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Chicago’s Early Chicago Skyscrapers are currently being considered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Yet, the Feds just earmarked $52 MILLION taxpayers dollars to DEMOLISH two outstanding Early Chicago Skyscrapers and replace them with...a permanent gravel lot!

And just as the historic buildings are on the verge of being beautifully restored!

After two years of planning, the Chicago Collaborative Archives Center adaptive reuse plan has strong support from dozens of archives from across the nation and is ready to go.

Unlike the rejected 2018 residential adaptive reuse plan which raised security concerns for the adjacent courthouse, the new reuse plan was specifically designed to meet or exceed security related issues, including bricked up rear windows and limited access to upper floors.

So after being vacant and mothballed for over twenty years, the fate of the historic Century and Consumers Buildings is about to be determined.

After twenty years of advocacy, it all comes down to two little words that will determine the fate of these historic skyscrapers.

Adding "or renovation" to the bill currently before Congress is all that is needed to allow the restoration plan to move forward.

These proud and elegant Chicago School skyscrapers are located on State Street in the vibrant and thriving heart of Chicago’s Loop. The 16-story Century Building was built in 1915 and designed by Holabird and Roche. The 22-story Consumers Building was built in 1913 and designed by Jenney, Mundie & Jensen. Both are on listed on the National Register for Historic Places.

In 2005, the Federal Government took ownership of these buildings through its power of eminent domain with plans to renovate and reuse these buildings. But due to the lack of federal funding, the renovation never happened.

But all will be lost if the $52 million dollars of federal funds are used to demolish the Century and Consumers Buildings and replace them with a permanent gravel lot.

1. We encourage Congress to add "or renovation" to the appropriations bill currently moving through Congress and Save the Century & Consumers Buildings!

2. We encourage the Illinois Delegation in Washington D.C. including Senator Dick Durbin (202-224-2152), Senator Tammy Duckworth (202-224-2854), and Congressman Danny Davis (202-225-5006) to take urgent action to support this effort.

3. We encourage the City of Chicago to take immediate steps to designate the Century and Consumers Buildings as Chicago Landmarks which would protect them from demolition.

Read more about the threats to the Century & Consumers Buildings at:

"Ward Miller, in a manner of speaking, is on a mission from God.

"Mind you, Miller does not claim an endorsement from the Almighty in the task before him as executive director of Preservation Chicago, a group that argues for the merit and reuse of our town’s architectural heritage. But many might see it that way as they learn the details of his latest cause.

"Preservation Chicago has had its hits and misses, like any advocacy group. It tends to get under the skin of developers who, in relentless pursuit of 'highest and best use' for real estate and cash, find it easier to consign old buildings to landfills. Miller, who can be imagined carrying a mighty staff of authority, finds himself in a new 'save these buildings' crusade. Except that he’s not seeking justice from the throne of private enterprise. This time, his appeal is to the federal government.

"Miller wants to rescue the two early 20th-century high-rises at 202 and 220 S. State St. They are skinny buildings that long ago appealed to small shops and professional firms, but the floor layouts are poor for workplaces today. The ornamented buildings have been empty for years and have deteriorated.

"The federal government owns them and wants them destroyed because they back up against the Dirksen Federal Building, 219 S. Dearborn St., and those floors, occupied or not, mean a security risk. Some windows look out onto judges’ chambers and jury rooms.

"Miller believes he has a solution for preservation and safety. The buildings could be renovated as a collaborative archives center, mostly for religious orders or similar groups. He contends there is actual demand for this unusual use and can cite support to back that up.

"'Archives don’t need direct sunlight. In fact, sunlight is bad for records,' he said. The problematic windows at 202 and 220 S. State, known respectively as the Century and the Consumers buildings, could be sealed off or bricked over.

"It’s a possible answer to an issue that has vexed city and federal agencies for years. Security concerns killed a plan former Mayor Rahm Emanuel pushed to convert the buildings to small apartments.

"The argument about the buildings hit the pages of the Chicago Sun-Times, where all thoughtful debates should occur. Our architecture critic, Lee Bey, on April 2 wrote the feds would be irresponsible if they tore down the buildings. They are part of State Street’s qualification for the National Register of Historic Places and demolition would waste good architecture, Bey wrote.

"Malachy McCarthy, archivist at the Claretian Missionaries in Chicago, has worked with Miller on his idea. McCarthy said several communities of the Franciscan Order are committed to the project or interested. The Episcopal Church archives in Austin, Texas, need a permanent home and leaders there are listening to pitches about the project, he said.

"Centralized archives mean cost sharing for religious orders that want to care for their records, some older than the country itself, and yet are challenged by an aging membership, McCarthy said. “This archives center could be a treasure trove for serious urban research and scholarly work,” he said.

"Miller and McCarthy said a suburban university might take space in the buildings. Other users could include museums or private collections. JLK Architects and the engineering firm Thornton Tomasetti have been helping the project, they said.

"The General Services Administration manages federal property. In a statement, the GSA said it 'will engage with potential consulting parties and evaluate viable alternatives' for the buildings as part of a review required by the National Historic Preservation Act. It said it expects public meetings to start in late summer.

"There are a lot of independent groups to wrangle here, and religious orders will need to make financial commitments. If this works, call it divine intervention on a civic matter. We could use more of that in these parts.(Roeder, Chicago Sun-Times, 5/9/22)

"Several historic buildings could pose a 'clear and present danger' to federal judges, jurors, witnesses and others who find themselves at the Dirksen Federal Building in downtown Chicago. That’s according to a memo chief judge Ruben Castillo sent in 2018 to the Attorney General asking him to block the transfer of the property to a private developer who wanted to restore the long-vacant Century and Consumers Buildings on State Street.

"It was the latest chapter in a tug of war for control of the site between the federal government, the City of Chicago and preservationists that has lasted more than 15 years. Meanwhile, the buildings are vacant and deteriorating while taxpayers foot a bill that has already run into the tens of millions of dollars.

"'It’s another Block 37 in the making,' said Preservation Chicago’s Ward Miller, a reference to an entire city block that sat vacant for decades in the heart of the Loop. 'It’s going to be another 30 years before something is developed on that property.'

"The federal government purchased four buildings in the 200 Block of South State Street and along Quincy Court for $22 million in 2005. It came after the FBI said it foiled a plot to blow up the Dirksen courthouse with a truck bomb.

"The General Services Administration, which owns and operates property for the government, said it wanted to create a 'security buffer' around the courthouse. There was a plan to renovate the buildings for use as office space for federal workers. Turns out, the government didn’t need the space.

"A GSA spokesperson says the agency spends as much as $800,000 a year maintaining the property, including $70,000 a year on scaffolding rental to protect the public from falling pieces of the building. In 2015, falling bricks forced the brief closure of State Street and led to the construction of a protective canopy.

"Between 2015-2019, the GSA came close to a deal to sell the properties to a joint venture between the City of Chicago and private developers for micro-housing for the Loop’s fast-growing population of college students.

"'We had a plan for them to reuse these buildings as residential,' said Miller. 'The City was behind it and then the judges put the kibosh on it.'

"Judge Castillo’s 2018 letter to then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions asking him to kill the deal painted a grim potential for a mass casualty event if the property were to fall into private hands with the feds unable to control who comes and goes.

REAL CONCERN

“The concerns are real,” said Jason Wojdylo, the former acting-U.S. Marshal in Chicago who oversaw courthouse security until 2020.

The CTA’s Blue Line runs beneath the courthouse and busy Dearborn Street fronts the building’s west side. More than 1,000 federal employees work there every day with many more visitors. In other words: It’s a security nightmare.

“They are so close to the Courthouse that from the higher floors it is easy to see directly into judges’ chambers and read their computer screens,” a Durbin spokesperson tells WGN. “Multiple security assessments, including from the U.S. Marshals Service, ATF, FBI, Federal Protective Service and more, made clear that the security risks are too great for private redevelopment.”

DEMOLITION WON’T HAPPEN UNTIL 2024

The future of the site is back on the front burner now that $52 million has been set aside in the federal infrastructure bill to demolish the buildings. Although the GSA says public meetings need to be held before the plan proceeds and demolition won’t begin prior to 2024.

WHAT’S THE PLAN?

So what’s the federal government’s plan for this site that’s now been vacant for nearly two decades? Judge Castillo wrote that once the buildings were demolished the property could be used as a security buffer, for unspecified federal corrections activities or any purpose “that promotes the safety of the courthouse.”

The current $52 million price tag only covers demolition. Congress would have to allocate additional money to develop the site. Judges and security personnel have advocated for building a new security pavilion on the east side of the Dirksen Federal Building and having that become the building’s main entrance.

That’s not a very sexy plan for preservationists who say the buildings represent the last two standing examples of architects who learned from the examples of Daniel Burnham and others who set the trajectory for the modern skyscraper right here in Chicago.

Preservation Chicago’s Ward Miller says his group has been in contact with 20 religious orders who are interested in used the existing buildings as archives, which would alleviate the need for any windows facing the courthouse. (Bradley, WGN Chicago, 4/6/22)

Orange Garden Restaurant, 1942 W. Irving Park Rd. Opened in 1926 and is the oldest Chinese restaurant in Chicago. Orange Garden Neon Sign, reportedly Chicago's oldest working neon sign. Image Credit: Preservation Chicago Twitter

"On their way to a Cubs game a few years ago, Chloé Mendel asked her partner, Billy Corgan, if he wanted anything as a present. They happened to be driving down Irving Park Road and passed Orange Garden’s iconic neon 'Chop Suey' sign.

"'[Billy] pointed up and said, 'That’d be an awesome gift. I have always loved that sign,'' Mendel told Block Club Chicago in an email. 'Of course, my reaction was, 'Why do you ask me for the impossible?''

"But wait — wasn’t it the Smashing Pumpkins frontman and guitarist who crooned 'the impossible is possible' in the 1995 hit, 'Tonight, Tonight'? The lyrics proved prophetic.

"'I saw on social media a photo of the sign and the words ‘AUCTION’ and I couldn’t believe it,' Mendel said. 'I couldn’t miss this opportunity.'

"'Sold at the Chicago Joe’s auction April 30 for $17,000, the classic sign likely dates back to pre-World War II Chicago and has been an inextricable part of Irving Park’s streetscape for nearly a century. The owners of Orange Garden told Block Club they auctioned the sign in hopes it would go to a preservation-minded buyer, while they plan to retire and sell the business to someone who will keep the Cantonese restaurant going.

