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"WRITE A LETTER to the Chicago Park District Board to vote "YES" to Landmarking Promontory Point! Use this letter (or customize it) to urge the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners to vote for Promontory Point to become a full City-landmark. Becoming a legally recognized landmark in Chicago will help ensure that the Point’s limestone revetment is properly preserved, repaired and restored. The Park District’s Board of Commissioners meets February 15th, and we need the Commissioners’ consent to make Promontory Point a Chicago landmark." (www.promontorypoint.org)

"In the early 2000s, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers replaced much of Chicago’s shoreline barriers with concrete revetments to repair erosion caused by Lake Michigan. Because of an outcry by residents, Promontory Point is the only spot where the original limestone steps have been left in place.

"Residents have been fighting to save the steps ever since.

"'I consider Promontory Point to be one of Chicago’s finest treasures,' said Southeast Side Ald. Sue Sadlowski Garza at a recent meeting of the Commission on Chicago Landmarks. '(Alfred) Caldwell’s work should be preserved and his intention was not a concrete platform, I can tell you.'

"Now, the long-standing dispute may finally be coming to an end.

"Last month, the landmarks commission took the first step toward preserving the point’s original design. Two weeks ago, the Army Corps of Engineers announced separate funding for Promontory Point that will allow the city, with public input, to develop a plan 'to meet the goals of both reducing coastal storm damage while preserving the historic nature of the existing structure.'

"But residents remain distrustful.

"'We’ve been at this with the Park District for 23 years so we tend to be a little skeptical about what they say,' said Jack Spicer, director of the Promontory Point Conservancy community group. 'When they say they’re going to utilize the limestone, that doesn’t mean that they’re committed to using the structure as it is. It could mean any number of things.'" (Maille, Chicago Tribune, 2/13/23)

"The first of several votes needed to secure city landmark status for the Point, the commission’s unanimous support for it at a Thursday, Jan. 12 hearing comes in the midst of a decades-long battle between preservationists and the city over what to do with the park’s limestone stair-step revetment.

"For more than 22 years community members have organized around preserving the Point’s limestone steps from both lakefront erosion and city-proposed demolition. In the past, the city has proposed replacing the park’s stone perimeter with concrete and steel, as has been done along the rest of Chicago’s lakeshore; these proposals have routinely been met with considerable pushback.

"Official landmark status is still pending a final commission vote and approval of the full City Council. If it passes, a landmark designation will require that any proposals by the city or Army Corps of Engineers to rehabilitate the Point’s revetment, field house and other historical features will first need to be approved by the commission.

"'There was overwhelming support by the commissioners for preservation of the limestone revetment,' said Promontory Point Conservancy President Jack Spicer after Thursday’s meeting. 'Alderman Hairston (5th) was outstanding in her support for what the community wanted and she was very clear in her words to the Park District to not screw this up.'

"According to Kandalyn Hahn of the Chicago Department of Planning and Development, a final landmark vote could occur by March or April, before the end of Hairston’s tenure on City Council. Meanwhile, a preliminary designation also means that all of the protections of landmark designation are in effect until this vote.

"The Promontory Point Conservancy, a nonprofit focused on preservation advocacy, grew out of community member’s Save the Point campaign in the early 2000s. Over the years the conservancy and other activists have made several unsuccessful bids for city landmark status.

"This time around, in the month leading up to Thursday’s hearing, community members sent the commission more than 400 letters urging committee members to grant landmark status, drawing considerable public and media attention.

"'The motion carries unanimously,' said commission chair Ernie Wong after Thursday’s vote (and some applause). 'Folks, there you go — 22 years.'"(Monaghan and Pharo, Hyde Park Herald, 1/13/23)

Preservation Chicago applauds the Promontory Point Conservancy for their dedicated advocacy effort to 'Save the Point". Preservation Chicago has been working closely with the Promontory Point Conservancy to request to the Chicago Commission on Landmarks to designate Promontory Point as a Designated Chicago Landmark. Promontory Point Conservancy is responsible for the extensive report by preservation consultant Julia Bachrach detailing the historical significance of the Point which clearly established the need for Chicago Landmark designation. There has been strong support for saving the Point from elected officials including Alderman Leslie Hairston, Cook County Commissioner William Lowry, State Representative Curtis Tarver, State Senator Robert Peters, and U.S. Representative Robin Kelly. Mayor Lori Lightfoot issued a statement for the restoration of Promontory Point. In addition to Preservation Chicago, other organizations in support include Hyde Park Historical Society, Landmarks Illinois, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Friends of the Parks, Openlands Chicago, and the Cultural Landscape Foundation.

"Judy Blatherwick and her family put in decades of work restoring their graceful, Italianate wood-frame home in Lincoln Park, but after selling the nearly 150-year-old building to a local real estate titan, it now faces demolition.

"'There has been a lot of love put into this house, and it’s a living, breathing piece of Chicago history,' the 79-year-old said. 'Tearing it down will leave a gaping hole in the streetscape.”

"She can’t hide her sorrow over the possibility her home will be demolished to make a side yard or new mansion, and the loss of so much work and history. She and her husband, who passed away in 2010, spent years replenishing the interior, finding new mouldings, replacing window casings discarded by previous owners and painting it in vibrant colors

"The home at 2240 N. Burling St., part of the national Sheffield Historic District, is one of the few remaining wood-frame homes built in the aftermath of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

The building’s new owner is Thaddeus Wong, Blatherwick’s neighbor for many years and the co-CEO of @properties | Christie’s International Real Estate, one of the nation’s largest residential real estate firms. He filed for a demolition permit in November, but city officials nearly three decades ago gave 2240 N. Burling an orange rating, reserved for properties that may be historically significant, and that put a 90-day hold on the permit.

"In the meantime, Preservation Chicago launched a petition drive to save the home, garnering more than 2,000 signatures, and plan to ask the Commission on Chicago Landmarks at its Feb. 9 meeting to either further delay the demolition or make 2240 a local landmark, hopefully saving it for future generations.

"'It’s a unique building, finely crafted and detailed,' said Ward Miller, executive director of Preservation Chicago. 'It represents what the city looked like before and just after the Chicago Fire.'

"The possible teardown fits a pattern seen across Lincoln Park, according to preservationists. Longtime residents sell out, and new owners, frequently very wealthy, demolish and replace old properties with imposing mega-mansions or use the spaces as side yards. Hundreds of homes were lost this way in recent decades, including ones with orange ratings. And unless more protection is offered, perhaps by making the entire district a local landmark, advocates say the neighborhood will lose the elegance that attracts so many eager buyers, as well as its few remaining affordable units.

"'There just aren’t that many wood-based houses like 2240, mostly because, for obvious reasons, wood construction became less common after the Chicago Fire, but this is not just about the architectural significance of an individual house,' said Landmarks Illinois Advocacy Manager Kendra Parzen. 'We’d really like to see a more complete solution for the district, because right now, the same house-by-house fight keeps happening over and over again.'

"The Sheffield historic district, first created in the 1970s and later expanded, now covers most of Lincoln Park between Lincoln Avenue on the east and Clybourn Avenue on the west, but the designation doesn’t provide protection to individual buildings, Parzen said. Between 1993 and 2019, more than 350 buildings, roughly one-third of its stock, were either demolished or significantly altered, often transformed from three-flats or other multifamily properties into single-family homes or new condominiums.

"Lincoln Central Association, the local community organization, is also fighting to save 2240 N. Burling. According to the organization’s December newsletter, its loss would continue a decadeslong process that led teachers, firemen and other service workers to leave the neighborhood.

"Mid-North Association President Melissa Macek said securing local landmark status for the neighborhood would provide more protection for vulnerable properties. She lives several blocks east in the Mid-North District, a local landmark area, and its 19th-century brick rowhouses, Queen Anne-style homes and several pre-Chicago Fire workers’ cottages are largely protected.

"'I want my daughter to be able to see all this architecture when she grows up,' she said. 'People need to raise their voices, otherwise it will be gone.'

"The Old Town home that innovative 20th-century architect Walter Netsch designed with a bold, unconventional floor plan of multiple levels and bands of skylights across the ceiling is going up for a rare type of landmarking this week.

"Mark Smithe and Will Forrest, who bought the house on Hudson Avenue in December 2014 from the estate of Dawn Clark Netsch, the architect’s widow, are going before the Commission on Chicago Landmarks on Jan. 12. They’re submitting the house, built in 1972, for landmark designation not only for the exterior, which is a common practice, but for the interior, which is not.

"'The interior is so remarkable that it’s worth preserving,' said Forrest, a senior partner at business consulting firm McKinsey. 'It’s inseparable from the exterior.' The men said they do not plan to sell the house anytime soon, but that they want to ensure its long-term protection now. 'It has a legacy we want to preserve,' Smithe said.

"Landmarking the interior of a public or publicly accessible building, such as the Palmer House Hilton downtown or the university-owned Frederick C. Robie House in Hyde Park, is not unusual, said Ward Miller, executive director of Preservation Chicago. Landmark designation comes with limitations on what about a structure can be changed and with what materials.

"The Netsch house 'is a unique situation,' Miller said, but because it’s being advocated by the property owners, he expects the Landmarks Commission will approve the designation. Commission staff and members do not comment publicly on proposed designations before the official meeting, but in the agenda, staff wrote that they recommend approving the couple's application for landmark designation. Miller suggested landmarking the Netsch interior 'maybe would start a trend.'

"Netsch designed the house for himself and his law professor wife, Dawn Clark Netsch, in the early 1970s when Old Town was an epicenter of hipness populated by, among others, bohemian retailers, comedy landmark Second City, and his fellow modernist architects. Dawn Clark Netsch went on to a career in politics, serving as the comptroller of Illinois and running for governor in 1994. She died in 2013, five years after her husband.

"Neighbors around the Netsch house worried it would be torn down because of its unusual features. Smithe and Forrest, who lived nearby, approached Dawn Clark Netsch’s executors about buying it. They paid $1.65 million for the house and have not disclosed what they spent on renovation.

"Miller said he hopes landmarking Netsch’s house, both exterior and interior, 'will open the door to landmarking midcentury homes in Old Town.' The Old Town Triangle district designation from 1977 enshrined the neighborhood’s structures from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but buildings from its hip heyday, designed by architects Stanley Tigerman, Bruce Graham and other less well-known modernists like the firm Bauhs & Dring, 'are worthy of preservation, too,' Miller said.” (Rodkin, Crain's Chicago Business, 1/10/23)

Preservation Chicago is thrilled about this wonderful preservation win. We testified in strong support of the Chicago Landmark designation of the Walter Netsch and Dawn Clark Netsch house. We have worked with the Old Town Triangle and other preservation partners for over six years towards the recognition and protection of Old Town's important collection of midcentury homes. We advocated for and helped research the Old Town Midcentury Context Statement which was authored by Terry Tatum before his passing. We further hope that the Chicago Landmark protections, for both interior and exterior, become more common for outstanding examples of Chicago's built heritage.

