vacant structures could easily be adaptively reused as a myriad of uses including: housing, dining, commercial offices, art and performance studios, and educational spaces.

To further support adaptive reuse developments, the City of Chicago must make it policy to deny demolition permits when future plans have not been approved and financing has not been secured. Since the Chicago Historic Resources Survey overlooks countless historic buildings, policies like these could function as additional roadblocks to demolition so as to avoid the unimpeded loss of our built environment. Demolition as a first option leaves our city scarred by vacant lots, accelerating disinvestment and blight. Instead, requiring clearly defined proposals for what a developer or owner plans to do with a historic property is imperative for the retention of these irreplaceable structures, both in CMD East and across Chicago.

We also support the option of employing architecturally sensitive infill development to densify CMD East and eliminate many of the vacant lots in the area. Replacement developments such as the proposed Amazon distribution center or the ComEd training center next door solve the problem of vacant parcels but detract from the visual and historic fabric of CMD East. Through thoughtful design and community-sensitive uses, we can create additional space for local communities that is still true to the spirit of this revolutionary district. Reuse developments of industrial areas have been shown time and again to be popular destinations for local businesses and communities, both worldwide and here in Chicago. We are confident the same is possible at CMD East.

This year, for a second time since 2019, Preservation Chicago has chosen to spotlight the consolidation, deconsecration, combining, closure and sale of many of our City’s finest religious structures. We are focusing once again on the decisions by the Archdiocese of Chicago to consolidate or close so many parishes and churches.

These immensely beautiful structures were constructed at great cost, and often at significant sacrifice, with pennies, nickels and dimes, by the faithful of the community. They are often the very cornerstones of our communities and neighborhoods, throughout Chicago. In addition to their sheer beauty and providing the necessary space for religious services for worship, they are also community centers, providing everything from food pantries, shelter services, counseling and child care. In days of the past, and even today in some places, a resident may refer to their parish church and community to define the neighborhood in which they live.

When one of these churches close and the parish is disbanded, relocated or merged, the impact is often felt hard and even beyond the traditional borders of a community–by the community at large. It’s not only the loss of an institution, but the loss of human services, often a lifeline to both families and individuals. These closings, consolidations, sale of buildings and sometimes demolitions, are painful in every way, and the loss of these institutions and their sacred spaces, should not occur in such ways and in such magnitude.

In 1980 the Archdiocese of Chicago had 447 parishes, with 278, which may have been perhaps closer to 298 in Chicago and 169 in the suburbs. At the time their records indicated an estimated 2,341,500 parishioners in total within the Chicago Metropolitan Area, according to their documents, making it still the largest Catholic Archdiocese in the nation. In the years since, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles has become the largest Archdiocese in the nation, with Chicago second in the number of congregants.

Current trends have noted a drop in population and attendance across almost all faith communities in recent decades, due to a number of factors, resulting in the painful loss of these houses of worship and the communities of people which are often left behind. While the architecture and preservation community may not be able to address these issues of faith, we can assist in the preservation and reuse of these many buildings, which in themselves are cornerstones and landmarks in our communities across Chicago and elsewhere.

Since its beginnings, the Archdiocese of Chicago has closed approximately 110 churches and parishes in just the city limits of Chicago, until about 2019, with approximately 57 of the 110 churches also demolished over time. In 2020-2021 the program “Renew My Church,” under Cardinal Cupich is responsible for more than 88 churches and parishes are scheduled to consolidate, merge and close, with 25 of the 88 to be sold. This does not include the ancillary structures of convents, rectories or school buildings, which in total are potentially hundreds of properties. The magnitude of these closings have been devastating, and what appeared to be a rock-solid institution, here for the ages—in perpetuity and along with these massive Diocesan organizations stewarding these basilicas of faith, have also fallen sharply. Something must be done to save these sacred structures and several non-profit organizations are challenging these consolidations, closings and the sale of structures in the Vatican. These 19 cases, all from the greater Chicago metropolitan area, are the largest number of Canon Law filings challenging any archdiocese in the United States.

The individuals involved in these legal actions are parishioners seeking to save their parishes, their communities and their sacred shrines. Assistance is offered though pro-bono services of a Canon Law attorney and these cases are filed in English, translated into Italian and then once again into Ecclesiastical Latin, where they are debated each third Thursday of the calendar month, before the Vatican Courts. When a verdict is reached it is translated from Latin, to Italian and then to English, where it is then conveyed back to the parishioners. In some instances elsewhere in the United States, Canon Law rules and structures have not been properly followed, or violations have been observed occurring in these closings, resulting in a wide volume of churches and parishes reopened.

Canon Law also suggests that if faith options for the church buildings exist and are aligned with Catholic liturgy, for them to be gifted or first offered to another owner or religious body for the continuation of the faith. Those rules are oftentimes not shared as an option, and adherence to such policies are sometimes further challenged and debated.

Furthermore, protecting religious structures in Chicago has been extremely difficult since the introduction of the religious buildings consent ordinance of 1987, introduced to the Chicago City Council, by former Alderman Burton Natarus. This City Ordinance was invoked to protect the plans of the Fourth Presbyterian Church on North Michigan Avenue from potentially replacing one of its ancillary Gothic-Revival inspired structures with a new tall residential building.