'I was so excited to bring home and preserve this beloved piece of history,' Mendel said. “It was meant to be.”

"'We are thrilled to keep a beautiful piece of history for our community,' Mendel wrote. 'Billy remembers walking by the sign in the late 80’s during the early days of the Smashing Pumpkins and stopping to appreciate its beauty then. And I am just so happy to bring a smile on his face and make this dream come true.'

"When news broke the sign was up for auction, Ward Miller, executive director of Preservation Chicago, said he initially feared it would mark a major loss for the cityscape.

"Once a ubiquitous part of the street wall, blade signs have become much less prominent as legacy businesses close their doors. Miller said the city should consider incentives like tax breaks or subsidies for business owners to keep their historic signs, but he praised the outcome of the Orange Garden sale. Miller also said the restaurant itself has a historic facade that also should be preserved, even as the business is put on the market.

"'The Orange Garden sign is really an iconic sign for Irving Park Road, and for the community around it,” Miller said. “But the wonderful thing about this particular situation is we know that this particular sign is not to go to the scrapyard, but it’s going to somebody who has a great appreciation for it. It’d be wonderful to have that same type of interest in the restaurant itself.' (Asimow, Block Club Chicago, 5/7/22)

There is strong support to designate “Early Chicago Skyscrapers” as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A UNESCO World Heritage Site designation would further recognize the Chicago's contributions to the built environment and to increase education regarding these architecturally significant structures. Other sites nominated include Civil Rights Sites, Native American Sites, The Statue of Liberty, and Central Park in New York City.

Preservation Chicago and AIA Chicago are honored to present this 5-minute video prepared for the US/ICOMOS 50th Anniversary Conference was held virtually on April 9th, 2022.

We were asked to create this video by the US/ICOMOS on behalf of the many Chicago-based preservation partners which organized the 2016-2017 effort to begin the lengthy process of establishing “Early Chicago Skyscrapers” as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The initial list of nine “Early Chicago Skyscrapers” were included due to their architectural significance and owners consent. Additional significant “Early Chicago Skyscrapers” would likely be added as this process advances.

With thanks to:

AIA-Chicago

Preservation Chicago

The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation

The Alphawood Foundation

The TAWANI Foundation

Chicago Architecture Center

Landmarks Illinois

The Coalition in Support of a Pioneering Chicago Skyscrapers World Heritage List Nomination

And with special thanks to:

Teddy Holcomb, Video Editor

Cathie Bond, Director of Events, Preservation Chicago

Eric Allix Rogers, Photographer

Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, Built 1890, Bell and Swift, 6248 S. Stewart Ave. Photo Credit: Noah Vaughn

"The walls are still being brought down at the old Antioch Baptist Church in Englewood after a fire last month, but that does not mean the fight to preserve its legacy is waning.

"When Ward Miller with Preservation Chicago thinks about iconic city and Englewood architecture, he said this is it.

"'This is really a remarkable first class structure.'

"So when the historic Antioch Baptist Church, which is not designated as a landmark, went up in flames last month, one of its biggest fans was devastated.

"'It's another vacant lot in our city. It's another challenge to overcome,' Miller lamented.

"Chicago city inspectors and engineers said the building is too unstable to rebuild. Miller was fighting to save a tower, but he said the pastor told him it was too costly. He still comes to the site often to see if other parts can be saved.

"'It's just a terrible loss to lose these structures time, and time again, to fire,' said Ward Miller, Executive Director of Preservation Chicago. 'And we need to find an alternative.'

"His organization is proposing that Chicago follow a decades-old New York City law, banning propane torch use on wooden roofs. The practice is blamed for starting the fire at Antioch and Bronzeville's Pilgrim Baptist church back in 2006.

"'If propane torches were made illegal by city ordinance, that would have never occurred,' Miller said.

"For now, the immediate focus of taking care of the history still in the city, according to Miller. In his mind, there's even the possibility of moving the Antioch congregation to the St. Martin de Tours church that's vacant sitting right off of the Dan Ryan in Englewood.

"'I have had a conversation with the pastor about if this would be an interesting alternative,' Miller said.

"Preservation Chicago is also working to designate more buildings as historic landmarks." (Graves, CBS 2 Chicago, 5/12/22)

"In January 2020, developer Leon Walker was eager to start a project that could have heralded a turnaround for the Woodlawn community on the South Side. He was anxious to close on a deal for a decrepit but well-located old bank building at the southwest corner of 63rd Street and Cottage Grove Avenue.

Avenue.

"The veteran developer, with many successes on the South Side, said people who wanted the old building saved were unrealistic. The property remained in the hands of the Cook County Land Bank Authority, whose mission is to encourage development of difficult properties, especially in poor areas.

"Eleanor Gorski took over as executive director of the land bank last year and took a fresh look at the property. An architect and former staff member at Chicago’s Planning Department, Gorski kept in touch with Walker because the land bank felt he had submitted the best proposal when it advertised the property’s sale. She used the pandemic pause to urge Walker to think anew.

"I wanted the whole building preserved. The numbers just didn’t allow it. And yet, it’s such an iconic structure in the neighborhood,' Gorski said.

"The numbers penciled out for that old friend of disparate views: the compromise. Walker has agreed to preserve the building’s limestone façade and its once elegant windows and entrances. Behind the five-story façade would be new construction, about 75,000 square feet, for offices Walker wants to market to neighborhood entrepreneurs.

"Walker has retained bKL Architecture for the new plan, which will be shown to the community later this month. Feedback there could change things. But Gorski said if all goes well, she hopes the land bank’s board can approve the property’s sale in June. She and Walker said the price is yet to be settled. Construction could start late this year and be done in 2024, Walker said.

"Architectural enthusiasts and many in the area had wanted the neoclassical design from 1924 to be saved. It was originally the Washington Park National Bank. In its prime, it projected class and stability at a neighborhood crossroads, like the bank buildings of yore in other parts of Chicago. But this bank, like many others, had trouble in the Depression and eventually disappeared. As the neighborhood declined, so did the building.

"It’s been empty for years. Its skylit atrium caved in long ago. Those who have been through the ruins describe it as like a setting for a dystopian movie. The group Preservation Chicago has researched the building’s history and placed it on its 'most endangered' lists.

"He would replace the old atrium with wider floors for offices geared to today’s demand. The building’s original offices were off narrow corridors built around the atrium in a C shape. You could imagine them having a dentist, lawyer or insurance agent long ago. A consultant’s report for the land bank in 2018 concluded the façade was sound and salvageable.

"His swing toward preservation is a change of heart, yes, but possibly good for a neighborhood’s soul." (Roeder, Chicago Sun-Times, 5/2/22)

"Chicago developer Jeff Shapack has purchased the Salvation Army's main downtown campus in the River West neighborhood, a move that lines up what could be a massive redevelopment of the property.

"A venture controlled by Shapack Partners last month bought the charity's longtime property along Grand Avenue between Des Plaines Street and Union Avenue, according to people familiar with the transaction. The sale price was not immediately clear, but sources with knowledge of the deal said Shapack paid close to $25 million for the property, which the Salvation Army had owned since 1931, and most recently served as its family store and donation center as well as an adult rehabilitation center.

"Shapack did not respond to a request for comment on his plans for the property, but sources familiar with the purchase said he intends to convert a six-story building at 509 Union Ave. into a hotel. Known for its high-profile projects in the Fulton Market District, Shapack Partners developed the Hoxton Hotel in the former meatpacking district and previously transformed a former manufacturing building in the neighborhood into a Soho House hotel and private club.

The Salvation Army put its property up for sale in 2019, framing it as an opportunity for a buyer to redevelop the site with a project as large as nearly 570,000 square feet, according to a marketing flyer from SVN Chicago Commercial, which brokered the sale to Shapack. In addition to the main building, the acquisition includes a property along Des Plaines Street with buildings that could be demolished to make room for a new, larger development. The site's development prospects grew in 2017 after the city added more areas of the central business district that were eligible for higher-density zoning.

The property, along the southern edge of the Ohio Street feeder ramp to the Kennedy Expressway, stands between the trendy Fulton Market District and a 37-acre site along the Chicago River that is now home to the Chicago Tribune's Freedom Center printing plant. That parcel is owned by Irving, Texas-based Nexstar—which took over the property as part of its acquisition of Tribune Media in 2019—and is one of three finalist properties that could be redeveloped with the city's first casino.

"Shapack's purchase comes as the developer looks to cash out on a big office project in nearby Fulton Market at 167 N. Green St. After leasing up all of the office space in the 750,000-square-foot building, Shapack and co-developer Focus recently hired the Chicago capital markets team at Jones Lang LaSalle to market it to investors, with bids expected to approach $550 million.

"The Salvation Army closed the River West property in March and has relocated some of its services to the charity's other area locations, including one at 2258 N. Clybourn Ave. in Lincoln Park. (Ecker, Crain's Chicago Business, 5/2/22)

"We covered the unfortunate destruction of two longstanding Uptown businesses, Star Auto and Smashy Automotive, over the weekend.

"After a fire started at the rear of Star Auto, the Chicago Fire Department responded nearly immediately but were unable to stop flames from moving to the adjacent building at 5006 N. Clark ("Smashy Automotive"). One man was pulled from the fire alive by staff preparing for the Waldos Forever Festival.

"As news of the fire spread on social media, many shared photographs of the ornate facade at 5006 N Clark, built in 1919 as the Argyle-Clark Garage. Everyone was hopeful the beautiful terra cotta façade could be saved, but around 2pm, the Fire Department decided that the façade needed to come down to control the fire.

"We heard from multiple sources that the facade was coming down, and learned that staff from Preservation Chicago were on site as soon as possible to try to save elements of the building. People messaged us that the demolition crew knocked large portions of the façade down without regard to the terracotta, and it appeared the three ornate faces and two 'wheels' on the façade were lost.

"But then a tweet appeared showing the center face from the façade laying on the ground. We started asking around about what happened to the face, and that led to more inquiries about the faces on the side, which survived the initial demolition, but were gone by the evening.