"A city panel will vote Thursday on whether to grant preliminary landmark status to a historic West Side church — a move that’s good news to anyone concerned about the fate of Chicago’s architecturally-significant houses of worship.

"The Commission on Chicago Landmarks will decide if Greater Union Baptist Church, 1956 W. Warren Blvd., is worthy of the honor. The 137-year-old brick-and-terra cotta beauty by the noted architect William Le Baron Jenney should be a shoo-in.

"The designation — which has the support of the church’s congregation — would protect the Richardson Romanesque edifice from demolition or unsympathetic alterations. It would also shine light on the church’s remarkable contributions to the city’s history.

"And it’s a reminder of the need to preserve the city’s old and architecturally noteworthy worship spaces — most of which have no landmark protections — as they continue to close or fall by the wayside entirely.

"Greater Union was built in 1886 as Church of the Redeemer, Second Universalist. Church of the Redeemer was prominent among Progressive Era houses of worship and hosted lectures on the welfare of children, women’s right to vote and temperance, according to the city’s smartly-written and well-illustrated landmark designation report.

"The current congregation bought the church in 1928, and kept it socially active for the next century while preserving the building’s remarkable architecture.

"The church’s column-free auditorium is a visual feast with curved pews, bronze chandeliers, a pipe organ, and exposed wooden trusses. Greater Union also boasts fine stained glass windows by Jean-François Millet.

"The church is one of four designed by architect Jenney, who was an early pioneer of skyscraper design. His buildings include Chicago’s late, great Home Insurance Building from 1884 — long considered the world’s first steel-framed skyscraper — and the landmark Second Leiter Building, now the Robert Morris Center, at 401 S. State St., built in 1891.

"Fewer than 20 Chicago houses of worship have been granted landmark status. Greater Union would be a fitting addition. The proposed landmark designation — which protects the church until the City Council votes within the next year to make the honor permanent — only covers Greater Union’s exterior. While we wish the church’s glorious interior could have been included, the designation and Greater Union’s committed congregation, is far better than no protection at all." (Chicago Sun-Times Editorial Board, 1/11/23)

Preservation Chicago strongly supports the Chicago Landmark Designation for Greater Union Baptist Church. Preservation Chicago has worked with the Greater Union Baptist Congregation, Board of Directors, and both Pastor Dr. McCray and former pastor Willie Morris of Church, for over seven years towards the designation of the church as a Chicago Landmark.

We were grateful to assist the City of Chicago’s Historic Preservation Division of the Department of Planning and Development to capture oral histories of the Pastor and many of the longtime members of the Congregation. We are extremely grateful for this opportunity to assist with the Preliminary and later Final Landmark Recommendation and bring this great honor to this amazing West Side institution.

Special thanks to the DPD-Historic Preservation Staff, Pastor Dr. McCray and the many members of Great Union Baptist Church for their help, commitment, dedication and stewardship towards this important moment in our collective history.

After over a decade of vacancy, the Pioneer Arcade received Preliminary Chicago Landmark approval at the November 3, 2022 Commission on Chicago Landmarks meeting. This protection is long-overdue and essential to protect its beautiful ornate facade as part of an adaptive reuse project. The Pioneer Arcade was a Chicago 7 Most Endangered in 2015 and Preservation Chicago has made many attempts over the years to advocate on behalf of the building. We applaud the Chicago Department of Planning and Development for encouraging to the developer to pursue adaptive reuse and Chicago Landmark designation.

"The Commission on Chicago Landmarks has approved the preliminary landmark designation for the Pioneer Arcade. Located at 1535 N. Pulaski, the building was designed by Jens J. Jensen and built in 1924-25. With an impressive terracotta facade, the building is one of the last of Chicago’s commercial recreation center buildings. Holding bowling lanes and a billiards hall, the building was a center of neighborhood commercial activity for decades.

"As proposed, the designation states that the building meets Criterion 1 for its value as an example of city, state, or national heritage. Bowling and billiards were the staples of entertainment in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Chicago was the midwestern center for the national indoor sports movement, hosting the first modern bowling tournament in 1901 and one of the first billiards world championship tournaments in 1916. Allen Hall, a well-known billiards competitor, made Pioneer Arcade his signature establishment, raising its profile with well-publicized tournament games.

"In 1924, the Chicago Tribune reported that the Pioneer Arcade would be 'one of the city's finest” and would be 'one of the most elaborate recreation buildings in the city'. Opening in 1925, the ground floor was home to four shops and 35 billiards tables. Upstairs, the second floor was home to 16 bowling lanes with a spectator platform looking down onto them. The recreation building thrived as a bowling and billiards hall, becoming a long-term fixture in the social life of Humboldt Park.

"The second landmark criterion for the building is Criterion 4, for exemplary architecture. As one of the grandest sports halls from the 1920s, the building is an outstanding example of a district commercial building, designed in a version of Spanish Baroque Revival style called Churrigueresque, which refers to the most ornate examples of the overall style. Key elements include the twisted columns, the forms of classical architecture, and the exuberant ornament on the facade, especially above the main entrance. Jens J Jensen was the architect of the building.

"In its current state, the building’s exterior is mostly intact, with only very minor alterations to the main facade. On the interior, the bowling lanes and billiards hall have been significantly altered with no historic significance remaining. In an unusual circumstance, the building came before the commission with a redevelopment plan to demolish the back portion of the building and use the front section as part of a new development by Hispanic Housing Development Corporation.

"With UrbanWorks serving as the architect, the plan calls for the restoration, repair, and integration of the front 35 feet of the Pioneer Arcade, with the rear 85 feet set to be replaced with six stories of senior housing. This new addition will be setback significantly from the street and a new building planned for the vacant site south of the Pioneer Arcade will also be setback from the historic building for visual relief. The muted palette of the new design does not aim to compete with the Pioneer Arcade facade.

"The developers have received site plan approval from DPD under the property’s existing Planned Development and came to the Commission on Chicago Landmarks consenting to the designation. While a designation usually covers the entire building, there are precedents for the landmarking of a building where it is partially demolished for new construction." (Kugler, Urbanize Chicago, 11/8/22)

"Congress has sent President Joe Biden a bill to sign establishing Chicago’s historic Bronzeville community as a National Heritage Area.

"The Senate unanimously approved the creation of the Bronzeville-Black Metropolis National Heritage Area this month which was included in the National Heritage Area Act that the House passed on a 326-95 roll call.

"Paula Robinson, president of the Black Metropolis National Heritage Commission said the national heritage area would also honor 'The Great Migration' of approximately 500,000 African-Americans from the South to northern cities during the early 20th Century. “For us, the congressional designation basically allows us to tell the story of this whole cultural landscape,” Robinson told the Sun-Times.

"The designation also makes up to $1 million a year in federal funding available to preservation and development efforts in Bronzeville, for up to 15 years.

"There are 55 National Heritage Areas; Bronzeville would be the third in Illinois, along with the Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area and the Illinois & Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor."(The Chicago Reporter, 12/26/22)

Preserving Black Metropolis Gets A Big Boost, The Chicago Reporter, 12/26/22

Closed for a decade, the Congress Theater is a shell of the gleaming movie palace and music venue it once was.

"Water is seeping into the 1920s venue, badly damaging the original structure and its ornate details. The plaster walls are crumbling, and parts of the ceiling have collapsed, scattering debris. The theater’s worsening condition, combined with sky-high construction prices and other mounting costs, is complicating a local developer’s ambitious — and much-anticipated — plans to revive the Logan Square gem.

"Baum Revision, a developer with a reputation for restoring historical buildings, was winding its way through the city approval process last year, but the Congress rehab project stalled as costs increased and negotiations around labor and other issues persisted, said David Baum, one of the managing principals.

"'It’s been a bit of a game of whack-a-mole. Every time we think we’ve figured it out, pricing goes up,' Baum said. 'Construction pricing has not been going in the right direction, interest rates continue to go up, getting loans is more difficult and general costs — energy or anything else — has been going up. … Pricing continues to go up while the condition of the building is not getting better.'

"The project itself hasn’t changed: Baum still plans to fully restore the 2,900-seat music venue at 2135 N. Milwaukee Ave. and surrounding retail shops and apartments.

"But the renovation is now estimated to cost $88 million, up from $70.4 million last year, Baum said. The development company is seeking $27 million in tax-increment finance dollars to cover a gap in funding. That’s $7 million more than developers asked for last year and $17 million more than the previous developer secured for a similar project.

"Baum’s team is working closely with city officials to nail down a redevelopment agreement and secure financing as theater operator AEG Presents and local labor union UNITE HERE Local 1 battle over a “good jobs commitment.”

"If everything goes according to plan, the redevelopment project could be introduced in City Council next month, setting the stage for subsequent approval, said Baum and other players, including Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st), whose ward includes the Congress.

"The project is delicate, partly because there’s a lot at stake. A restored Congress will transform the abandoned Milwaukee Avenue stretch and give the broader neighborhood an economic and cultural jolt, neighbors and local leaders said.

"'Trying to get this thing to work is a Rubik’s Cube,' Baum said. 'We feel like we’re there, we hope that the powers that be will want to get this thing passed. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned like everyone else is,' Baum said. (Bloom, Block Club Chicago, 2/8/23)

The Congress Theater was designated a Chicago Landmark in 2002 in large part due to the strong advocacy and dedication of Preservation Chicago and Logan Square Preservation. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2017. Over the past 20 years, Preservation Chicago and Logan Square Preservation have continued to advocate for its restoration and reactivation. There have been many challenges and false starts, but we are optimistic that this renovation effort will prove successful.

"Make a list of the city’s most historically important places and the buildings of the old Central Manufacturing District in the McKinley Park neighborhood probably wouldn’t make the cut. But they should. We’d be a different city had it not been for the CMD, among the country’s first industrial parks.

"The early 20th Century brick, limestone and terra cotta buildings formed a hard-working, well-designed mile-long backbone down Pershing Road between Ashland and Western avenues. And from 1905 through the 1960s, thousands of CMD workers from 252 companies helped supply the nation with everything from furniture to chewing gum. During the district’s salad days, players there included Goodyear Tire, Westinghouse and an assortment of others, including food processors, drug makers, oil refiners and furniture makers who made use of the shared costs of services provided by the CMD.

"The CMD represented a great deal of Chicago’s early industrial, economic and architectural might. But you wouldn’t know that by looking at the district today. The CMD has been largely uninhabited in recent decades, leaving many of these important buildings in decay — unused and unprotected.

"But that could start to change this month as the Department of Planning and the McKinley Park community begin vetting proposals from three developers seeking to reuse the CMD’s easternmost building, a vacant 571,476-square-foot city-owned warehouse at 1769 W. Pershing Road.

"The three short-listed proposals include a $121 million plan from IBT Group to convert the warehouse into 120 units of mixed-income housing, along with 200,000 square feet of offices, plus retail and lab space.