The theory was that a Chicago Landmark Designation of the church and its complex, could potentially prohibit such plans from materializing, which could also be an additional future source of income for the well-to-do church. As time passed, it was clear that the Near North Side neighbors were not pleased with such plans and the tall residential building concept was shelved. In its place on the site of the demolished ancillary Gothic structures has risen a community center structure, which has had tremendous benefits.

Yet the damage of the religious buildings consent ordinance has continued to hamper efforts to give Chicago Landmark Designation to active congregations and their historic religious buildings, without their consent. In almost every instance, the Archdiocese of Chicago has refused designation of its most amazing church properties and has often greatly challenged attempts to Landmark its buildings. This all despite these are viewed as shared community assets, often built and gifted to them by parishioners, yet those assets like the Landmark Buildings of our City are not allowed to be honored, shared and designated and become official Chicago Landmarks, with all of the accolades and protections offered our Landmark buildings in Chicago. This is very unfortunate on so many levels.

Preservation Chicago has been working to preserve many of Chicago’s historic buildings since our founding, twenty years ago in 2001. This preservation advocacy work has extended to religious buildings, churches, synagogues and houses of worship since our early years.

Preservation efforts and campaigns include the Landmarking of the former St. Clara-St. Cyril/St. Gelasius, now known as The Shrine of Christ the King, and the Minnekirken Chicago—The Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church on Logan Square. Also, advocacy efforts to preserve St. James Roman Catholic Church on South Wabash Avenue (demolished), Anshe Keneseth Israel on West Douglas Boulevard (demolished), Stone Temple Baptist Church, originally known as the First Romanian Synagogue and the site of many visits by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., which is now a Landmark, The Episcopal Church of the Epiphany, the Landmark building now to be reopened as the Epiphany Center for the Arts. The list also continues to include Agudas Achim North Shore Congregation Synagogue (converted to residential), St. Peter Episcopal Church on Belmont Avenue, the Church of the Advent on Logan Boulevard (converted to residential), which is also a Designated Chicago Landmark. Efforts to save, preserve and Landmark St. Adalbert in Pilsen, All Saints-St. Anthony in Bridgeport, St. Michael the Archangel in South Shore-“The Bush ” and 17 others have been ongoing. These are just several of the religious structures that have been part of our advocacy efforts, with many more in which we have provided supporting testimony towards a Chicago Landmark Designation.

We want to encourage the Archdiocese of Chicago to consider inviting other Religious Orders to Chicago, as was done under the direction of Cardinal Francis George, OMI (1937-2015), in the past, to occupy and staff many of these remarkable and sacred structures, when the Archdiocese can no longer support them. Many of these buildings can be retained and reused as chapels, monasteries, places of contemplation, retreat houses and sites, and a retreat from a visitor’s hectic traverses of the day.

We at Preservation Chicago are also requesting that the 1987 religious buildings consent ordinance be overturned, as for 34 years, all other buildings and structures in the City of Chicago can be considered for Chicago Landmark Designation without the consent of the owner. Yet this special provision and ordinance applies unfairly to buildings in which religious services are conducted, often creating an unbalanced playing field. This ordinance hamstrings many potential Chicago Landmark Designations, of some of the City’s finest buildings, some constructed by the same world-famous architects of our downtown Landmarks.

We are also of the opinion that since many of these structures were gifted to organizations like the Archdiocese of Chicago, by the many faithful, that they should not vigorously challenge such efforts, but share them with the community and work with parishioners and the community to determine a path to preserving these sacred places and buildings.

Additionally, if it is determined that a church or house of worship can no longer function in such a capacity by all stakeholders and the City, plans should be considered to encourage cultural reuses for these most sacred structures. Such reuse efforts may include a reuse as concert venues, music centers, cultural centers for the community and other such respectful uses.

After all, many of these religious structures, and in this particular case, Roman Catholic Churches are often cornerstones and visual gateways, which are so associated with our communities across Chicago. They are worth the effort and robust conversations to find alternative owners and potential and creative reuses for these magnificent structures, which were built for the ages and designed to inspire all who gaze upon them in perpetuity.

The following Roman Catholic Churches are to be consolidated, closed or sold and are of great concern to us at Preservation Chicago and to the larger communities of our City.

Highlighted Endangered Catholic Churches include:

Due to popular demand, the 2020 Thompson Center “Chicago 7 Most Endangered” poster is now available for sale on the Preservation Chicago webstore.

Previous years' “Chicago 7 Most Endangered” posters including Union Station Power House, Jackson Park, and Holy Family Church are also available. The posters are available in three sizes; 8x10, 16x20 and 24x36.

Additionally, we've begun to offer additional Chicago 7 swag including mugs and bags featuring the wonderful Chicago 7 artwork. Please let us know what you’d like to see offered, and we can work to make it happen.

Please note that between 30% and 40% of the sales price helps to support Preservation Chicago and our mission.