"We got several answers, including witnesses who told us the center face was put on a truck, but had no definitive information until the owners of SoFo Tap sent the below picture, showing the three faces safe and sound on a flatbed truck from McDonagh, the demolition contractor brought in by the City of Chicago."

"Preservation Chicago then emailed separately, telling us that the 'wheels' and numerous other decorative elements were recovered by staff and set aside for safe keeping.

"It's great news that the faces, wheels and decorative elements are preserved and can berestored or recreated.

"And we have additional good news to share.

"5006 N. Clark was for sale last year and then off the market several months ago. We received a tip that Surge Billiards was the purchasor and planned to rehab the building for its latest location, but held off on running the story since the sale was not final.

"We learned last night that Surge plans to go through with the purchase, despite the loss of the building. Our source tells us that Surge is committed to rebuilding on site and would like to restore elements of the old building, reusing the faces, wheels, and other decorative terra cotta, if possible.

"So, this is a sad story with a potential great end for the citizens of Uptown and Andersonville.

"There were multiple heroes on the day, including the staff of Dispensary 33 and the Waldos Forever Festival who saved the man's life, the Chicago Fire Department for controlling and extinguishing the huge fire, McDonagh Demolition for recognizing and saving the critical decorative elements of the facade, and Preservation Chicago for acting quickly to save additional elements of the facade from heading to landfill.

"We very much look forward to Surge opening on this spot, which will return to a restaurant/bar use for the first time since the early 1990's, and we hope Surge, McDonagh, and Preservation Chicago will work together to save another piece of Uptown's history." (Uptown Update, 4/26/22)

"Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Shannon Estenoz visited Illinois today, where she toured several sites that honor individuals and events that advanced the Civil Rights Movement and discussed the Biden-Harris administration’s ongoing work to strengthen equity and social justice, including efforts to help tell a more complete story of America.

"During her trip, Assistant Secretary Estenoz visited sites associated with the lives of Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley. She met with Till relatives, including Dr. Marvel Parker and Rev. Wheeler Parker, Jr., as well as historians, historic preservation advocates, and other community leaders working to preserve those sites. In 1955, the kidnapping and murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till while visiting relatives in Mississippi captured national attention and helped galvanize the Civil Rights Movement across the nation.

"Congressman Bobby Rush joined Assistant Secretary Estenoz during her visit to Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ on Chicago’s South Side. The temple is where tens of thousands of mourners visited over the course of a four-day visitation and funeral. Mamie Till-Mobley’s decision to have an open-casket funeral helped expose Americans to the injustices facing black people in the United States. The site is recognized as a City of Chicago Landmark, and there is bipartisan legislation pending in Congress to designate Roberts Temple as a unit of the National Park System. Assistant Secretary Estenoz also visited Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois — Emmett and Mamie Till’s final resting place.

"Assistant Secretary Estenoz wrapped up her trip with a visit to the Pullman National Monument and the A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum, named for the prominent leader A. Philip Randolph, who founded the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and successfully negotiated a labor contract for the porters from the Pullman Company. The agreement served as a model for other African American workers and significantly contributed to the rise of the civil rights and labor movements in the United States. President Obama designated Pullman National Monument in 2015, using his authorities under the Antiquities Act."

"The costly rehab of the North Kenwood home of blues icon Muddy Waters is 'out of the woods,' thanks to the announcement of a city grant that will go toward interior renovations, according to the musician’s great-granddaughter, who is the project’s leader.

"Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced this afternoon a community development grant of $116,152 was awarded to the Mojo Museum, as Chandra Cooper, the bluesman’s descendant, calls the future use of the Lake Park Avenue two-flat that has been in family hands since 1954.

"The money, for interior renovations, follows a $250,000 grant for exterior renovations that the city’s landmarks commission made to the Mojo Museum in early March.

"The combined $366,000 'gets us out of the woods on this big project,' Cooper told Crain’s. 'We can do the things that need to be done to get our doors open.' Cooper said she hopes to have the building open for public tours—if not yet fully functioning as a museum—by the end of 2022.

"In 2020, the National Trust for Historic Preservation gave the Mojo Museum $50,000 to start renovations. In October, the Chicago City Council voted to landmark the red-brick building that was home to the Blues innovator and six-time Grammy winner. Mississippi-born McKinley Morganfield, who took the stage name Muddy Waters, lived, rehearsed and housed fellow musicians there from 1954 until the late 1970s, when he moved with his children to Westmont.

"The building has not been occupied for at least a decade and 'needs everything,' said Mike Mitchell, the contractor whose Bronzeville firm, Mitchell Development Consultants, is handling both exterior and interior work. Mitchell said the goal is to build out the first-floor interior in a way that approximates the look from Muddy Waters’ time in the house.

"The exterior is being restored to the same vintage: A modern metal canopy and wrought iron stair rails that were tacked onto the 19th-century building during Waters’ years in the house are being cleaned and straightened out, to be put back on, Mitchell said.

"Cooper said that with the building’s future more certain, she is now discussing with Ald. Sophia King, 4th, the possibility of acquiring the city-owned vacant lot next door, to incorporate into the museum plan. King did not respond to a request for comment placed with her office.

"The grant to the Mojo Museum was one of 26 totaling about $33.5 million that Lightfoot and Maurice Cox, commissioner of planning and development, announced at an afternoon event at the former Overton Elementary School on 49th Street. The money is a combination of city bond funds and federal funds from the American Rescue Plan. Recipients included health programs, coffee roasters and others scattered around 19 community areas in the city. (For the full list, see below.)

"The idea is to 'lift up all our neighborhoods so they can take part in an equitable and sustained recovery,' Lightfoot said. She wanted the money deployed to 'people who have toiled in the vineyard for so long, reimagining hidden jewels in the community.' (Rodkin, Crain's Chicago Business 5/2/22)

"The Save The Hampton House initiative, an effort led by the late Chairman Fred Hampton’s son, Chairman Fred Hampton Jr., and his mother, Akua Njeri, announced today that the application for the Hampton House to be formally recognized as a historical landmark has officially been approved by the Maywood Village Board. The application was submitted in partnership with Preservation Chicago and Participant, the leading media company dedicated to entertainment that stands at the intersection of art and activism, as part of the yearlong impact campaign tied to the multiple Academy Award-winning film, Judas and the Black Messiah.

"The unanimous decision came from the Maywood Village Board meeting held on Tuesday, April 19. The Hampton House, Chairman’s childhood home, is located in Maywood, Illinois. Work is in progress to preserve the property and transform it into a historic site where the works of the Black Panther Party can be displayed and made available for visitors. Along with many supporters, Chairman Fred Hampton’s family called for the Maywood Village Board to turn Chairman Hampton’s childhood home into a historic landmark and community center where visitors can learn about the legacy of the Black Panther Party and inspire future leaders in the movement.

"'The fight to save and maintain the Hampton House is bigger than a building and more significant than a structure,' said Chairman Fred Hampton Jr. 'Amongst other purposes, it serves as a major aspect of preserving the extraordinary legacy of Chairman Fred Hampton, the Black Panther Party, and that of service to the people in general. Though Maywood, Illinois may be small geographically speaking, the Hampton House furthers this momentum with Maywood representing monumental size in the minds and hearts of people throughout the world.'

"Under Chairman’s leadership, the Black Panther Party launched the Free Breakfast Program and a re-education program for Chicago children. Chairman Fred also created the Rainbow Coalition—joining forces with other oppressed peoples in the city to fight for equality and political empowerment.

"'The Hampton House is an integral part of Maywood’s history. Fred Hampton moved to 804 South 17th Avenue when he was only ten years old, and many formative experiences that laid the groundwork for Chairman Fred Hampton’s extraordinary political activism and leadership took place while he was living in this house,' writes Representative Bobby Rush in his letter of support.

"The two-flat joins several other homes where Black historical figures lived or worked that have recently received or are in the process of seeking landmark status.

"Among them are the West Woodlawn two-flat where Emmett Till and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, lived before he was murdered in Mississippi; and the North Kenwood home where blues great Muddy Waters lived, rehearsed and housed fellow musicians." (Rodkin, Crain's Chicago Business, 4/20/22)

Preservation Chicago's Mary Lu Seidel played a meaningful role in the process to landmark Fred Hampton's childhood home and wrote the Landmark Designation Report.

"Humboldt Park’s beloved Puerto Rican flags may soon become official Chicago landmarks.

"The Chicago Commission on Landmarks on Thursday unanimously approved landmark designation for the towering steel flags that bookend the half-mile stretch of Division Street between California and Western avenues known as Paseo Boricua, the center of the neighborhood’s Puerto Rican community.

"Commissioners said the recognition is overdue. The nearly 60-foot-tall flags are among Chicago’s most celebrated civic art, serving not only as markers of the Humboldt Park’s Puerto Rican enclave but also as a powerful symbol of Puerto Rican pride throughout Chicago and the Midwest.

"'I can’t express how happy I am to see that we’ve come to this,' commissioner Alicia Ponce said. 'I can’t pass under this gateway without singing the song, ‘Que Bonita Bandera’ — what a beautiful flag. It’s such a sense of pride and culture. This is a great step forward.'

"The flags were erected June 6, 1995, on Three Kings Day, one of the most celebrated holidays in Puerto Rico.

"Local architecture firm DeStefano & Partners designed the sculptures to serve as gateways to Humboldt Park’s Puerto Rican community. The firm used steel to honor the Puerto Ricans who came to Chicago to work in the steel and welding industries.

"Jose Lopez, executive director of the Puerto Rican Cultural Center and one of the community leaders who pushed for the flags to be built, previously told Block Club a portion of I-290 had to be shut down in the middle of the night so trucks carrying giant pieces of the steel could get to the installation sites.

"Thursday’s vote was the first step in the Puerto Rican flags becoming a Chicago landmark. The designation still needs to be reviewed by the city’s planning department and City Council zoning committee, and pass a City Council vote." (Bloom, Block Club Chicago, 4/7/22)

Preservation Chicago is thrilled by this outcome and has consistently testified in support of Chicago Landmark Designation at Commission on Chicago Landmarks hearings.

"The Commission on Chicago Landmarks voted in favor of a final recommendation for Monumental Baptist Church in Bronzeville at its May 5, 2022 meeting, clearing a path for the Romanesque Revival building to become a city landmark. The church at 729 E. Oakwood Boulevard will now go to the City Council for a committee and full council vote. Ald. Sophia King (4th) supports the landmarking.