"Meanwhile, in its $95 million proposal, LG Pershing Sound Studios promises to turn the warehouse into a 40,000-square-foot movie studio and 130,000 square feet of retail and commercial space. The plan includes additional studio space on the truck lot.

"The developer Quartermaster Outpost seeks to build a 75,000-square-foot movie studio on the truck lot while putting 425,000 square feet of business space in the warehouse. The $90 million plan includes building 40 mixed-income housing units on a top floor that would be added to the warehouse.

"The McKinley Park Development Council is among the community groups that helped pick the three developers and will aid in selecting the ultimate winner.

"'We’re looking for options that increase public access to the CMD — to make it pedestrian-friendly,” said the organization’s president, Kate Eakin. 'We want to be careful that it’s done well because it will set a standard for what comes next in the CMD,' she said." (Bey, Chicago Sun-Times, 2/4/23)

"Illinois has an inadequate process for selling off land it no longer needs. It ought to do better.

"The glaring shortcoming was demonstrated when the state unloaded the so-called Damen Silos at 29th Street and Damen Avenue for $6.52 million to MAT Limited Partnership, which is owned by asphalt manufacturer Michael Tadin Jr. MAT has not endeared itself to many of the residents living near its asphalt plant in McKinley Park.

"Clearly, the 23-acre Damen property, which is right on the river, should have been part of a master plan focused on helping to redevelop the land along the Chicago River in a way most beneficial to city residents.

"Various groups around the city have said they want park space, a bike path or both on the site, opponents of the sale say. And transforming the river from an old-time industrial waterway to an environmental asset for the public has long been a goal for advocates of the river.

"But none of that was taken into account.

"The Illinois Department of Central Management Services said the state simply followed rules that said the land should be sold to the highest bidder. But Kate Eakin, president of the McKinley Park Development Council, told us the law requires only a sale at fair market value, and it does not apply if the state is selling the land to another government, such as the city of Chicago.

"But there are instances, such as in this case, in which the public benefit from a thoughtful reuse of the property would have been greater than simply getting some extra money tacked onto the sale price and having the property put back on the tax rolls.

That’s why better rules are needed.

"Illinois residents deserve to know what will be the ultimate use of land the state is selling, said Gerald W. Adelmann, president & CEO of Openlands.

"As it stands now, the state does not require any plan for a site before selling it, other than making sure no state agencies want it. The Damen site, with its historic grain silos, is one of the last remaining large plots along the Chicago River that could be used for the public.

"Done right, the site could be turned into a city jewel providing open space and recreation. But conservationists say no one, including the state, can produce the document in which the state notified the city of the pending sale." (Chicago Sun-Times Editorial Board, 1/3/23)

"Juanita Irizarry delivered a gut punch of a speech at the December 14 meeting of the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners. You could say she hit it out of the park.

"That’s hard to pull off when you’ve only got two minutes to make your case.

"But Irizarry, speaking as executive director of Friends of the Parks, also spoke from the heart. In the scant time allotted members of the public to comment, she took a clearly painful stand. The subject was construction in Humboldt Park.

"If you know Humboldt Park, you know that its 128-year-old Stables and Receptory Building on West Division Street is a pinch-me stunner. A sprawling, turreted, multi-gabled storybook retreat, it might have been lifted from the banks of the Rhine before it landed here—out of place and time—at the western end of the stretch of Division that is the Paseo Boricua, an area that was once home to German immigrants and is now the hub of Chicago’s Puerto Rican community.

"Designed by the Chicago firm of Frommann & Jebsen (also responsible for Schubas Tavern), this Disneyesque architectural cream puff was built to shelter equipment as well as horses, and initially included the office of landscape architect Jens Jensen, then the Humboldt Park superintendent. An official Chicago landmark, it’s also on the National Register of Historic Places. The National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture has occupied space there since 2002, and in 2014 it was granted a 99-year lease with an annual rent of one dollar for the entire building. Standing alone against a backdrop of parkland lawns and paths, it’s been a commanding presence.

"But last summer, neighbors and preservationists say they noticed something surprising: some kind of construction was underway next to the stables. What was going on? A long trail of FOIA requests later, here’s what they found: in 2020 the museum had been approved for a $750,000 grant from the state to make repairs and to construct a modest, low-slung, 1,500-square-foot archives building nearby.

"This was mystifying, because the building that was taking shape last summer was much larger. The people who researched it say drawings submitted after construction started show a two-story structure, measuring as much as 6,800 square feet, that would stand nearly 40 feet tall. By early fall, partially completed, it was already blocking views of the museum’s landmark home and marring the pastoral setting. No city building permits had been issued, and, in spite of the fact that work was taking place on public land with impact on a publicly owned landmark property, there had been no public notice, hearings, or chance for community input. In September, after a 311 complaint, the city building department issued a stop-work order. In November, Humboldt Park residents Kurt Gippert and Maria Paula Cabrera (who had both unsuccessfully opposed state designation of this area as a Special District to be known as “Puerto Rico Town”) posted a protest petition at Change.org that gathered nearly 1,400 signatures.

"Gippert presented the petition to the Park District at the December 14 meeting and asked that the partially completed building be demolished. He was one of a half dozen protesting speakers, including Mary Lu Seidel, Preservation Chicago’s director of community engagement, who summed the situation up as 'a gross abuse of their lease' on the part of the museum. 'They applied for a state grant without CPD’s permission, dramatically changed the scope of that grant, did not amend the grant with the state, and started construction without permits, without approval from CPD, and without input from the public,' Seidel said.

"Here’s what Irizarry told the board:

"'The idea that they can start building illegally in a park is a dare to all of us to make them take it down.”

"'Museum director Billy Ocasio and his team are not people who don’t know that they need a permit,' Irizarry said.

"'I know these things as a lifelong Humboldt Parker who lives in the 26th Ward where Alderman Billy Ocasio was alderman for decades,' she continued. 'I worked and volunteered with a number of nonprofits and committees that aligned with his policies. . . . I cochaired the committee that developed what became his affordable housing set-aside policy and participated on his affordable housing committee. . . . I tell this story as a donor to the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture and as one to whom Billy Ocasio has been very important personally, politically, and professionally.

"'I want to make an important point knowing that oftentimes conflicts like these get reframed in all kinds of ways to distract from the actual issue at hand. You can be Puerto Rican, love the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture, be deeply engaged in organizing activism to keep our community in that space, and not believe this is an appropriate action. We urge you to respond accordingly.'

"When Friends of the Parks noted in a December newsletter that they’re considering legal action in this matter, I called Irizarry to ask about it. She said it would be a last resort, but her board has authorized it if necessary. She added that FOTP thinks demolition is in order. To let the building go on to completion 'would represent terrible precedent,' she said.

"This is my community,' she said. 'I’m just trying to do this in ways that are least damaging. We need to pull together Puerto Ricans who are on the statehood side, Puerto Ricans who are on the independence side, Puerto Ricans who are happy to just stay a commonwealth. I’ve heard from a lot of independence movement folks who think that this is wrong. I’m trying to pull together folks across that spectrum to say, 'How do we lead through this with integrity and common care for our community and our culture?'" (Isaacs, Chicago Reader, 1/11/23)

"A project to transform a historical Bronzeville mansion into a digital archive center and members-only coworking hub for Black journalists and creators is finally moving forward.

"Obsidian Collection Founder Angela Ford is behind the $3.8 million plan for the famed Lu and Jorja Palmer mansion, 3654 S. King Drive.

"Ford received a $1.25 million loan to buy the mansion in April 2021 in hopes of a mid-2022 grand opening. But she struggled to get a hearing with the zoning board to change the property’s designation from residential to commercial, and she accused Ald. Sophia King (4th) of holding up progress.

"Now, the project is finally on the cusp of receiving City Council review. King introduced an ordinance Wednesday seeking a key zoning change for the mansion.

"Ford envisions a three-story facility where members can enjoy small bites and non-alcoholic beverages. Two apartment units on the top floor would serve visiting scholars, and the space would host events like film screenings and panel discussions.

"The Obsidian Collection recently entered a partnership with a university in London in which it’d host fellows and interns who would be scholars in residence, Ford said. The building would also be a physical home for Obsidian’s Black media archives, a venture Ford and her team launched in 2017 after starting it by organizing images from the Chicago Defender’s archives.

"The 135-year-old mansion was on Preservation Chicago’s 'Most Endangered Buildings' list four years ago after falling into disrepair. Completed in 1888 for Justice D. Harry Hammer, the mansion was bought by famed journalist Lu Palmer and his wife, Jorja, in 1976. Palmer remained in the house until his death in 2004.

"Ward Miller, Preservation Chicago executive director, has signaled his organization’s support for the effort, thanking Ford and her team for coming up with a creative way to keep the mansion in use.

"'We’re really excited to see this project move along. The building has been vacant for a long time, and it’s certainly one of Chicago’s finest Queen Anne buildings in the heart of Bronzeville,' Miller said.

"Ford told Block Club she’d begged the 4th Ward office to facilitate a public meeting for months about the project but received little to no response from King." (Nesbitt Golden, Block Club Chicago, 2/1/23)

"For the first time in three years, a West Side church community gathered in person to honor Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and legacy.

"Stone Temple Missionary Baptist Church, a historically Black church in North Lawndale, has held an event marking King’s birthday every year since 2015, but the event was held virtually in 2021 and 2022 due to concerns over COVID-19.

On Monday, church members returned to the church at 3622 W. Douglas Blvd., where King preached while living in Chicago in the 1960s. Monday’s celebration featured performances and speakers including Stone Temple’s pastor Bishop Derrick M. Fitzpatrick, North Lawndale Historical and Cultural Society founder Blanche Killingsworth, Tiffany Walden, co-founder of The TRiiBE, and others.

"Volunteers from the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Jewish United Fund gave away food to those in need during the event.

"Ward Miller, executive director of Preservation Chicago, also spoke at Monday’s event. Miller was instrumental in getting the church city landmark status in 2016.

"'It’s about community,' he said. 'It’s about different communities coming together. Today, you saw the Jewish United Fund and several synagogues come together with the Stone Temple congregation here on the West Side of the city. You saw different races and different socioeconomic groups coming together.”'

"Before Stone Temple was a Christian church, it was Jewish synagogue. Many of the building’s original fixtures, including several Stars of David, still remain.

"Pastor Chris Harris of Bright Star Church Chicago and Rabbi Shoshanah Conover of Temple Sholom said the city’s Black and Jewish communities face many of the same challenges. They urged those gathered to 'stand with' and 'show up' for each other to fight racism and antisemitism. Pastor Fitzpatrick said it’s important for people of different religions to support each other amid a rise in antisemitism nationwide.