"Monumental Baptist was built between 1899 and 1901 as Memorial Baptist, and housed a congregation with ties to the University of Chicago.

"A Black Baptist congregation bought the building in 1934, and it became a local anchor of the Civil Rights Movement under a succession of activist pastors. Among them was Reverend Dr. Dearine Edwin King, who was close friends with Martin Luther King, Jr. During King’s tenure, Monumental Baptist hosted the first meeting of Operation PUSH, Jesse Jackson’s influential South Side nonprofit.

"The brick-and-terra cotta building was designed by the architecture firm Patton, Fisher and Miller. Normand Patton, earlier in his career, built the Main Building and Machinery Hall at the nearby Illinois Institute of Technology — both are now Chicago landmarks.

"DPD Commissioner Maurice Cox said at Thursday’s meeting that he hopes the church congregation can use the city’s Adopt-A-Landmark grants to fund interior renovations, and praised the work of Monumental Baptist’s membership.

"'I don't think anyone really appreciates what a challenge it is to do this work, just as volunteers,' he said. 'I have a feeling other congregations will be looking at you as a lead, and it’ll be easier for them to step in and preserve the legacy of their presence in these communities.'" (Belanger, Hyde Park Herald, 5/5/22)

Preservation Chicago is thrilled by this outcome and has consistently testified in support of Chicago Landmark Designation at Commission on Chicago Landmarks hearings.

Grand Army of the Republic Hall and Rotunda at the Chicago Cultural Center, 1897, Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge, 78 E Washington St. Image Credit: Dennis Rodkin Tweet

"Sunlight is shining into the Grand Army of the Republic Hall for the first time in decades with the completion of a year-long restoration in the Chicago Cultural Center.

"The building dating back to 1897 originally served as a library and a memorial hall dedicated to Northern soldiers who fought in the Civil War. Over the years, its ornate details had been obscured through now-outdated updates. But after a grant of services worth more than $15.4 million, visitors can experience how the space once was and learn about who it honors.

"Preservation Chicago Executive Director Ward Miller, who has frequented the space since he was a kid, said the restoration is one of Chicago’s best-ever preservation efforts.

"'This is really a commitment to Chicago’s architecture in this building, and it’s known as the People’s Palace,' Miller said. 'I think it’s further commitment to Downtown Chicago and the city as a whole and our architecture and our built environment.'

"The Cultural Center, originally Chicago’s first public library, was spared by the wrecking ball that gutted many historic buildings in Chicago in the 1960s and ’70s. It was renovated in the 1970s, became the cultural center in 1991 and received $2 million in upgrades in 1994.

"Technicians used precise blades, acetone and cotton swabs to revitalize the original details of the 125-year-old hall. The 62,000-piece glass dome 40 feet in diameter was placed under a cement-and-copper cover, and illuminated to prevent water damage in the 1940s. The stained glass was cleaned and reassembled, and now is protected with a clear cover.

"Cultural historian emeritus Tim Samuelson took the stage with preservation architect Gunny Harboe and joked, 'I really like what you did with the place.'

"'I worked in this building for years and it was pretty wonderful, but you knew that this building, this room, was kind of sleeping. Something had happened to it,' Samuelson said." (Boyle, Block Club Chicago, 3/25/22)

"A building on Broadway in Lake View is undergoing an unusual transition, only part of which pedestrians can see from street level. The layer of drab exterior material has been removed from 3115 N. Broadway and some handsome, old Art Deco features have emerged.

"But behind that rediscovered 1928 façade, there is a far more intriguing transition going on. Built almost a century ago as a six-story parking garage, the building is being turned into a 72-unit apartment building.

"John Mengel said his Northfield firm, JSM Venture, bought the six-story parking garage in 2016 with plans to take off everything but the lowest two floors and build new floors of apartments on that platform.

"'Nobody wanted to try to take the whole thing down, because this is lot line to lot line, with [neighboring] walls attached,' he said.

"The existing structure would only support so much weight, so the new building could not be a lot taller than the existing building. Ultimately, it made more sense to keep the garage and make it apartments.

"The back portion of each floor is sloped because of the ramp cars would drive up to get to the next floor. Meanwhile, the front portion is flat, as that was where cars parked. The ramps are staying, and they will allow renters in the building to drive up to the floor they live on, where the flat portion includes both parking spaces and the new apartments.

"This is something that may not have been done anywhere else in Chicago before. Mengel, whose son Charlie is his partner in the firm, has restored other vintage buildings, including an old factory at 2850 N. Pulaski Road and 3636 N. Broadway, the latter of which used to be the home of Curtiss Candy, maker of the Butterfinger and Babe Ruth candy bars and later the Recycled Greetings card company. In both of those, the Mengels’ firm put rental storage facilities.

"Built in 1928, a time when Chicago was inundated with cars and trying to come up with places to put them, this building was supposed to be one of three, spanning the entire block from Barry to Briar, according to a September 1928 Tribune article. However, the Great Depression hit and only the one was completed. Described by the Tribune’s Al Chase at the time as a 'dormitory for cars,' the 550-car garage was a place where one could drop their car for the night and the uniformed employees there would wash it, check the gas and oil and return the car in the morning ready to roll.

"The garage was part of the Ritz chain, which a year later built another of Chicago’s garages at 55th and Lake Park. Now one of Chicago’s favorite old parking garages, the building has a terracotta exterior that depicts cars, dashboards, tires and stop lights from the 1920s." (Rodkin, WBEZ Chicago, 4/28/22)

"More development news to share this morning, as Stewart School Lofts has been sold to a developer for $23 million, a premium of $7 million factoring in sale and rehabilitation costs.

"Longtime readers will recall that Stewart's attendance had dwindled to less than 20 students per grade and was closed in a systemwide consolidation in 2013.

"Morningside, the previous owner, bought the landmarked building from Chicago Public Schools in 2016 for $5.1 million and then invested $11.6 million to rehab the building into residential units.

"The article discloses that the sale, at $363,000 per unit, is the highest per-unit multifamily sale in Chicago so far in 2022, higher on a per unit basis than a multi-unit sale at Astoria Tower earlier this year." (Uptown Update, 5/3/22)

"The waves of Lake Michigan crash below while the limestone rocks wait to emanate a warm, comforting feeling within students like senior Feya Epel. Feya has always enjoyed visiting the Point.

"'I love just sitting on either the rocks or trees behind the rocks and just drawing, staring out or reading,” Feya said. “It’s just really a pleasant place to be.'

"However, with the city’s plan to tear out the limestone rocks and replace them with concrete slabs, the Point was named on March 9 to Preservation Chicago’s 'most endangered' list, an annual list that spotlights sites in danger.

"The 40-acre, human-made peninsula is a popular place for swimming and strolling. However, concealed within this joyful ambiance, the limestone revetments have always faced danger due to the lack of maintenance over its long history, which has caused them to erode. In 1980, the Chicago Park District, the City of Chicago and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers worked to develop a $300 million plan to repair and replace the revetments with concrete.

"Ward Miller, executive director of Preservation Chicago, expressed how the concrete is often slippery and doesn’t have the same lifespan as the limestone rocks — 85 vs. 35 years for concrete. Furthermore, repair and rehabilitation is significantly less expensive than demolition and new construction of steel and concrete.

"'We feel that this is kind of an insensitive approach to this beautiful spot on Chicago’s lakefront,' Mr. Miller said. 'This sort of man-made peninsula that was designed with utmost care.'

"Promontory Point Conservancy, an organization dedicated to protecting and preserving the Point, follows a preservation approach to repair and rehabilitate the limestone rocks, rather than demolish them. Founder and president Jack Spicer said that in 2000, the Park District and the City’s Department of the Environment made preliminary plans for proposed changes to the Point.

"'I think virtually the whole community was really upset because the Point has always been a really special place for people,' Mr. Spicer said in an interview]. 'It’s a place where everyone feels welcome, and they can do what they want to do.”

"Over 20 years have passed since the first proposed changes, yet members of the Laboratory Schools community still echo similar sentiments of fear and concern regarding the replacement of the limestone rocks.

Feya fears the removal of the limestone rocks will impact the pleasure she experiences at the Point. 'The Point is one of the few places in Chicago where you can be by the lake peacefully,' Feya said. 'I just feel like it is such an important place to every Hyde Parker and Chicagoan in general, and if the limestone rocks were removed, I would be really sad.'

"According to Mr. Spicer, it is not just the limestone that people are trying to save, but the way it has come to be a part of the community’s life and nature.

"'When we try to save something, it’s not just the structure we are trying to save,' Mr. Spicer said. 'We are trying to save the kind of cultural and community activities and traditions that have grown up around a particular space.' (Nehme, U-High Midway, 4/6/22)

Join the Promontory Point monthly clean-ups. Sundays, 10:30am, east of the 55th Street tunnel at the National Register plaque. Upcoming date include, May 22, June 12, July 10, August 7, September 11, and October 16.

"As the Mars chocolate factory prepares to close in 2024, its owners are working with Galewood residents to figure out how the community can take advantage of the nearly century-old building.

"Hundreds of residents have shared their ideas through surveys and community meetings about how the building should be used once the factory closes. Several potential uses for the historic building have picked up support, such as transforming it into a library, a community center or a nature sanctuary.

"Mars Wrigley announced in January that the company will close the original factory at 2019 N. Oak Park Ave. at some point in 2024. The factory produces candy like Snickers, M&Ms, Milky Way bars, Twix and Skittles.

"The factory was built in 1928 with a Spanish Renaissance architecture style and a dramatic façade that makes it an important part of the look and feel of Galewood. A recently formed neighborhood association, Galewood Neighbors, started organizing to preserve the building once the closure was announced since 'the factory is an icon and it will be sorely missed,' said Steve Green, a member of the group.

"'When this came up, we were panicked because there was so much concern about what was going to happen. We didn’t want to see another vacant building … that just sits there for decades,' Green said.

"Mars Wrigley agreed to work with neighbors to identify a plan for what to do with the building and 'partner with the surrounding community on a future vision for the site,' a spokesperson for Mars said in a statement. 'We plan on donating the land for use of the community and leveraging the expertise of community partners as we move forward,' the Mars spokesperson said.

Many residents want to turn the original building into a historic landmark so the factory’s history in Galewood can be preserved. The original building, which includes the iconic façade, is just a small part of the sprawling factory campus. That portion of the building should be preserved and could then be “filled with a couple cultural institutions,” said Thomas Drebenstedt, a nearby resident.

“A lot of those ideas are appealing to me. But what I would really like to see is the building landmarked,” Drebenstedt said. “We need to retain at least the original part of the building.” (Sabino, Block Club Chicago, 4/20/22)

"The Fine Arts Building, a landmark in Chicago that is still aptly named, is seeing some interior spaces renovated to their former glory.

"The building, 410 S. Michigan Ave., opened as the Studebaker Building in 1885 as a showroom and assembly plant for carriages. Thirteen years later, it was remodeled and repurposed as the Fine Arts Building.

"Frank Lloyd Wright had an office in the building and it was where Poetry Magazine first published. Early women’s rights groups were also welcomed into the space. Though there has been many changes over the last 125 years, it remains dedicated to artists and freethinkers. These days, it is home to the Chicago Puppet Studio, a gallery of art glass and a bookstore. The building is also used by both music teachers and makers of musical instruments.

"It’s also the last place in Chicago that still employs elevator operators.

"Two theaters within the building are currently being renovated, including the historic Studebaker Theater.

“We are in the process of remodeling it and revitalizing it to reopen this spring, and we are in the renovation process right now updating all of the audio/video infrastructure, making it a more production-friendly and audience-friendly venue,” said Jacob Harvey, the theater’s managing artistic director.

"'One of the things that we’ve learned, especially in the last two years, is not only is arts and culture just vital and important to our own emotional well-being, but it is a huge economic driver,' Harvey said. 'Because with live theater comes restaurants, hotels, retail, shopping. And what it truly is about, is a shared community experience.'" (Marc Vitali, WTTW Chicago, 4/11/22)

"Efforts to revive Bronzeville’s historic Forum just received a $1 million boost.

"The Andrew M. Mellon Foundation awarded the grant through its Humanities in Place program this month. The money will support the development of arts and cultural heritage spaces inside The Forum, 318-24 E. 43rd St.

"Bernard Loyd, president of the Urban Juncture Foundation, which is spearheading the Forum’s renovation, has led efforts to bring the Forum back to life since buying the 127-year-old building in 2011. Before its decline, The Forum was one of the most significant assembly spaces on the South Side, hosting politicians, unions and social clubs above first floor storefronts on 43rd Street, he said.

"'We are delighted to accept the support of the Mellon Foundation, along with that of hundreds of residents and other stakeholders, and are hopeful that Ald. [Pat] Dowell (3rd) and the city of Chicago soon will offer their support as well,' Loyd said. 'The Forum is an iconic building that can play a central role in bringing Bronzeville residents together and moving us forward.'

"In its heyday, The Forum was the epicenter of Black life in Chicago, hosting everything from cotillions to “movement” meetings and live performances from world-renowned artists, including Nat King Cole and Muddy Waters.

"Built in 1897, The Forum closed in the 1970s and fell into such disrepair that pieces of furniture had sunk into the floor due to the amount of water damage. It was in danger of being demolished when Loyd bought the building and announced an ambitious, $20 million effort to reestablish it. Loyd used most of his own money pay for site remediation after buying the building.

"In May, City Council approved a rezoning of The Forum, which will enable Loyd and his team to revive it as a performance venue. It was previously approved for residential use, but the change to commercial zoning will allow for a banquet hall, retail and restaurant space.

"The City Council approval also cleared Loyd to use a $250,000 state grant to continue rehabbing the West Annex, which is expected to be completed this year.

"'The Forum was a civic, cultural, and commercial hub of our community, and we can now focus fully on bringing it back,' Loyd said last year." (Nesbitt Golden, Block Club Chicago, 4/1/22)

"A much-anticipated addition to Bronzeville’s cultural corridor will receive $26 million since the 2023 state budget has been signed into law.

"The Lillian Marcie Center for the Performing Arts, 4343 S. Cottage Grove Ave., will be on the site of an old Marshall Field warehouse built in 1915. The 22,500-square-foot, two-story space is the centerpiece of a larger initiative that includes plans for a Black performing arts museum, studio space, a restaurant and jazz club.

"Construction of the center is estimated to cost $25 million. The state is providing funding via a grant from the Build Illinois Bond Fund.

"The center is planned to have a 350-seat, multi-level auditorium and a 100-seat space for more intimate performances, along with rehearsal space, dressing rooms and offices. An outdoor gathering area would offer neighbors space to meet.

"Local developer Keith Giles and investor Mike Wordlaw will oversee construction, working with Bronzeville native and actor Harry Lennix to bring his vision of a 'Black Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts' to life.

"The center will complement other efforts to revitalize the 43rd Street corridor, including 4400 Grove — a mixed-use development now home to Bronzeville Winery — and restoration of The Forum, which owner Bernard Loyd hopes to transform into a cultural destination.

"'Where government has fallen short, and where the church has failed, that’s where culture can come in. I believe it’s an excellent third way, but we need both the church and the state in order to support the culture. I’m especially grateful to all of those who agreed with that sentiment,' Lennix said.

"A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for September." (Nesbitt Golden, Block Club Chicago, 4/20/22)

William Ernest Walker Walker was a well-known architect of the period who started his career as a draftsman for Henry Ives Cobb for five years. He also served as Superintendent of Construction for the City of Chicago’s Board of Education. Walker designed many types of buildings across Chicago, including a few luxury apartment towers along Lake Shore Drive. However, large scale warehouses and fireproof apartment buildings were his specialties.

In addition to the Marshall Field & Company Warehouse Stable at 4343 S. Cottage Grove Avenue, William Ernest Walker designed other stables for Marshall Fields, including:

– 3137 N. Halsted – (Briar Street Theater, converted in 1993) permit issued in 1902

– SE corner of 63rd and St. Lawrence Ave (Demolished), 1912

– 858-860 E. 63rd (SW corner of St. Lawrence Ave; Demolished), 1902

"A historical theater in Rogers Park is getting yet another makeover, this time morphing into The Rhapsody Theater that will host magic shows and concerts, and contain a restaurant.

"The Rhapsody Theater is opening in May in the former Mayne Stage space at 1328 W. Morse Ave. Serving most recently as a wedding and events space, the circa 1912 theater will return as an entertainment venue centered around magic performances.

"The new venture comes from Dr. Ricardo T. Rosenkranz, a physician and professor at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. Rosenkranz is also a highly regarded illusionist who produces “The Rosenkranz Mysteries.” The Rhapsody Theater will host magicians as well as concerts featuring world music, chamber music, cabaret and dance performances, the company said in a news release. Rosenkranz will serve as the theater’s managing partner and artistic director.

“… Our ultimate goal is to bring a whole new genre of theatrical and musical experiences to Chicago,” Rosenkranz said in a statement. “We are honored to become a part of the Rogers Park neighborhood and contribute to the beautiful fabric of this diverse and forward-looking neighborhood.”

"The theater venue will inject new life into a 100-plus-year-old entertainment hall in Rogers Park.

"The theater debuted in 1912 as Morse Theater, showing vaudeville acts. In the 1930s, it was remodeled in an art deco theme and renamed the Co-Ed Theater as a nod to nearby Loyola University, according to the Rogers Park West Ridge Historical Society. The Co-Ed closed in 1954 and the theater became home to Congregation Beth Israel Anshe Yanovas and a shoe repair store.

"TAWANI Enterprises opened Mayne Stage in the theater space after a multi-million rehab project in 2010, according to DNAinfo Chicago. Mayne Stage hosted theater and music performances. The company also opened Act One Pub in the space. In 2016, Mayne Stage ditched its live performances and turned into a wedding and events center. TAWANI sold Mayne Stage to the Rhapsody Theater venture in late 2021 for $2.35 million.

"Now back to hosting live performances, local leaders hope the Rhapsody Theater can be the newest entertainment mainstay in Rogers Park." (Ward, Block Club Chicago, 4/15/22)

Rogers Park’s Mayne Stage To Become Rhapsody Theater, Hosting Magic Shows And Music In Historical Venue, A Northwestern medical professor and magician is rehabbing the 1912 theater into a space for magic shows, concerts and dining, Joe Ward, Block Club Chicago, 4/15/22

"Rebuild Foundation, an arts and culture nonprofit founded by artist Theaster Gates, broke ground on a new arts incubator on the city’s South Side today.

"Rebuild has raised over $7.6 million from private investors and other organizations to begin the $10.35 million renovation of the former St. Laurence elementary school for the new 40,000-square-foot space. Rebuild bought the school in January 2016 after the site was slated for demolition.

"Those donating to the still-unnamed incubator include the city of Chicago, The Chicago Community Trust, Clayco Foundation, Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity, Kresge Foundation, Litowitz Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Mellon Foundation and Miami Foundation.

“We have invested $1 million into the repair and the remediation of the building," said Sabina Bokhari, a representative with Rebuild Foundation. She said they've raised an additional $6.6 million for the renovation. "With it being an older building that has sat vacant for many years, there are structural challenges that we need to remediate to ensure that the space is safe.”

"The site will include artist studios, classrooms for creative entrepreneurship courses and co-working floors.

“We’ve toured the St. Laurence School, and it’s obviously an amazing space; it would been a real shame to see it demolished,” said Shawn Clark, president of real estate and development firm CRG, which donated $1 million to the arts incubator.

"The arts incubator is slated to be completed in 18 months, with programming to start as early as fall 2023." (Jay, Crain's Chicago Business, 5/3/22)

"Soul City Kitchens, Bronzeville Sustainable Commercial Center and the Overton Center for Excellence are among 26 recipients getting a total of $33.5 million in grants through the program.

"The Overton Center for Excellence, 221 E. 49th St., will receive $5 million for work to convert the former elementary school into office space for creative entrepreneurs and nonprofits. Ghian Foreman, who bought the site in 2015, received a separate grant, known as a Equitable Transit Oriented Development, in the fall.

"Foreman said the organizers are using a variety of grants and tax credits “to produce an end result that will serve as a model for community development.”

"Foreman and his team, which includes Borderless Studios Founder Paola Aquirre Serrano, have been steadily working on the $14 million project, building a rainwater garden on one side of the school and art installation on the other. The site hosts programs throughout the year to engage everyone from residents to students.