"Just a few years before his death in 1968, King came to Chicago with his wife Coretta Scott King to live in a rundown apartment at 16th Street and Hamlin Avenue. He was invited to come to the city by the Chicago Freedom Movement to address redlining and housing inequality.

"King spent 17 months in Chicago, fighting for fair and open housing with nonviolent strategies like rallies, boycotts and grassroots lobbying. A march in what was predominantly-white Marquette Park at the time led to a mob of angry white residents attacking King and other protestors, according to WTTW.

"'Dr. King said we have to have an audacious hope for the future and so I have that audacious hope that the future is gonna be brighter,' Fitzpatrick said. 'We may have some dark yesterdays but we’ll also have some brighter tomorrows.'" (McDonald, Block Club Chicago, 1/17/23)

Located at 3622 W. Douglas Boulevard in Chicago’s North Lawndale community, Stone Temple Baptist Church was originally a synagogue called First Roumanian Congregation. The soaring yellow masonry building was built in 1926 by Jewish immigrants primarily from Romania and designed by Chicago architect Joseph W. Cohen & Co.

The historic building transitioned to Stone Temple Baptist Church in the 1950s under the leadership of Reverend J.M. Stone. During the late 1950s and 1960s Reverend Stone and Stone Temple Baptist proved a strong voice advocating for Civil Rights. As early as 1959, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was in Chicago, he frequently visited Stone Temple Baptist and often addressed the congregation from the podium. During the 1966 Chicago Freedom Movement, Stone Temple Baptist was one of his key bases of support.

Preservation Chicago played an important role in outreaching to Bishop Derrick Fitzpatrick and his congregation to encourage and advocate for the Chicago Landmark Designation which was awarded in 2016. The historic building is highly significant for its architecture and its important role in the Civil Rights Movement.

Additionally, the podium from which Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. preached remains in the sanctuary of Stone Temple Baptist Church. Preservation Chicago continues to advocate that this extraordinary artifact be prominently displayed in a leading Chicago museum such as the DuSable Museum of African American History, and perhaps on occasion loaned to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C.

"The Chicago City Council has approved the adaptive reuse of the All Saints St. Anthony Church at 518 W 28th Place in Bridgeport. Located on the corner with S. Wallace Street, the multi-building complex will see new life as a child and adult daycare facility led by developer T2 Opportunity Fund LLC with Vari Architects LTD serving as the designers of the new interior spaces.

"The church was originally built to serve the area’s German population in 1915, designed by Henry J. Schlacks who worked on other churches on the south and west side. The Romanesque style building is well known for its mosaic of the vision of St. Anthony over the entrance and a stained-glass window by Bavarian artist Franz Xaver Zettler.

"After closing in 2019, it was scheduled for demolition before being nominated for landmark status by Preservation Chicago in 2021. Now we know the historical four-building campus will be saved and restored.

"The existing church, rectory, school buildings will be receiving structural and facade repairs, while the rear convent structure is being demolished. The church and rectory will become a new adult-daycare facility, joining a handful of others throughout the city and roughly 4,600 others in the nation in 2016 serving over 286,000 elders.

"The church will see new walls added creating a library, reception, and office in the existing front entrance area, five activity rooms and a consultation room will be added in the linear nave, the crossing and transepts will become a multi-purpose space, and the choir/altar will be an exercise space.

"Many old churches that once served thousands across the city are rapidly deteriorating, with a few being converted to homes or other used, the approval of the reuse of All Saints St. Anthony is a win for the city’s architectural legacy." (Achong, Chicago YIMBY, 3/21/22)

Preservation Chicago has been working closely with the developer and architect to help achieve the programmatic requirements of the adaptive reuse which preserving and restoring as much historic material as is possible. Prior to the sale, workmen for the Archdiocese of Chicago removed all of the art-glass windows and other religious elements. During the hasty interior salvage efforts, Preservation Chicago reminded the Archdiocese leadership and their workmen that a permit would required to alter the exterior mosaic over the main doors. Fortunately, this extraordinary mosaic was left intact.

"An example of an unprotected religious structure is 10 miles due south of Greater Union on the corner of 80th and Wood Streets, where the vacant former Little Flower Church wilts.

"The limestone-facade church was built in 1940 and served generations of Catholic worshippers before closing in 1993. Greater Mt. Hebron Baptist bought the building from the archdiocese, according to the city’s Department of Buildings, but later vacated the premises.

"The dilapidated church is a pall on a block of nicely-maintained brick bungalows, two-flats and three-flats.

"Ald. David Moore (17th) said he’s been trying to contact the congregation about the building, but to no avail.

"'It’s a very good-looking building … and it hurts my heart when these churches are abandoned and the historic architecture of them is lost,' Moore said. 'We don’t want a building with this great architecture to go to waste.'

"Hear, hear. Especially when a repurposed religious structure can be quite the asset. The former Church of the Epiphany, 201 S. Ashland Ave., was built in 1885 and now enjoys a new life as Epiphany Center for the Arts, a performance venue with studio space.

"The old Little Flower has no demolition permit pending against it, according to the building department. And the building is listed for sale at $100,000. Perhaps with new owners, the church can bloom again.

"Chicago just stood by in the 1970s and 1990s as nearly all of the city’s beautiful old movie palaces were closed, then bulldozed.

"Without protections and a plan, churches and temples — facing the same perils of age and dwindling attendance as did the old movie palaces — might well be next." (Chicago Sun-Times Editorial Board, 1/11/23)

"Chicago boasts some of the finest art and architecture in the world, resulting in throngs of tourists visiting historic homes and buildings every year. But one gem has been off-limits to scholars, architecture enthusiasts and lovers of art for several years because of a legal dispute.

"At issue is a condominium at 1734 N. Wells St., known as the Glasner Studio, that was a party house for wealthy Chicago industrialist Rudolph Glasner. Between 1928 and 1932, the unit was converted by Chicago artist Edgar Miller and developer Sol Kogen into the Kogen-Miller Studios, a new colony where artists were allowed to stay in exchange for their work on rehabbing the building.

"Kogen bought the building. Miller, a multi-talented artist who came to Chicago from his native Idaho to attend the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, made it his crowning work in a career spanning genres, styles and mediums. Miller died in 1993 at age 93.

"From 2016 to 2018, the unit was home to the Edgar Miller Legacy, a nonprofit that would host tours of the studio. Now, it is at the center of a legal dispute between the three condo owners in the building — Julie Bleicher, a co-owner of the Glasner Studio, and Glenn Aldinger and Ronald Cieslak, the two other owners of condos in the building.

"Bleicher inherited her condo from her brother Mark Mamolen, who was a close friend of Miller. Mamolen bought the studio in 2000; he died in December 2013 and willed it to Bleicher and her two sons.

"Julie’s son Zac Bleicher founded The Edgar Miller Legacy and lives in the unit. When the organization achieved nonprofit status in 2016, it listed the Wells Street address as its headquarters. That’s the same year it began to give tours to lovers of art, architecture and history.

"Zac Bleicher said the Edgar Miller Legacy hosted tours for 10 to 30 people at a time — and that the two other owners in the condominium complex attended several Legacy meetings, get-togethers and tours before having a change of heart.

"Aldinger and Cieslak contend frequent, large tours infringed on their lifestyle, and that Zac Bleicher took advantage of their willingness to overlook a condominium association rule against using a condo as a place of work.

"'Once we were out in the courtyard having a barbecue and this parade of people started coming through, taking pictures of us,' Aldinger said. 'It was very intrusive.'

"Bleicher contends Aldinger was initially on board, hoping the Legacy and its tours would boost property values. But, according to Zac Bleicher, Aldinger’s support waned after an appraisal came in lower than what he deemed adequate.

"Aldinger said although he has a second home, he has lived in the building for 50 years. He also is interested in selling, he added, and the appraisal had nothing to do with his opposition to the tours.

"'The Glasner Studio is truly a Chicago treasure,' said Ward Miller, executive director of Preservation Chicago, a group that fights to save historic architecture. 'It’s unfortunate that these legal conflicts are keeping people from visiting this remarkable house that is truly a work of art by a very well-known artist.'" (Bob Chiarito, Chicago Sun-Times, 12/26/22)

"A developer wants to overhaul two bank buildings at Damen and Lincoln avenues to bring apartments and stores to the busy North Center intersection.

"Developer Ravine Park Partners wants to renovate the existing bank building at 3959 N. Lincoln Ave. and construct a new eight-story building at 3950 N. Damen Ave. Both properties are near the three-way intersection of Lincoln Avenue, Damen Avenue and Irving Park Road.

"The rehab of the 3959 N. Lincoln Ave. building would include 5,000 square feet of retail on the first floor and 92 one- and two-bedroom apartments, according to plans shared with Martin’s office. (Hernandez, Block Club Chicago, 1/17/23)

Both the original Lincoln Trust & Savings Bank, located across the street at 3936 N. Lincoln Avenue and the Art Deco limestone bank building should both be considered for Chicago Landmark Designation.

"The owner of a landmark office building downtown had to deal last week with any landlord’s nightmare — a busted pipe that sent water gushing down several floors. But he said that’s not his biggest problem with the property.

"Attorney Steven DeGraff wants to convert the old Delaware Building at 36 W. Randolph St. into residences, in line with a city government push for more housing in the Loop. But he said he’s being stymied by fast-food giant McDonald’s, which had a restaurant in the building until a couple of years ago.

"McDonald’s still has a long-term lease for the first two floors. DeGraff said the Chicago-based company won’t agree to a design change he needs for the renovation.

"DeGraff, with the law firm Much Shelist, said McDonald’s is being obstinate even though it has told him it will never re-open the location. At issue is about 93 square feet DeGraff said he needs to take from the shuttered restaurant space. He said it would provide a second entrance needed under fire codes if he converts the building to residential.

"'They have their lease and they’ve said they’re never coming back. But they’ve rejected every proposal I’ve ever given them' for the second entrance, DeGraff said. 'Their attitude is, 'Buy me out.''

"The building is eight stories and only about 32,000 square feet, its small floors and windows unappealing to many of today’s companies. It’s mostly vacant, but with a jeweler on the ground floor. DeGraff said that with a site near the James M. Nederlander Theatre, Petterino’s restaurant and Block 37, the building would work better as about 64 apartments. He estimated the work would cost about $15 million.

"DeGraff, part of a partnership that owns the site, said McDonald’s pays only $1 a year in rent plus 39% of the building’s property taxes. He called it a 'sweetheart deal' that dates from when the company owned the building decades ago.

"The Italianate-style building with a cast-iron base was started shortly after the Chicago Fire of 1871 and is among the few remaining buildings of that era. It’s a Chicago landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

"DeGraff said a new use would bring the building to life and add energy to the Loop. He said the water leak, which happened during the onslaught of subzero temperatures, was quickly stopped and that insurance-funded repairs are underway.

"'I’m a steward for this site. It’s a great building, and it should be great for many years to come,” DeGraff said. 'The ownership group is passionate about doing something with this building.'