"Soul City Kitchens, 5021 S. Wabash Ave., will get $1.85 million to convert an old Streets and Sanitation building into a culinary incubator for South Side entrepreneurs. Urban Equities, a Black-owned firm, will renovate the existing 1,700-square-foot building and construct an 8,300-square-foot commercial kitchen.

"It will be a place where culinary entrepreneurs can connect, learn and support each other while providing the neighborhood with better food options, Urban Equities CEO Lennox Jackson said during a community meeting earlier this year." (Nesbitt Golden, Block Club Chicago, 5/4/2)

"The owners of a 135-year-old Lincoln Park three-flat want to add a fourth-floor addition to the property, but some neighbors resisting the change.

"The building at 2222 N. Halsted St. is considered 'orange-rated' in the Sheffield Historic District, meaning it possesses some qualities that contribute to the historical nature of the area. The Cook County Assessor’s Office lists the building as 135 years old.

"Jeffrey Engelmann, whose family has owned the building for 27 years, presented the renovation plans during a community meeting Monday with Ald. Michele Smith’s office (43rd) and the Sheffield Neighborhood Association. He wants to add a fourth floor with an 18-foot setback from the front.

"The existing building has noticeable deterioration of its front facade, limestone and upper crown, Engelmann said. It also has issues with flooding and drainage, a foundation crack from nearby construction, an undersized electrical system for modern-day requirements and poor insulation, he said.

"'One of the motivating reasons for us to embark on this path is there’s been a lot of deterioration for years now,' Engelmann said.

"In addition to modernizing the building’s three rental units, which would be converted into condominiums, the project calls for replacing the rear stair enclosure so it’s up to code and adding rear porches because the preservation of the front facade prevents any front alterations to the building, Engelmann said.

"The building needs to be re-zoned for the work to be allowed, said attorney Sara Barnes.

"'This happens all the time, especially with older buildings,' Barnes said. 'The zoning ordinance changes over time, and buildings that were conforming become non-conforming.'

"The building’s owners need to bring the structure into compliance with the zoning ordinance for any improvements to be permitted, Barnes said.

"Engelmann said he’ll revert the property’s zoning back to the original zoning once all necessary permits and certifications have been issued.

"Neighbors said they support the modernization and appreciate the owners’ desire to preserve its historical qualities rather than demolishing the structure and rebuilding within its existing zoning code.

Engelmann said preservation projects can be more costly, and the 'economics' of a three-floor building would be less affordable.

"It just gets difficult in these preservations to be able to accomplish both without adding more to the building," Engelmann said. 'Buyers look for warranties and different guarantees in these older buildings, so the tradeoff we found when we looked at the different alternatives was going with a fourth floor." (Wittich, Block Club Chicago, 4/26/22)

"A developer is dumping plans to turn a historical-yet-vacant Rogers Park building into a 20-unit complex after efforts to amend the plan to appease the neighboring temple congregation failed.

"Instead of building a 13-unit addition onto the apartment building at 1710 W. Lunt Ave., developer David Gassman will rehab the structure into eight units, Ald. Maria Hadden (49th) said in an email newsletter.

"Gassman earlier this year sought a zoning change to add a rear addition to the Rogers Park apartment building that most recently acted as a sober living house. That plan was vehemently opposed by members of the next door Hare Krishna temple.

"Members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness Chicago had said the addition would reduce the temple’s natural light intake, increase parking issues and potentially create hostilities between congregants and neighbors.

The temple holds services featuring chanting and singing starting as early as 4:30 a.m. and festivals that can last past midnight, congregants said. Neighbors could also disrupt temple worship by throwing parties, playing music or grilling meat. Hare Krishnas practice vegetarianism.

Gassman said the proposed design amendments made the project too costly and may not have satisfied the concerns from the temple.

“It became too expensive,” he said. “We tried. I’m not sure it would appease my neighbors.”

The existing building, built in the 1910s and listed in the city’s historical survey, would be renovated, and an elevator would be added, making all the units accessible, Gassman said. (Ward, Block Club Chicago, 4/19/22)

"The owners of Orange Garden Chinese Restaurant are selling the 90-year-old business after auctioning its iconic neon 'Chop Suey' sign, hoping to find a buyer to preserve the eatery specializing in Cantonese fare.

"A relic of pre-war Chicago dating at least to the early 1930s, the Orange Garden sign was sold Saturday during the weekend’s Chicago Joe auction that sparked intense interest in local restaurant memorabilia. Auctioneer Randy Donley said the nearly 10-foot red sign sold for $17,000 to a suburban Highland Park woman who hopes to repurpose it for a different eatery.

"Preservation Chicago tweeted about the Orange Garden auction, sparking fears the North Center staple may be closing. Ben Ruan, who helps manage Orange Garden for his parents, told Block Club Tuesday the restaurant is still open but the family is ready to move on and put the business up for sale.

"Though the real estate listing invites prospective buyers to open a new restaurant in the space, Ruan said the family hopes to find someone who will keep operating Orange Garden and keep its half-dozen employees on board. The family does not own the Irving Park Road building.

"The Ruan family has owned Orange Garden since the 1980’s. The exact opening date isn’t clear, but co-owner Julie Ruan said the restaurant has existed in the same location since the early 1930’s — the bright neon sign shining as an instantly recognizable welcome mat and for North Center residents and visitors wanting homemade egg rolls and generous portions.

"'If we close it down, and don’t find another person to continue it, it seems like a waste,' Ruan said. 'This place has been well known for many, many years. We have stories of people who had their first date here, proposals, people who had their anniversary here, people who had their child’s first birthday here. There’s a lot of history here.'

"Ruan said the sign had become more expensive and arduous to maintain with city zoning regulations and rising permit fees. According to city codes, any sign that extends over a public way requires a public way use permit and City Council approval. The large red sign with green neon — almost as old as the restaurant itself — nearly protrudes to the curb-cut.

"Ruan wanted to sell it before any changing city rules forced the family to take it down.

"'Doing business in the city of Chicago is not easy,' Ruan said. 'Sooner or later, the city will change the requirement further. I don’t want to take it down then, and then go through that hassle.'

"'The sign was getting older, it needed to be refurbished,' Ruan said. 'We wanted to make sure it went to someone who appreciated that.'" (Asimow, Block Club Chicago, 5/3/22)

"Dinkel’s Bakery, one of the most iconic bakeries in Chicago, is closing April 30 after more than 100 years on the North Side.

"The bakery, at 3329 N. Lincoln Ave. on the border of Lakeview and Roscoe Village, opened in 1922 under Joseph and Antonie Dinkel. It’s been run by four generations of the family, and questions about it being sold have come up before — but a closing sign was posted in the window Tuesday.

"'To our customers and neighbors. Thank you …… 101 years serving you,' the sign read. 'But it is time. Dinkel’s will close Saturday, April 30th.'

"The bakery has become a mainstay in Chicago, with lines going out on the doors on weekends — when people snapped up treats like pastries and doughnuts — and during foodie holidays like Fat Tuesday. Dinkel’s was also a longtime member of the Bakers Dozen, a secret society of leaders from the oldest family-owned bakeries in and around Chicago.

"Word of the closure spread quickly on social media, where Chicagoans lamented the loss. Customers poured into the shop Tuesday afternoon to stock up on their favorites.

"Norman Dinkel, 79, and the longtime owner, said it was closing so he could retire. 'It’s never a good time to close, so I’ve got a lot of mixed emotions,' Dinkel said. 'It’s a very traumatic day for me personally, for my stay and my customers. No one wants to see this, but it’s time.'

The future of the iconic Dinkel’s sign, which hangs vertically on the side of the building, is uncertain, Dinkel said. 'I’ve still got to figure out what’s going to happen to it,' Dinkel said. 'I’m told there might be some collectors interested, but I don’t know yet.'

"'When we walked in and they told us they’re closing, we couldn’t believe it,”' Staar said. 'It’s absolutely devastating because it’s always like this — full of people and good, local vibes.' (Wittich & Bauer, Block Club Chicago)

"Gepperth’s Meat Market, a Lincoln Park mainstay since 1906, closed on Saturday, April 30. The venerable butcher was known for prime cuts of beef, chicken, and pork, plus a stellar selection of jerky.

"Owner Vincent Colombet says they made a decision at the end of 2021 that it would take the next four months to reevaluate its business. It closed for the entirety of January as the owners contended with rising meat prices and staffing.

"While grocery store businesses supposedly boomed during the early stages of the pandemic with the suspension of indoor dining at restaurants and stay-at-home orders, Gepperth’s struggled. Columbet says they were making only around $300 per day. Easter ham and lamb sales were also down by 40 percent versus years’ past.

"'We couldn’t pay our mortgage, our suppliers, it was horrible,' Colombet says.

"The Gepperth family ran the business from 1906 until 1981 when Otto Demke bought the business. The butcher was always near the corner of Armitage and Halsted, but moved a few doors down to the current location at 1964 N. Halsted Street in 1996. The butcher became well known among the well-to-do in Lincoln Park. Staff would often brag that Chicago Blackhawks players would often buy chops for their home grills. Demke sold the business to Colombet in 2020. Colombet is also known for Le Boulangerie, the bakery cafe with locations in Lincoln Square and Logan Square.

"Colombet purchased Gepperth’s from the Demke family in 2020. He instituted a few changes to deal with the uptick of business with more people cooking at home. That spike didn’t last. Colombet says he feels Americans aren’t eating as much meat anymore, that lifestyles are changing.

"And that leaves hope for Gepperth’s. Colombet says they’re toying around with converting the space into a speakeasy-style steakhouse with limited seating. They’re also thinking about a more casual concept with burgers and hot dogs." (Selvam, Chicago Eater, 5/2/22)

"A demolition permit has been issued for the removal of an eight-story masonry building located at 4155 S Packers Avenue in the New City neighborhood. The permit’s owner has been listed as JEHM Financial LLC.

"Taylor Excavating and Construction is serving as the demolition contractor on this project. There is no timeline for the planned construction at this time."

"A 19th-century greystone in East Garfield Park that a stonemason spent a decade restoring sold quickly, although not at his ambitious asking price.