The Delaware Building is a beautifully designed and very rare, large early Post-Chicago Fire structure, with an amazing eight-story skylit interior atrium space, lined with a cast iron staircase. There are few such examples of a large scale building from the 1870s remaining in the heart of the Chicago Loop from this period with such remarkable qualities. This building requires a new preservation plan with a good steward.

"New details have been revealed for the mixed use redevelopment of 465 W Cermak Road in Chinatown. Located directly on the south branch of the Chicago River and on the intersection with S. Canal Street, the multi-story structure has seen its fair share of redevelopment proposals in the last few years with none coming to fruition yet. Years after 465 W Cermak Road was proposed to be turned into residences, then into a hotel with a home furnishings store, now Aurora-based Windfall Group is set to try again with a change in plans as it now becomes known as Pacifica of Chicago.

"Rising six stories above ground, the massive W.M. Hoyt warehouse building was erected in 1909 for the namesake grocery wholesaler. Designed by Nimmons & Fellows, the Prairie-style structure is located within the Cermak Road Bridge District which houses the city’s only double leaf rolling bridge. Now the area is well known for the Jefferson Square marketplace and Radius Chicago music venue, all within walking distance from the heart of Chinatown.

"The 280,000-square-foot building will be cleaned and restored, with the installation of new windows having been started by the previous owner who planned for over 200 hotel rooms on the top floors.

"The new plans, though vague, include a large retail component with riverfront access, education, dining, food hall, spa, and a grocer, all of which will be topped by over 100 residential units. Serving as a community destination like many of the developers other Pacifica projects, it will also include leisure activities, services, and cultural amenities.

"Currently there are nearby parking spaces visitors may use and the developer claims to have also purchased an additional structure on an adjacent parcel, to be used for a future second phase allowing for a comprehensive development.

"No budget nor building permits have been submitted to the city, and while the site won’t require a rezoning, it will need plan approvals and to secure funding. However it is worth noting that the Windfall Group’s website shows a groundbreaking date of spring 2023." (Achong, Chicago YIMBY, 1/13/23)

The four buildings that comprise the Cermak Road Bridge District include the Thompson & Taylor Spice Company Building at 465 W. Cermak, the W.M. Hoyt Building at 465 W. Cermak, the Western Shade Company Building at 2141 S. Jefferson and the Wendnagle & Company Warehouse at 2120-2136 S. Jefferson. This Chicago Landmark District was originally know as The Spice House District.

"Several windows at a historical Orthodox church were damaged Thursday after someone threw rocks into the building.

"Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral, 1121 N. Leavitt St., is one the few houses of worship designed by famed Chicago architect Louis Sullivan. Built in 1903, the church is a holy site for Orthodox Christians and a popular destination for architecture buffs and historians. The cathedral and rectory have been an official Chicago landmark and on the National Register of Historic Places since the 1970s.

"But sometime Thursday morning, three windows at the front and rear of the church were smashed-in by rocks, said Rev. Alexander Koranda, the cathedral’s dean and administrator. Koranda was returning to the church from a blessing around 10 a.m. when he noticed two of the front stained-glasses windows had been damaged. He walked around the building and noticed another window behind the altar had also been broken, he said.

"'All of a sudden, I see this black hole in the window here… I knew immediately it must have been knocked out,' he said. 'I opened the front door and the frame was knocked in, rocks on the floor.'

"The vandalism comes after Holy Trinity recently completed an extensive exterior renovation of the historic property. Finished mostly by late summer 2021, the rehabilitation project replaced cracked stucco walls, refurbished its extensive metal ornamentation and installed new windows in the church’s rectory, among other upgrades.

"After he discovered the damaged windows Thursday, Koranda salvaged much of the broken stained glass, which is original to the building. He said the church will work with its restoration company to repair the windows.

"'I wasn’t mad. I wasn’t upset, I wasn’t, ‘well, we need to catch these folks or something,' he said. 'We have a lot of love here. You know, we pray for the whole world. We constantly are praying specifically for the peace of the city, for its civil authorities. And so that’s what we do here.'" (Myers, Block Club Chicago, 1/27/23)

"The theme of the New Year’s Day service at Second Presbyterian Church was a call to parishioners about renewal in their lives. Titled 'A New Heaven and a New Earth,' it could have been about the historic church itself.

"The church at 1936 S. Michigan Ave. — both a Chicago landmark and a national historic landmark — recently restored a mural considered a treasure among lovers of both art and history.

"The church was designed by architect James Renwick and dates to 1874; the sanctuary dates to 1901 because it was rebuilt after being destroyed by a fire a year earlier. At the time, the Prairie District neighborhood was home to prominent Chicago industrialists and business people like the Fields, Kimballs, Pullmans, Armors and Swifts who expected nothing short of the finest.

"The rebuilt sanctuary met their expectations with an edifice modeled after the English Gothic churches of the early 15th century and constructed with rusticated Illinois limestone. The facade had a massive wall with buttresses and pinnacles, relieved by Gothic-arched windows, horizontal bands and four large sculptured medallions symbolizing the four evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

"As impressive as the building is, it’s what’s inside that makes it truly special.

"The church sports seven large Tiffany stained-glass windows and the 40-by-30-foot 'Tree of Life' mural high above the altar by renowned painter Frederic Clay Bartlett.

"'It’s one of Chicago’s most amazing arts and crafts interiors,' said Ward Miller, executive director of Preservation Chicago.

"After more than 100 years, the vibrancy of the windows and the mural were hidden by dirt, leading supporters of the church to embark on a campaign to restore the artistic treasures to their original glory.

"Two Tiffany windows were cleaned in October and there are plans to finish the rest over the next year, according to Linda Miller, president of Friends of Historic Second Church, a group dedicated to restoring Second Presbyterian Church.

"The largest project was restoring the 'Tree of Life' mural, which wrapped up in mid-December. Preservationists worked 10 weeks meticulously cleaning the mural, stripping layers of dirt and repainting to show it in its original splendor. The project cost about $500,000 and was financed by donations and a $256,364 Save America’s Treasure Grant received in 2021, Linda Miller said.

"The mural restoration was done by Chicago-based Parma Conservation, run by the husband-and-wife team of Peter Schoenmann and Elizabeth Kendall. Miller said watching the Parma team reminded her of stories about the Sistine Chapel. 'It was painstaking work that reminded me of Michelangelo, working millimeter by millimeter.'

"Schoenmann said there were several 'Christmas morning moments. Discovering what’s underneath all these layers of dirt and darkness is kind of like opening a present because you’re revealing a prize. This was one of the most satisfying wow factors because the change between what it was and what it became was so dramatic,' he said." (Chiarito, Chicago Sun-Times, 1/6/23)

"Everything, when it comes to Pullman National Monument, which is now known as 'Pullman National Historical Park.' More than just semantics, the shift to 'park' grants the site increased protections.

"The monument was created in 2015 by then President Barack Obama, using powers given to the country’s chief executive by the Antiquities Act. It was an exciting moment for local leaders and residents who had long championed the significance of the former Pullman factory town as the birthplace of the American labor movement.

"But while monuments can be created by the stroke of a president’s pen, the concern is that they can be undone by the same. Bears Ears National Monument in Utah, also designated by Obama, was, in a rare instance, repealed by President Donald Trump.

"With that precedent in mind, U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly (2nd District) and U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth sponsored legislation — which is how national parks are created — to transform Pullman into a national historical park. The law passed both houses of Congress and was signed by President Joe Biden in December.

"'Anybody that wants to get their hands on Pullman has to come through Robin Kelly and Durbin and Duckworth and Congress,' Sen. Durbin said Thursday during a celebration of the new designation held at the park.

"The collective effort it’s taken to get Pullman to this point demonstrates a level of collaboration by local, state and national entities — in both the public and private sectors — not often seen, said Rick Clark, deputy regional director of the National Park Service, who flew in from Omaha for the festivities.

"Though Pullman’s rise to national historical park status may have seemed meteoric to Clark, it has been decades in the making, Kelly noted.

"There was a time when the Pullman factory, its grounds and much of the surrounding company town were viewed as ripe for the bulldozer, and the area's history would have been lost in the rubble.

"'The ground we stand on ... holds so much of our national story,' said Kelly, from the rise of the railroad and with it the Pullman railcar, to the Pullman Strike and Boycott of 1894 that touched off the labor movement (and ultimately led to Labor Day), to the formation of the country’s first Black trade union in support of the famed Pullman porters.

"Investment in the broader Pullman community has followed the attention drawn first by the national monument designation and now the national historical park." (Wetli, WTTW Chicago, 1/19/23)

The preservation advocacy efforts for Pullman have spanned decades. In 1960, residents organized to form the Pullman Civic Organization (PCO) to advocate for Pullman’s preservation. By 1969, Pullman was added to the National Register of Historic Places and in 1970 was declared a National Historic Landmark. By 1972, the southern portion of Pullman was designated as a Chicago Landmark followed by the northern portion in 1993. A significant milestone occurred in 1991, when the State of Illinois purchased the Administration Building, the Factory Complex, and Hotel Florence and created a state historic site. Then tragedy struck on December 1, 1998, when after surviving years of neglect and deferred maintenance, the Clock Tower and Administration was targeted by an arsonist and the building suffered extensive damage from the ensuing fire. Portions of the building were reconstructed in the following years.

Preservation Chicago has been working with community and civic partners and organizations for many years on this effort and we are delighted by the progress. We remain very active with conversations concerning rebuilding, renovation and restoration. We're also hoping for a complementary Chicago Landmark District in the neighboring Roseland community to include "the Pullman Lands" and to drive economic development on South Michigan Avenue in Roseland.

"Four bridges crossing the Calumet River on the Southeast Side will be restored using $144 million in federal funding, officials announced Wednesday with Vice President Kamala Harris.

"The 92nd Street-Ewing Avenue, 95th Street, 100th Street and 106th Street bridges over the Calumet River will be rehabilitated using a grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bridge Investment Program, officials said.

"The money will be used toward a $302 million project to repair the 'aging' bridges, improve sidewalks — including filling a more than half-mile sidewalk gap on the sides of the 100th Street bridge — and install bike lanes on each bridge, leaders said.

"The Bridge Investment Program was created through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed by President Joe Biden in 2021.

"'The engineers and experts have taken a look at these [bridges] and say we’re living on borrowed time,' Sen. Dick Durbin said at Wednesday’s news conference near the 95th Street bridge at Crowley’s Yacht Yard, 3434 E. 95th St. 'These bridges and 2,000 more like them across the state of Illinois need help and need it now.'

"The bridge rehabilitation will replace the original steel with stronger steel, replace mechanical and electric systems that raise and lower the bridges, use prefabricated sections and incorporate aspects of the original bridges that can survive another 50 years, according to the city’s transportation department.

"'Millions of Americans who have never heard of [the 95th Street] bridge and will never cross it rely on products like meat and eggs that cargo ships bring [under] it, or drive a Ford car whose parts pass through here and was built by [United Auto Workers Local] 551,' Harris said. 'These products are made in America. This bridge is how they are delivered to America.'

"The four bascule bridges are each raised about 5,000 times annually, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said. The bridges are lifted to allow freight ships access to the Illinois International Port District and the numerous industrial facilities along the river. 'They are an important part of Chicago’s history and must be modernized to ensure that they can meet the demands of today,' Lightfoot said.

"The 1980 film 'The Blues Brothers' features a scene in which main characters Jake and Elwood jump the 95th Street bridge in their 'Bluesmobile.' Harris visited Calumet Fisheries, the famed seafood smokehouse at the west end of the same bridge, for lunch following the press conference." (Evans, Block Club Chicago, 1/4/23)

"In 2017 the Chicago Park District proposed a plan to redevelop the Jackson Park 18-hole golf course and the South Shore 9-hole course, combining them into a single 18-hole course. The new design was presented by Tiger Woods and his company TGR Designs.

"The proposal calls for the destruction of the existing holes at South Shore and a majority of the holes at Jackson Park, in addition to removing roadways that connect the neighborhood to South Lake Shore Drive. While Openlands agrees that these historical golf courses deserve a restoration to make them more enjoyable to play, we OPPOSE any plan that would destroy the South Shore Nature Sanctuary, take down thousands of trees unnecessarily, not provide diverse golfing opportunities, and increase the cost to play beyond reach.

"A true restoration of Jackson Park and South Shore Courses would create equitable and enjoyable opportunities for all residents and visitors to enjoy playing the two courses while protecting important habitat for wildlife, migratory birds, and humans alike.

"We need your help to make sure that a true restoration of the Jackson Park and South Shore Golf Courses that also protects the South Shore Nature Sanctuary is prioritized over the proposed TGR Golf Course. Please use this form to contact your Alderperson and Mayor Lightfoot to request their action on this issue."

"Built in 1885, the limestone row house has been owned since 1985 by Shirley and Norman Baugher. The four-bedroom, 3,000-square-foot home came on the market Jan. 13, priced at just under $1.5 million. Listing agent Peter Neagle of Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty marked it 'contingent' four days later.

"Norman Baugher told Crain’s 'we were always proud' of the home’s role in history, but declined to comment further. His wife, who died in October, 'was really the one to speak about this,' he said.

"In June 2021, Shirley Baugher told a WBEZ reporter that she was 'delighted' about the home’s history. "I’m very pleased they were here, advocating for” the rights of gay men in the 1920s, when it was deeply unpopular to do so.

"In 1924, Henry Gerber, a German immigrant and veteran of the U.S. Army, led several friends in organizing the Society for Human Rights, whose goal was to 'promote and protect the interests of people who are abused and hindered in the legal pursuit of happiness which is guaranteed them by the Declaration of Independence and to combat the public prejudices against them.'

"The Society for Human Rights received a charter from the state of Illinois, making it the nation’s first documented gay rights organization. This was decades before the Mattachine Society launched in Los Angeles in 1950 and the conflagration at the Stonewall Inn in New York helped move gay rights forward. The group published a newsletter called "Friendship & Freedom."

"The Crilly Court property was a row house at the time. The Society for Human Rights held some meetings in the basement, and Gerber and Henry Teacutter, another of the group’s seven founders, each rented rooms upstairs. Shirley Baugher said in 2021 that all those spaces were long ago renovated and do not look as they would have in the 1920s. (Rodkin, Crain's Chicago Business, 1/17/23)

"Initial plans have been revealed for the residential conversion of the existing commercial building at 153 W Ohio Street in River North. Located just west of the intersection with N. LaSalle Street and across the street from the famed Ohio House Hotel, the project comes at a time where residential conversions are ramping up in the city including just down LaSalle Street. Local developer Senco Properties is leading the way with Chicago-based FitzGerald Associates working on the design.

"Built in 1900 and receiving a renovation with a one-story vertical expansion in 1990, the masonry-clad structure will see a new life as its upper floors receive a redesign according to the ward’s newsletter. The completed project will deliver 35 residential units made up of five-studios/efficiencies, 11 one-bedrooms, 6 one-bedrooms with dens, 11 two-bedrooms, and two three-bedroom layouts.

"The previous iteration called for one remaining commercial space and a handful of parking spots; both of those have now been removed for additional units and a larger entry lobby. There will no longer be any on-site parking but there will be 38 bicycle parking spaces, a small fitness room, and tenant storage in the lower basement level.

"The rest of the five-story structure will remain relatively the same with minor updates and repairs to the front facade and sides, while the 1990 expansion will hold the only apartments with balconies as the development sits back from the street front." (Achong, Chicago YIMBY, 1/25/23)

"Hyde Park’s 107-year-old Harper Theater is getting new owners and a revamp after the retirement of former proprietor Tony Fox. Emphasizing the theater’s 'luxury' renovations, new owners Main Street Theatres are shooting for an early spring opening.

"Fox told the Hyde Park Herald in November that after ten years of running the four-screen, prairie-style theater, the cinema 'hadn’t turned a profit for the last couple of years,' and he would be stepping down.

"The building, located at 5234 S. Harper Ave., is owned and leased out by the University of Chicago. The university finalized plans with its new vendor on November 10 of last year; the theater closed temporarily on November 30 to begin renovations.

"Based out of Omaha, Main Street Theatres operates cinemas across Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Iowa, primarily around college towns. The South Side location will be the company’s first in Illinois.

"Harper Theater’s iconic building was constructed in 1914, opening a year later as a 1,200-seat vaudeville house complete with a Kimball pipe organ. It was designed by renowned Chicago architect Horatio Wilson, whose craftsmanship can be seen throughout the city in the designs of houses, banks, apartment buildings, and factories. Harper was converted into a movie theater in 1935.

"Listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Hyde Park-Kenwood Historic District, the theater has seen its fair share of changes over the years: turnovers, periodic shutterings, renovations and reopenings.

"Michael Barstow, executive vice president for Main Street Theatres, said renovations should last about three months.

"One such character change is removing the theater’s current seats and replacing them with “luxury, heated recliners.' Aside from the reduction of total seats in the theaters, the rest of the layout will remain unchanged. Its name and unique historical features, such as the marquee, will also remain intact.

"'How cool is that when you’re looking from 53rd [Street] down Harper [Avenue]? How gorgeous that building is with that marquee when it’s all lit up at night,' Barstow said. 'Seriously…if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.'" (Robinson, South Side Weekly, 1/12/23)

"The shelves are barren, the Vitamin Vault is half-empty and the remaining employees are mopping and cleaning up as Walgreens prepares to close its flagship Wicker Park store Tuesday.

"For the past decade, the drugstore and pharmacy has operated out of the landmark Noel State Bank building, 1601 N. Milwaukee Ave., in the heart of Wicker Park. It’s become well known for its ornate interior and repurposed bank features — including the Vitamin Vault, which stores rows of vitamins in the former vault in the building’s basement.

"A music teacher at nearby Drummond Elementary, Sean Rholl stopped by the store with his class of seventh and eighth graders. The students took selfies in the Vitamin Vault and then all posed for a picture that Rholl took from the upstairs mezzanine, under the vaulted ceiling.

"'I said, ‘You’ve got to check out the vault and the ceiling and just how life could be this beautiful,’ and now they’re taking that away.'

"The Noel State Bank building was constructed in 1919 and was home to various banks throughout the 20th century, according to a 2007 report from the Commission on Chicago Landmarks. Since the building is part of the landmarked Milwaukee Avenue District, the city will require future tenants or owners to preserve its historical features. Walgreens opened the store in 2012 after two years of restorations.

"The employee said she’s only worked at the store since last summer, but specifically requested to work at the location because of its historic architecture. 'I hopefully think they will actually put something in place of the Walgreens and not let the building just go abandoned,' she said. 'This is one of the great buildings, they’ve got the vault and the architecture is just so beautiful. I’m kind of sad that a lot of people won’t be able to come in and see it.'

"Since the news broke about the store’s closure in December, the employee said the store has been inundated with visitors taking pictures, making TikToks and even a few people who came to draw sketches of the interior.

"'There’s a lot of different types of people that usually come in, with different types of accents. People from all over the world, just to visit and see how great it is,' she said. (Myers, Block Club Chicago, 1/31/23)

Preservation Chicago played an important leadership role in the creation of the Milwaukee Avenue Chicago Landmark District, which includes the Noel State Bank.

"CVS is closing its retail store and pharmacy at the corner of Ashland Avenue and Division Street in Wicker Park.

"The location in the historic Home Bank and Trust Company Building, 1200 N. Ashland Ave., will close March 7, spokesperson Amy Thibault said Thursday.

"The store’s closing is part of a larger plan CVS announced in 2021 to close around 900 stores over three years, Thibault said. The company considers several factors when deciding to close locations, including population shifts, the density of the surrounding neighborhood and “local market dynamics,” Thibault said.

"The Home Bank and Trust Company Building is a prominent landmark on Chicago’s Polish Triangle, which was once the epicenter of the city’s Polish community. Designed by Karl M. Vitzthum & Co., the building was completed in 1926. Additional tenants besides CVS occupy its upper floors.

"'Built in the heart of Chicago’s historic ‘Polish Downtown,’ this monumental Classical Revival-style building is ornamented with finely-carved low-relief sculpture and has a dramatic banking hall,' according to a landmark plaque attached to the building.

"The news of the closing comes less than a month after Walgreens announced it will close its flagship Wicker Park store in the historic Noel State Bank building, 1601 N. Milwaukee Ave. at the end of January." (Myers, Block Club Chicago, 1/19/23)

"The Home Bank and Trust Building, located at the prominent 'six-corners' intersection of Milwaukee Ave./Ashland Ave./Division St. on Chicago’s Near Northwest Side, exemplifies the critical role that banks played in the history and development of Chicago’s neighborhoods in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Focused on catering to, and reinvesting in, their surrounding communities, neighborhood banks provided mortgages, business loans, and checking and savings accounts for middle- and working-class Chicago residents and neighborhood businesses. Built in the heart of Chicago’s former 'Polish downtown,' this bank building illustrates the historic importance of the city’s neighborhood commercial centers to the development of Chicago, which allowed residents to do their banking, shopping, and most other business close to home.

"A handsome example of the Classical Revival style, the Home Bank and Trust Building (commonly known as the Manufacturers Bank Building) is one of the finest neighborhood bank buildings in Chicago and is a prominent visual landmark for its community. This imposing structure is readily distinguished from the surrounding streetscape due to its six-story height, which rises above the existing commercial streetscape, as well as its distinctive and monumental

Classical Revival-style design and finely detailed ornamentation.