"The four-bedroom greystone on a little more than three standard lots on Francisco Avenue sold April 25 for $699,000. That’s about 93% of the $750,000 that seller Robert Franklin was asking when he put it on the market earlier this year.

"'That house speaks for itself with all that stone and woodwork,' said Jaime Delgado, the 606 Brokers agent whose clients bought the house. 'And it has such a big yard.'

"The buyers, who are not yet identified in public records, were looking for a large family home and had checked out others in the area, Delgado said, but 'there was nothing else like this.'

"When the house first hit the market, Franklin told Crain’s that he bought the house in 2011 as a project.

"'The deciding factor of buying it was all the original detail was salvageable,' although the stone exterior was shrouded in vines and soot and the interior was run-down. He paid $48,000.

"According to Pauley’s research, the greystone was designed and built around 1896 by a firm called Crowen & Richards. The same firm and its successor, S.N. Crowen, built numerous greystones and other apartment buildings in this neighborhood, Woodlawn, Washington Park and Uptown at a time when all of those neighborhoods were upper-middle-class sections of the city. Many of the buildings are still standing." (Rodkin, Crain's Chicago Business, 4/27/22)

"I know it's not in Milwaukee, but since it was built by Schlitz Brewing in 1900, this building in Chicago's Little Village has got a Brew City pedigree.

"And what a gem it is. Look at that gravity-defying turret! And it's still got its Schlitz globe medallion!

"The multi-unit former tied house tavern has 12 rooms, including six bedrooms, and two baths and is currently for sale for $351,000. It's unclear how much of the original saloon space survives.

"Schlitz Brewing built many beautiful tied house saloons – taverns built by breweries and leased to operators who sold that brewery's beer exclusively (an arrangement outlawed with Prohibition) – at home in Milwaukee.

"But it also hired Chicago-based architects to design equally stunning taps in the Windy City.

"Some examples include the East Side Tap, which you can see here; the dearly departed Southport Lanes; Schuba's music club and tavern building; and this recently landmarked gem.

"Now, you (or we) can own one, too!" (Tanzilo, On Milwaukee Blog, 4/5/22)

Little Village Former Schlitz Tied-House For Sale

2600 W. 21st Street , Chicago IL, 60608

For Sale: $351,000

ATTENTION ALL INVESTORS, BRING YOUR IDEAS TO LIFE IN THIS VERY UNIQUE HISTORICAL BUILDING WITH AN 8 CAR GARAGE. WALKING DISTANCE FROM MANY STORES INCLUDING Pete's Fresh Market, McDonalds, Walmart Neighborhood Market etc. THE MAIN FLOOR HAS BEEN PARTIALLY UPDATED. BUYER MUST ASSUME ALL OPEN BUILDING CODE VIOLATIONS. PLEASE SEE VIOLATIONS AND PROPERTY DISCLOSURES IN ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. PROPERTY SOLD AS-IS

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.

#100958829

Date Received: 04/14/2022

Applicant: Moss Design, Inc.

Owner: Ellen Bradley

Permit Description: Partial demolition of a two-story, masonry residential building to accommodate a two-story side and rear addition.

2109 W. Wilson Ave., Ravenswood. Photo Credit: Google Maps

#100956171

Date Received: 03/14/2022

Ward: 20th Ald. Jeanette Taylor

Applicant: McDonagh Demolition, Inc.

Owner: City of Chicago

Permit Description: Emergency wreck and removal of a two-story, multiple-unit, masonry building per an Administrative Order dated October 20, 2021, deemed to be imminently dangerous to the public and in hazardous condition.

#100944882

Date Received: 02/23/2022

Ward: 47th Ald. Matt Martin

Applicant: Longford Design, Development + Construction C/O Brian Connolly

Owner: 3914 N. Lincoln

Permit Description: Demolition of a three-story masonry building.

#100937432

Date Received: 01/13/2022

Ward: 2nd Ald. Brian Hopkins

Applicant: 2300 Crystal Development

Owner: Luba Mjkhaylova

Permit Description: Demolition of a 3-story masonry church building.

#100946230

Date Received: 12/3/2021

Ward: 40th Ald. Andre Vasquez

Applicant: Alpine Demolition Services, LLC

Owner: Doris Eneamokwu

Permit Description: Opening of closed existing windows, install new window frame and glazing, repair existing glazed brick as needed (tuckpointing) [removal of ornamental masonry panel]

"As of September 2, 2021 it seems that the beautiful terra cotta face that has looked down over Devon Avenue for more than 100 years is no more. No one is quite sure what happened, but there was scaffolding on the building and someone was chipping away at it in the morning, and it was gone by the afternoon. And the Assyrian American Association name is no longer on the building either.

"The New Devon Theater, with its distinctively austere glazed block façade featuring a large arch and a large bust of a woman’s face, was built in 1912, and was quickly eclipsed by the nearby Ellantee Theater. It disappears from news listings after October, 1917.

"By 1923 it had been converted to a Ford dealership. By 1936 it had become an American Legion hall. In the 1950s it operated as a radio and TV store. Since 1963, it has served Chicago’s Assyrian community as the home of the Assyrian American Association of Chicago." Cinema Treasures.org

#100945948

Date Received: 10/26/2021

Ward: 43rd Ald. Michele Smith

Applicant: Quality Excavation Inc. C/O Anne Quinn

Owner: Patrick Nash

Permit Description: Wreck and removal of the three-story, masonry residential building and a frame garage.

“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.

Demolition permit issued for the 8-story building at 4155 S. Packers Avenue in the old Stockyards. One by one, the mountains of Chicago's industrial past fall. Image credit: Eric Allix Rogers Tweet

2117 N. Fremont Street, DePaul, Demolished April 2022. Photo Credit: Google Maps

1330 W. Henderson Street, Lake View, Demo April 2022. Photo Credit: Google Maps

"The federal government has given Chicago some pretty good buildings, from the giant Art Deco Old Main Post Office — now enjoying reuse — to the superlative midcentury federal center downtown.

"So why would the U.S. General Services Administration now raise a hind leg to this legacy by wrecking the Century and Consumers buildings, two early 20th Century skyscrapers at 202 and 220 S. State Street?

"U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin, D-IL, last month earmarked $52 million for the GSA to demolish the terra-cotta clad towers and two small buildings between them, replacing the ensemble with a safety buffer to protect the Dirksen Federal Building, which is located a block west on Dearborn Street.

"The GSA owns the buildings and has been seeking the demolition since 2019, about two years after then-U.S. District Court Chief Judge Ruben Castillo told the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin his concerns that Century and Consumers sat close to the Dirksen’s eastern side.

"But is this reason enough send the towers to a landfill — when the federal center is surrounded by buildings and through-streets? The Berghoff Restaurant buildings, 17 W. Adams St., nearly touch the Dirksen’s north edge, but the GSA tells me it has no plans to come after those structures or others.

"The feds won’t create a moat around the federal center, but replacing the Century and Consumers with a 'secure and landscape[d]' site, as the GSA spokesperson says, is no good either.

"The buildings’ demolition would create an economic and pedestrian dead zone on State Street, something neither the street nor the city can afford.

"And it would be a shameful waste of some really good Chicago architecture." (Bey, Chicago Sun-Times, 4/3/22)

"The mayor’s new working group appointed to review our Museum Campus should seriously consider transforming McCormick Place Lakeside Center into a year-round, state-of-the-art, municipal athletic-recreation facility that would serve residents from all over the city and attract visitors from all over the world.

"Chicago lacks such a state-of-the-art athletic facility, but with more than 600,000 square feet of meeting and exhibition space, a large veranda and a massive flat roof, a Lakeside Athletic Center would be the largest indoor sports facility in the country and on the scenic shore of Lake Michigan.

"The McCormick Place Lakeside Center has weathered claims that it is underused, as well as calls for demolishing it or turning it into a casino. But instead, let’s turn this building right on the lakefront into a destination for health, exercise, enjoyment and play. Instead of inward-facing exhibits for out-of-town conventioneers, let’s use this massive, centrally located facility to offer access to the lake to everyone, Chicagoans and visitors, all year.

"Make it a destination for active recreation to complement the passive recreation of attending nearby museums and concerts. Design the indoor space so that sports offered in Chicago parks in the summer — baseball, tennis, volleyball, basketball, swimming, rowing, running, climbing, table tennis, pickleball, golf and more — can take place year round. Use the spacious, sheltered outdoor veranda as well, for food service, bike parking, concerts, dances, games and other gatherings. Turn its massive flat roof into a garden that continues the native plantings along the lakefront and incorporates complementary uses like bird-watching and stargazing, kite-flying, insect studying and similar activities also offered by the Chicago Park District and nearby museums.

"Most Chicagoans, and especially our youth, rarely experience the lakefront from a vantage point like Lakeside Center. They might make a trip to the beach or Navy Pier in the summer, hopefully an annual trip to the Museum Campus. But a Chicago Lakeside Athletic Center would provide a whole new world of year-round access to Lake Michigan for school groups, teams, families and clubs, lured by sports and athletics in state-of-the-art facilities. Make it free to Chicagoans, and charge visitors accordingly.

"What has been called Chicago’s 'Berlin Wall on the Lake' could become a beloved destination. Make it accessible by building gentle sloping berms of earth on the north and south to connect the bike path to the veranda, enabling all to walk or ride up and enjoy a fantastic view not available anywhere else!

"Most of Chicago’s athletic/park facilities are pretty worn down. We don’t have a public indoor Olympic-size swimming pool, for example, or many other high-quality public facilities that other cities have. But they would all fit at Lakeside, and there is built-in parking and transit access.

"In fact, Lakeside already hosts numerous national amateur athletic events and tournaments. What if the space were re-imagined by sports tourism and sustainability professionals with the goal of a multiuse, multisport showcase for Chicago’s commitment to health, play and all its residents?

"The Lakeside Center and adjoining underground parking facilities are built on Chicago Park District land and leased to the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority in an escalating arrangement totaling more than $48 million by 2042. Surely this arrangement can be renegotiated, with the potential for sports tourism, and revenue from sponsorship and naming rights that could underwrite upgrades to neighborhood park facilities as well.

"Add to the mix the 4,192-seat Arie Crown Theater, 'Chicago’s largest first-class legitimate theater,' according to McCormick Place, that is part of Lakeside Center and would also benefit from reimagination and repurposing.