"The building was designed by Karl M. Vitzthum, an important early 20th century architect in Chicago, whose firm designed some of the city’s most visible tall office buildings, including the One North LaSalle Building (1930). Vitzthum was especially noted for his bank architecture and designed over fifty banks throughout the Midwest, including several in Chicago." (Home Bank and Trust Building Chicago Landmark Designation Report, 12/1/2005)

Preservation Chicago was instrumental with the Home Bank and Trust Building Chicago Landmark Designation.

"The Commission on Chicago Landmarks honored eight successful development projects and seven advocacy leaders at the 2022 Preservation Excellence Awards.

"The projects included the restored Grand Army of the Republic rooms at the Chicago Cultural Center in the Loop, the rehabilitated Lion House at the Lincoln Park Zoo, and a restored home in the Claremont Cottage District on the Near West Side.

"The Preservation Excellence awards have been presented annually since 1999 to individuals, nonprofits, businesses, and public bodies that have significantly contributed to Chicago’s architectural and cultural history. The Landmarks Commission’s Permit Review Committee reviewed and selected the winners over the past year.

"'Today’s event highlights the owners who act as good stewards of our existing landmark properties, the advocates who push for local protections, and the citizens who take it upon themselves to care for archived records of memory that others might have overlooked,' said Commissioner Maurice Cox of the Department of Planning and Development (DPD), which provides staff services to the Commission on Chicago Landmarks."

"The 2022 winners include:

Recipient: City of Chicago

The award recognizes restoration work to the Grand Army of the Republic Rooms that date to the Cultural Center’s construction in 1897, including a 40-foot dome containing 62,000 pieces of stained glass.

Recipient: Phoenix Development Partners

The adaptive reuse of of the former railway headquarters into a pair of hotels preserved and repaired the building’s historic windows and granite and terra cotta masonry units.

Recipient: Lincoln Park Zoo

Recently completed improvements to the 110-year-old Lincoln Park zoo facility include new lion habitats, outdoor viewing shelters, new animal care facilities, and meeting and event spaces.

Recipient: Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church

Partly funded through an Adopt-A-Landmarks grant, recent exterior masonry repairs to the 110-year-old church included rebuilt piers, face brick replacement and tuckpointing.

Recipient: Vista Group Real Estate

The restored 1884 workers cottage includes a remodeled interior to meet modern needs and a skillfully restored exterior that preserves the late 1800s character of the 19-building Claremont Cottage landmark district.

The advocacy award is being share by five women who, over several years, created a 120,000-person database of noted Black Chicagoans that is organized by name, birth date, birthplace, next of kin, and burial location.

Members of the Bronzeville Historical Society joined Illinois Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza on October 4, 2022 at the Bronzeville Historical Society offices on the South Side. Photo Credit: Anthony Vazquez / Sun-Times

Lisa DiChiera, Emeritus Advocacy Director of Landmarks Illinois

The advocacy award recognizes Lisa DiChiera’s 22-year commitment to local preservation issues as the advocacy director of Landmarks Illinois, where she helped support and lead multiple successful preservation efforts across the state.

The John Baird Award for Stewardship recognizes Tim Samuelson for his expertise on Chicago’s African American heritage and the City’s legacy of progressive architecture, including the work of architects Pond & Pond, Bruce Goff, and affordable housing designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

"The U.S. Soccer Federation has listed two adjacent South Loop mansions that it long has owned and used as its headquarters for a combined amount of $4.2 million, with one of them — the historic and French Chateauesque 14,734-square-foot William W. Kimball House — available for $2.3 million. The four-story, 12,648-square-foot brown sandstone mansion next door has an asking price of $1.9 million.

"The official governing body of soccer in the U.S. has been based in Chicago since moving from Colorado Springs, Colorado, to the South Loop in 1991. At that time, it moved its offices into the two adjoining mansions — the Kimball House, at 1801 S. Prairie Ave., and the house right next door at 1811 S. Prairie.

"The mansions were part of South Prairie Avenue 'millionaire’s row,' which was the most exclusive and fashionable neighborhood in Chicago in the late 1800s and early 1900s. For more than 75 years, however, the mansions have been used as office space, and with the soccer federation’s decision last year to vacate the two mansions and move its headquarters to the downtown high-rise office building at 303 E. Wacker Drive, the opportunity exists to convert the mansions back to single-family homes.

"Built between 1890 and 1892 at a reported cost of $1 million and designed by Pullman architect Solon S. Beman, the Kimball house, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971, stands three stories tall and has a Bedford limestone exterior, a slate mansard roof, a variety of steeply sloping roof shapes, dormer windows, and tall slender chimneys. The mansion was modeled after the 12th-century Chateau de Josselin in Brittany, France, and inside it has carved woodwork, onyx-adorned walls, a black onyx fireplace and leaded glass windows.

"The mansion was built for Kimball, a piano-manufacturing magnate. He died shortly after moving in, and his wife sold it in the 1920s. It later was a rooming house and then was owned by an architectural club and a group care home before it became office space, starting in the late 1940s. Publisher R.R. Donnelley donated both mansions to the Chicago Architecture Foundation in 1991, which leased them to the soccer federation. The group bought the mansions outright from the architecture foundation in 1996.

"The three-story Romanesque Revival-style mansion at 1811 S. Prairie was built in the mid-1880s, and early owners included Miner T. Ames and Joseph Fish, who was the president of the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Co. — now known as Brunswick Corp. The mansion was sold to a textbook publisher in 1921 and has been used as offices ever since.

"The mansion at 1811 S. Prairie was designed by noted architects Henry Ives Cobb and Charles S. Frost. Features include carved woodwork, cast plaster, leaded glass windows and a billiard room with built-in cue holders.

“They are connected to essentially have close to 30,000 square feet of flexible space,” she said. “We believe that the end buyer may convert to luxury condos or rental apartments, create two separate single-family homes, (become) an Airbnb (or) VRBO, (become) an event space or continue with another office building with little work considering the … U.S. Soccer Federation was running at this building for over 30 years.” (Goldsborough, Chicago Tribune, 1/21/23)

"Brookline Real Estate, LLC. is proud to present the opportunity to acquire a historic building positioned in a strong transit oriented location in busy Downtown Chicago. 314-316 S Federal Street contains a total of 17,500 square-feet comprised of seven 2,500 square-foot floors and an additional 2,500 square-foot lower level. Located in Chicago's Loop near the corner of Jackson & Dearborn Streets steps from the Financial District on LaSalle.

"A perfect opportunity for redevelopment, the floors lay out nicely for office, hospitality, or residential. Notably, boutique hotels opened in buildings this size have enjoyed distinct recent success in and around Chicago's Loop. The first floor and lower level offer ideal retail potential - a restaurant was successful there for many years. The building is currently zoned DC-16, which allows for an additional nine stories. The property shares its south wall with a large public parking garage for visitors.

"Built in 1912, this asset is also an excellent candidate for Federal Historic Preservation Tax Credits, further strengthening its viability for robust growth as an investment."

"In 1911 Engineers’ Club President, James O. Hayworth appointed two committees to investigate the feasibility of securing a building to own or rent. One was the 'site' committee chaired by Onward Bates; the other was the 'bond' committee chaired by Frank J. Llewelyn. The bonds were issued and sold to Club members who raised the needed funds quickly. The site committee took a little longer but finally settled on a building at 314 S. Federal Street, a site occupied by a three-story building. Some think that the building was originally built for the Illini Club, founded in 1886. A contract for a ninety-nine-year lease was arranged with the owner, Mrs. Louis H. Boldenweck, and building remodeling started in March 1911. The building was remodeled by lowering the upper floors to reduce excessive story heights, and then adding four stories to the building. Mr. A. S. Coffin was the architect for these alterations.

"Initially the Club did not want to have a grill or restaurant of their own as it would be an operation they did not want the expense of equipping or operating. The Club negotiated with St. Hubert’s English Grill Company to lease the first, second, and third floors and part of the basement of the building. Their lease also required lunch service for the Club in the third-floor dining room. This luncheon arrangement lasted until about 1915. In October 1915 the Club made plans to install their own grill and the Board of Directors authorized the installation. At first three meals a day were served on Monday through Saturday and a Chef was on duty from 7:00 A.M. to 8:00 P.M.

"The seventh floor of the Club was intended to be used as a hotel to provide over-night accommodations for visitors, clients who needed an over-night stay to complete their work, or Club member’s families. The floor contained seven rooms, three with baths and four without. According to the Club archives, these rooms were as well furnished as any of the better hotels in Chicago. Unfortunately, the hotel was never profitable for the Club and by 1928, the floor was remodeled into a game and card room.

"The sixth floor was the pool and billiard room. The first pool table was installed in 1915 and more were added until the entire floor was dedicated to the game. During World War II, the Club loaned the pool and billiard tables to the USO lounges in Chicago where they were still used into the 1950s. After the removal of the billiard and pool tables this floor became the grill room, otherwise known as the 'Knotty Pine Room', and was used every day for luncheons, dinners, committee meetings, etc. It had a seating capacity of about 40 people. The Club manager’s office and Club staff offices were on this floor into the 1950s. Later these offices would move to the seventh floor.

"The fifth floor was first a private dining room with a maximum capacity of 100 for meals and about 150 when used as an auditorium. By the 1950s it had become the Ladies Lounge and contained several private dining areas; however, when needed, the space was opened to create a large dining room or an auditorium. Later, in the 1960s, archives show that the Western Society of Engineers rented this floor for their functions for five years.

"The fourth floor was the main lounge. It was used as a cocktail lounge before luncheon or dinner and for special events or private parties. For many years the 'Hot Stove League', a group of Club members, gathered every day after lunch to discuss whatever came to mind including engineering topics, politics, or maybe just cock-and-bull stories while seated by the fireplace.

"The third floor was to be the main dining room and had a seating capacity of about 150 for meals. This dining room contained the Chicago Engineers’ Club Round Table with its 'Lazy Susan' in the center. The table was built by Club member George Nichols who manufactured railroad turn tables. The table, which could seat 16 to 20 people, was 11 feet in diameter and the Lazy Susan in the center was 7 feet in diameter." (from The Chicago Engineers' Foundation History, Stephen R. Hoover, Chicago Engineers' Foundation of the Union League Club, 2019, page 4)

"This one-of-a-kind property is a work of art by Edgar Miller and Sol Kogen at Carl Street Studios.

Nestled behind a secure iron gate in a picturesque courtyard in the heart of historic Old Town, Studio 2 of Carl Street Studios stands out as an artistic gem. This property, one of only thirteen condos converted from a Victorian home in 1927, is a true masterpiece that has been carefully modernized for contemporary living, while still preserving its original artistic charm.

"The property boasts a dramatic two-story living room and a wealth of intricate embellishments, including mosaic and stained glass windows, Art Deco tiles, carved doors, parquet floors, and painted ceilings.