"A municipal athletic facility at Lakeside Center would provide active recreation and access to the lake instead of wasting valuable lakefront access for private events. It is large enough to provide space for multiple activities to take place simultaneously, larger than any other indoor sports facility in the country. What better opportunity to create state-of-the-art facilities that would attract Chicagoans from across the city to participate in athletics and recreation, exposing them to new people and activities? We don’t need an Olympics to do this; we can do it for ourselves. It would make Chicago a healthier city, and it is an opportunity to combine nature and athletics, intentionally and creatively.

"As a city, we owe it to our citizens to look at all the possibilities for a unique, valuable and underused civic resource like the Lakeside Center and to consider the highest and best use for all Chicagoans. I urge the working group to investigate what sports, tourism, sustainability, culture and architecture professionals think about this opportunity, including revenue options from sponsorship and sports tourism.

"What a great opportunity to serve the most diverse cross-section of Chicago in the most meaningful way. (Koenen, Chicago Tribune Op-ed, 3/28/22)

"'Great architecture has only two natural enemies,' the late Chicago preservationist Richard Nickel famously said. 'Water and stupid men.'

"But Nickel might’ve added a third foe, were he with us today: the propane torches used by some roofers.

"Such a torch set off the extra-alarm fire last Friday that has left the Englewood neighborhood’s 130-year-old Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, 6248 S. Stewart Ave., in ruins.

"The blaze — ruled accidental by the Fire Department — was reminiscent of the massive January 2006 fire that ravaged Pilgrim Baptist Church, 3301 S. Indiana Ave. Roofers’ torches accidentally started that conflagration as well, incinerating nearly all of an internationally-known work of Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler — and a birthplace of gospel music.

Chicago is filled with historic and architecturally significant 100-year-old churches that are either in need of roof repairs, or will be.

Given that, and what happened last week at Antioch, it’s time for city government to take a closer look at the use of these torches and come up with an ordinance to make the practice safer.

A New York City torch ban: Torches are used to make sure the roofing membrane being installed is tight and waterproof. But getting the temperature right can be an art as much as a science. Installation in colder weather sometimes requires higher temperatures. And the torches can ignite roofs with wooden underlayment beneath the membrane.

This is why in 1999, New York City banned the use of torches on roofs with wooden structures beneath. Officials said that city had been experiencing 35 roof fires a year during the 1990s, but the turning point was a three-alarm fire in 1999 that was caused by a roofing contractor who used a torch to fix a roof with a wooden deck.

"'Using a torch on a combustible roof in New York City is illegal,' Christopher Tempro, who was then supervising fire marshal for the Fire Department of New York told the New York Times at the time. 'And we decided that we have to be pretty strong in enforcing those codes.'

"What should be the city’s next move? Perhaps put in place better licensing and city-mandated safety protocols for roofers.

"For anyone who cares about this city’s architecture or its civic anchors — and in a city like Chicago, that should be most of us — watching Antioch and Pilgrim go up in flames like a common abandoned warehouse is a gut punch that requires a response." (Chicago Sun-Times Editorial Board, 4/18/22)

Antioch Missionary Baptist Church after the April 15 fire, 1890, Bell and Swift, 6248 S. Stewart Ave. Photo Credit: Deana Issacs

"What kind of God allows a church to burn down on Good Friday?

"That’s the question that came to mind when the 130-year-old Antioch Missionary Baptist Church at Stewart and 63rd Street went up in flames earlier this month, followed by a familiar answer: the same god that has allowed slavery, Holocaust, plague, war, and the whole human history of disaster.

"Antioch’s pastor, the Reverend Gerald Dew, had a different, more positive take on it. Faced with an inferno, he saw opportunity. On Easter Sunday, according to news reports, Dew told his flock (meeting in a nearby funeral home) that, just as Jesus rose from the dead, resurrection will be possible for Antioch Baptist. He vowed that the congregation will raise money to rebuild on the same Englewood site.

"Turned out that this fire, like the one that took down Adler and Sullivan’s Pilgrim Baptist Church in Bronzeville in 2006 (and, possibly, the conflagration that engulfed Paris’s Notre-Dame Cathedral in 2019), was caused by maintenance work. In this case, a roofer’s torch gone awry. The damage to Antioch’s imposing Romanesque building, designed by Bell & Swift for a previous Baptist congregation and home to the current one since 1958, was so severe that the city ordered that the massive structure be taken down immediately.

"Not an easy task: the place was built for the ages. Anyone who happened by toward the end of last week isn’t likely to forget the sight of the roofless but still fortress-like shell, open to the elements.

"The fire led me to tune in on Easter Sunday, when WTTW aired a one-hour documentary, Secrets of Sacred Architecture (still available for streaming with station membership). A primer on the design of religious institutions, mostly churches, it surveyed the origins and reasons for such staples as pointed arches, stained glass windows, towering steeples, organs, and gargoyles (and included this piece of trivia: when the Chicago Customs House and Post Office was to be razed in 1896, it was, essentially, dismantled and shipped to Milwaukee, where its stones were used to construct that city’s landmark Basilica of St. Josaphat).

"Preservation Chicago’s 2022 list of the city’s seven 'Most Endangered' buildings includes just one church, the former St. Martin du Tours (more recently Chicago Embassy Church). Perched just west of the Dan Ryan at 59th Street, it’s a delicate German Gothic completed in 1895 and closed for most of the last 30 years.

"But in 2019 and 2021, alarmed by the Archdiocese of Chicago’s euphemistically titled 'Renew My Church' program, Preservation Chicago included Roman Catholic churches throughout the city on the endangered list, spotlighting 'the consolidation, deconsecrating, combining, closure and sale of many of our city’s finest religious structures.'

"'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 . . . [and] are also community centers, providing everything from food pantries [and] shelter services to counseling and child care,' is what they wrote then.

"'It’s heartbreaking,' to lose them, especially when they could be repurposed if necessary, Preservation Chicago executive director Ward Miller told me last week. Among the many he hopes can be saved: St. Michael the Archangel on South Shore Drive, where his great-grandparents were married in 1895, and the shuttered and much-mourned St. Adalbert in Pilsen, with its perilous, scaffolded—but not yet landmarked—twin towers.

"At 63rd and Stewart last Friday, as a rainstorm pelted the remains of Antioch Missionary Baptist, a blown-out window offered a glimpse of the kind of miracle such grand-scale preservation might require. On a huge, drenched interior mural, Jesus was still rising above his disciples, floating up from the ruined church into an impossibly serene blue sky." (Isaacs, Chicago Reader, 4/27/22)

"After a decade-long effort by Chicago’s preservation community, the James R. Thompson Center, a government-owned 1985 structure designed by the late German-born architect Helmut Jahn, appears to have secured new life. In December of 2021, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker announced that the state had agreed to sell the building for $70 million to developer The Prime Group, which intends to preserve it.

Landmarks Illinois and Preservation Chicago both included it multiple times on their “most endangered” lists, and the National Trust named it to its 2019 list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. Originally dubbed the State of Illinois Center, the curved building was meant to serve, essentially, as the Prairie State’s second capitol, and it was quite the architectural feat for its time.

"'The building is just quintessential Postmodern [architecture] at its best,' says Landmarks Illinois Director of Advocacy Lisa DiChiera. It was also noted for its airy, 17-story atrium and outdoor plaza. Jahn rose to international stardom afterwards, but his signature Chicago work hasn’t always been well received by the press or the people working inside, who often struggle to adjust to temperatures that are either too hot or too cold.

But its supporters view the structure as a work of art. 'Even if it isn’t your favorite,' says Ward Miller, executive director of Preservation Chicago, 'you have to admit it’s unique, special, and rare.' Although the renderings by Jahn’s firm of the revamped building are only preliminary, it looks as if many of the most prominent architectural features will remain intact, alongside new features (including glazing on the windows that should address the heating and cooling issues).

"Back in December, Gov. J.B. Pritzker executed a spin move that would have scored well in an Olympic competition for policy shifts. After months of talking down the prospects for the state-owned Thompson Center in the Loop, suggesting it was good for nothing but a teardown, he accepted a proposal to not only save the building but for the state to still own about 30% of it.

"Preservationists loved the move, as did those who, regardless of how they viewed the architecture, liked the sustainability of using what’s already there. The deal got the state out of a financial tangle. And it promises a shot in the arm for a part of the Loop that needs it — provided that Pritzker’s chosen developer, Michael Reschke, can pull off his end of the bargain.

"The Thompson Center is a critical piece of the central Loop, that part of the main business district that centers on La Salle Street, long the city’s financial hub. La Salle is full of distinguished buildings, with the street seeming to cut through cliffs of limestone and terra cotta that stop at the Chicago Board of Trade Building at Jackson Boulevard. It’s a classic urban vista.

"But it’s facing capitalism’s version of climate change. Business anchors such as BMO Harris and Bank of America are moving elsewhere downtown, drawn to high-rise views and naming rights on buildings. Financial exchanges don’t draw physical crowds of traders anymore. And some regard the office space as too outmoded for today’s needs. Sources say the vacancy rate around La Salle Street is 20% or more for both offices and retail.

"The Thompson Center, occupying the full block at La Salle, Clark, Randolph and Lake streets, threatened to deaden the area further. Pritzker’s pirouette kept it from sitting empty. Reschke, chairman of Prime Group, insists the building, costing him $70 million to buy but much more to fix up, can lead a La Salle revival.

He’s had time to analyze what he agreed to purchase. Reschke said he hopes to close on the sale with the state this summer and to start the expensive overhaul in the fall. His remarks betray no buyer’s remorse.

"'We’ve been getting a lot of interest in this building. We are very excited about its prospects,' he said last week. 'People are starting to realize the benefits of a central Loop location again,' he said. Those would include superior transit access. The building itself is the L’s hub, with six transit lines stopping there. Reschke said when businesses shop for space, “it’s really not so much about [rental] rate, believe it or not. It’s the intangibles, the transit, the air purification systems. Employers are more concerned about conveniences and amenities, anything that makes for a cool, nice environment.”

"Sometimes, all it takes is one flashy project to make an area fashionable again. People love or hate the Thompson Center, but if it powers the central Loop’s turnaround, it will have earned the right to be called a landmark." (Roeder, Chicago Sun-Times, 3/14/22)