"The property also features a tremendous hosting kitchen and breakfast room, a spacious dining area, three bedrooms, two full baths, two half baths, a second-floor sitting room, and a large private roof deck. Just off the main living space sits a separate 745 square foot duplex studio, makes for a perfect guest suite or in-home office, is also available for purchase. With its unique blend of contemporary comfort and timeless artistry, Studio 2 of Carl Street Studios is truly a one-of-a-kind property, a work of art in its own right."

155 West Burton Place 2 at Carl Street Studios

$1,095,000

3 Beds 4 Baths 4,500 SqFt

This One-of-a-kind Property Is A Work Of Art By Edgar Miller And Sol Kogen At Carl Street Studios..

"Rarely does one of the premier homes in all of Beverly become available. Originally commissioned to architect for George W Reed, vice-president of Peabody Coal, and later owned and occupied by The Columban Fathers, this magnificent estate will enthrall the most discerning of buyers.

"The majestic front portico leads to the grand marble foyer, to the palatial living room with intricate custom plaster ceiling and mouldings. This home will not disappoint. "Old World Craftmanship" is evident throughout this estate. Stately formal dining room leads to bright sunroom, perfect for relaxation and quiet occasions. Enormous kitchen features the original Jewett custom built-in refrigerator, impressive sized pantry, and breakfast room. Peaceful library, powder room with private sitting area, and laundry room round out the first floor.

"The second level boasts 7 bedrooms and 6 baths- including a master suite with fireplace in the adjacent sitting room. Set on nearly an acre of tranquility and beautifully landscaped grounds with mature trees and generous flower beds, this home was recently featured in the "Beverly Garden Walk". This can be your quiet escape within the city and only 20 minutes from downtown.

"The striking slate roof, sunlit drenched rooms, custom woodwork, dentil crown mouldings, medallions, sconces, ornate fixtures, and wrought iron by noted blacksmith Samuel Yellen, are reminiscent of a bygone era. The 3 car detached garage sits below a one bedroom separate coach house. Walk up attic with roughed in plumbing, plus full basement with fireplace and 2 half baths. Don't miss this once in a lifetime opportunity."

"A standout among standouts, this red stone Victorian is one bead in a string of jewels along the 600 block of Fullerton Parkway. Several other Victorians made of stone or brick as well as the handsome Lincoln Park Presbyterian Church combine with venerable old trees to make the 500 and 600 blocks one of the most beautiful residential settings in the Chicago.

"The elaborate stone façade is rusticated here, columned there and topped by multiple steep roofs. It all suggests there’s a lot going on inside, which is true. The interior has stained glass windows, an intricately carved wood stair rail, pocket doors, glazed tile fireplace mantels and other artistic finishes all intact from the time the house was built in the mid-1890s.

"That’s thanks in large part to the family that has owned the house since 1965 and spent much of the intervening time restoring it. 'This place was a dump back then,' said Nancy Heckman, whose parents, Marshall and Sarah Holingue, bought the property when it was a rooming house, chopped up and shabby. They paid about $18,000 for it, she says. That's the equivalent of $190,000 today.

"The Holingues didn’t move in; they lived around the corner on Geneva Terrace and continued operating it as a boarding house while fixing it up. Their daughter moved into one of the rooms when she came home from college and over the years expanded her footprint in the house as she married and had four children.

"With their kids raised and only one left at home, Nancy and Bobby Heckman are putting the six-bedroom house on the market Dec. 1. Represented by Sheila Doyle of Baird & Warner, it’s priced at just under $2.9 million, a price that reflects the fact that the kitchen and baths need updating.

"The Heckmans haven’t unearthed details on who designed the house and for whom, but it’s clear "they wanted the best," Nancy Heckman says.

"The foyer is museum quality, with all the details in the wood, including stained glass windows climbing up one side of the staircase. The windows face east, to be illuminated by the morning sun.

"The house’s five fireplaces all have original tile mantels. One has a seashell motif, another has a fairy playing with butterflies and others have geometrical patterns.

"It’s a bit of a wonder that they’re all still intact, but Nancy Heckman says she knows why. It wasn’t until after her parents bought the house that 'people started tearing out everything that was old in a house to modernize it,' she says." (Rodkin, Crain's Chicago Business, 11/16/22)

Charles E. Gregersen Obituary

Pullman National Monument Preservation Society

Mark Cassello with Ward Miller

Charles E. Gregersen passed away peacefully on November 20, 2022. Gregersen, a revered and award- winning architect and member emeritus of the American Institute of Architects (A.I.A.), dedicated much of his life to the cause of historic preservation and the Pullman Community of Chicago.

Fascinated by architecture from an early age, he persuaded his aunt to take him to the 1956 exhibition of the works of Louis Sullivan at The Art Institute of Chicago. Two years later, as a teenager, he met and befriended photographer and architectural preservationist Richard Nickel, who shared a passion for the works of Adler and Sullivan. Gregersen became the youngest member of The Chicago Heritage Committee, concerned with the preservation of Chicago’s historic buildings, which were being demolished at an alarming rate. Much of the work and actions of The Chicago Heritage Committee, inspired the formation of the Commission on Chicago Landmarks and in later years, offered greater protections of these seminal structures.

Gregersen worked alongside Richard Nickel—and later with John Vinci, David Norris, Tim Samuelson, et al.—in noble, but unsuccessful efforts, to prevent the demolition of the Garrick Theater Building, originally known as The Schiller Theater Office Building (1891) and the Chicago Stock Exchange Building (1893). But thanks in part to their efforts and others, a movement began to preserve many of the buildings of the Chicago School of Architecture, as well as other notable buildings and great works of architecture. With the Garrick/Schiller Building and the Chicago Stock Exchange Building, despite their demolition, a new awareness of their importance was shared in a very public way and often by the media of the day, which began a larger acknowledgement of Chicago’s importance on the world stage. While lost to demolition, the architectural masterworks of the Garrick and the Chicago Stock Exchange, were documented extensively and much of their architectural ornament salvaged and placed in museums around the world. These institutions extend from The Art Institute of Chicago, and across the United States, and from The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and to the Musee d’Orsay in Paris.

In 1972, Gregersen with James Simek and Paul Petraitis authored The Commission on Chicago Landmarks report that led to the designation of the South Pullman Historic District as an official City of Chicago Landmark. This was Chicago’s second Landmark District or a group of historic structures to be designated. In the early 1990s, Charles Gregersen offered testimony, along with others, to the Commission on Chicago Landmarks, for the consideration of North Pullman area as a designated Chicago Landmark District.

Gregersen applied his talents as an architect to document and restore Pullman’s architecture. He created detailed architectural elevations of the surviving half of Tenement “Block E” before its demolition in 1972. He executed painstakingly accurate drawings of Pullman’s demolished Water Tower. Gregersen completed detailed elevations of the Pullman “Clock Tower” Administration Building for the Historical Architectural Buildings Survey (HABS) in 1973. After the devastating fire in 1998, Gregersen’s drawings were integral to the reconstruction and restoration of the Administration Building, which now houses the visitors center for The Pullman National Monument.

Beyond Pullman, Gregersen was the architect for the restoration of the Gaylord Building (1838) in Lockport, Illinois. For this project, Gaylord Donnelly received the President’s Historic Preservation Award from Ronald Reagan in 1988. Today the building anchors the historic area of the Illinois & Michigan (I&M) Canal, and is owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

In addition to his talents in architecture, Gregersen had an encyclopedic and analytical mind that made him a natural scholar and storyteller. In Dankmar Adler: His Theatres and Auditoriums (1990), he illuminates the role of Dankmar Adler, whose contributions tend to be overshadowed by his business partner, Louis Sullivan. In Louis Sullivan and His Mentor: John Herman Edelmann, Architect (2013), Gregersen looks at Sullivan’s formative years as an apprentice in Edelmann’s architectural office, exploring the influence of this experience on Sullivan’s later work.

Ultimately, Gregersen very much loved Pullman. He did everything he could to share his knowledge on Pullman, and to protect and preserve it because he had witnessed from an early age how quickly works of great historical and architectural significance could be lost. With the passing of Charles E. Gregersen, Pullman’s protection now falls to many of us in Chicago’s architecture and preservation community, along with the National Park Service and our other community and citywide partners.

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

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

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

Address: 2240 N. Burling Street, Lincoln Park

#100994354

Date Received: 11/18/2022

Ward: 43rd Ald. Timmy Knudsen

Applicant: Evergreen Solutions, LLC C/O Ewelina Chojniak

Owner: 2224 N Burling, LLC C/O Thaddeus Wong, Manager

Permit Description: Demolition of a two-story frame, multi-family residence.

Address: Burnham Designed Pavilion in Jackson Park, 2241 E. Marquette Drive (A Chicago 7 Most Endangered in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 & 2021)

#100995228

Date Received: December 5, 2022

Ward: 4th Ald. Sophia King

Applicant: Bauer Latoza C/O Ed Torrez

Owner: Chicago Park District C/O Heather Gleason, Director of Planning and Construction

Permit Description: Stabilization and weatherproofing of the golf shelter including partial demolition of the collapsed roof structure.

Burnham Designed Pavilion in Jackson Park in 2023 in state of extreme neglect. Photo Credit: Eric Allix Rogers

Burnham Designed Pavilion in Jackson Park in 2020 in state of significant neglect. Photo Credit: Eric Allix Rogers

Burnham Designed Pavilion in Jackson Park in 2015 in state of neglect. Photo Credit: Eric Allix Rogers

#100998280

Date Received: December 5, 2022

Ward: 32nd Ward Ald. Scott Waguespack

Applicant: Bridges Excavating Inc. C/O Monique Ranuro

Owner: 3 R Development, LLC C/O Richard Campbell, Manager

Permit Description: Wreck and removal of a 1.5 story, masonry, single family residential building and garage

#100950268

Date Received: December 6, 2022

Ward: 2nd Ald. Brian Hopkins

Applicant: Tir Conaill Concrete, Inc. C/O Charlotte McVeigh

Owner: 2127-29 W Crystal, LLC C/O Nathan Marsh

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

#100986304

Date Received: 09/09/2022

Ward: 2nd Ald. Brian Hopkins

Applicant: Precision Excavation, LLC

Owner: Todd and Kara Dziedzic

Permit Description: Wreck and removal of a masonry two-story single-family building and a detached two-car garage.

#100960059

Date Received: 07/05/2022

Ward: 39th Ward Ald. Samantha Nugent

Applicant: Hanna Architects, Inc.

Owner: 3244-50 Bryn Mawr, LLC C/O Igor Michin

Permit Description: Partial demolition of an existing 1-story commercial building with a new 4-story addition.

#100970938

Date Received: 05/17/2022

Ward: 47th Ald. Matt Martin

Applicant: Demox, Inc. C/O Vitalii Grygorashchujk

Owner: Jerald and Pamela Kreis

Permit Description: Wreck and removal of a 2-1/2 story frame residential 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

“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.

1845 W. Waveland Avenue, North Center. Demolished January 2023. Photo: Google Maps