The Second Church of Christ, Scientist at 2700 N. Pine Grove Avenue has been an architectural masterpiece in the Lincoln Park community for nearly 120 years. It was dedicated on Easter Sunday, 1901 with four services and over 10,000 attendees. Today the congregation has dwindled to a handful and the decision was made to sell the property.

The proposed development at the August 5, 2020 virtual community meeting envisions the complete demolition of the interior of the building and a new residential mid-rise building constructed within the historic limestone walls. Despite being designed by the celebrated architect Solomon S. Beman, this majestic Beaux-Arts building has no landmark protections and current zoning allows a taller building to be built.

As disclosed at the November 14, 2017 community meeting, the congregation hired a broker to quietly market the site to potential buyers including developers, schools and others. From neighborhood preservation partners, Preservation Chicago learned early about this potential sale and began to advocate to all stakeholders to protect this landmark-quality building and find an alternate use that would allow the magnificent 700-seat theater to be used for community cultural and artistic purposes. We identified a major Chicago foundation with the interest and capacity to fully restore and convert the magnificent building into Lincoln Park Community Cultural Arts Center. The purchase offer presented in December 2017 included Sunday church access for the congregation to continue to conduct their religious services.

While there were some statements about the congregation's preference to see the building saved, the congregation leadership's true intentions were made clear by their swift rejection of the foundation's purchase offer. It was correctly assumed that they were working with a high-rise developer who could offer a higher purchase price.

Ward Miller, Executive Director of Preservation Chicago, spoke at the public meeting to encourage preservation and landmarking of the historic building and for a cultural use for the historic gem.

As reported by Peter Von Buol in the Skyline, Ward Miller said, “We do not need another residential high-rise at this site. It will adversely affect the quality of life, sunlight, air and throw shadows on adjacent buildings. What we do need collectively, is a great and amazing resource and cultural center, for an already dense neighborhood. This is a once-in-a-life-time chance. Let’s not blow it, with another embarrassing loss and demolition of one of Chicago’s great architectural treasures.”

"'The church mentioned they will consider a donation of the building to a good steward, so let that steward be all of us collectively and let’s all advocate for a collective reuse that benefits all Chicagoans, looking to the near future,' said Miller, who added that Preservation Chicago will work with the congregation and the community to help make the community-center vision a reality.

"Built in 1901, the classical façade of the building recalls one of Beman’s most celebrated design, the 'Merchant and Tailors’ Building” of Chicago’s Columbian Exposition of 1893. “The World’s Fair building had received numerous awards for its designs. Beman worked with members of the Christian Science Movement and its leaders, including Mary Eddy Baker, the faith’s founder and leader, to design “a most perfect church prototype' for subsequent Christian Science buildings. Beman included few, if any, traditional religious symbols and symbolism, in designing a beautiful light-filled sanctuary and with an auditorium and assembly-space as a sanctuary,” added Miller.

"'The sanctuary of the church, with its art glass and gilded dome, its magnificent column-free space, with wide arches and honey-colored art windows; its rare Austin organ, could be an unparalleled space for concerts, cultural events, music, lectures, presentations affiliated with the local museums and institutions, including The Lincoln Park Conservatory, the Lincoln Park Zoo and The Peggy Notebaert Nature Center. This would all be located a mere half-block from Lincoln Park, and would be an amazing resource for the Lincoln Park community, and for all of Chicago,' suggested Miller.

"'The Chicago Cultural Center was constructed as the Chicago Public Central Library in 1897. It was rethought as the Chicago Cultural Center in 1977 and has been one of the best reuse projects in the city’s history. It’s still a remarkable center and proof of a visionary series of decisions that were made in the 1970s, by elected officials, city leaders, and philanthropic organizations. Let’s continue to have that visionary outlook and reuse the church building for everything both cultural and imaginative. Let’s ask the church, city, elected officials to work together with our Chicago philanthropy community to make this vision a reality,' Miller said." (Von Buol, Skyline, 11/22/17)

At the July 9, 2020, Commission on Chicago Landmarks Meeting, the restoration of the Grand Army of the Republic Hall Rooms at the Chicago Cultural Center was approved. The extensive restoration was presented by Tim Samuelson, Chicago's cultural historian within the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. The extensive restoration includes revealing the original rich Tiffany colors from the plaster ornament by removing the white overpaint applied in the 1970s. The restoration also includes replacement of original light fixtures, and the restoration of the adjacent GAR Healy & Millet art glass dome and wall finishes. This is an outstanding and very exciting restoration project.

Preservation Chicago advocated with urgency to help bring about this preservation win and is thrilled with this outcome.

"A noted Arts and Crafts brick mansion in Edgewater and longtime home of late voice actor and jazz poet Ken Nordine sold May 28 for $1.37 million to a North Side couple who intend to preserve it.

"Nordine owned the 7,308-square-foot mansion for more than 60 years, living there from the early 1950s until his death in 2019 at age 98. Notable architectural firm Pond and Pond designed the home, and it was built in 1903 for Herbert Perkins, who later became the president of International Harvester.

"After Nordine’s death, his estate submitted a demolition permit to the city for the house that would have allowed it not only to be torn down but also to be replaced by a larger and likely multifamily structure.

"The new owners told Elite Street they plan to live in the home and 'intend to preserve the residence and honor its architectural and cultural heritage' and 'have no intention of demolishing the building.'

"The new owners also lauded the work of Pond and Pond, and tipped their caps to those who sought the home’s landmark status, which predated their purchase.

“The building was saved by the tremendous efforts of the Edgewater Historical Society and other local concerned residents, and we applaud their work,” said the new owners, who asked to remain unidentified to protect their privacy." (Goldsborough, 7/31/20)

Preservation Chicago played a crucial role in this preservation win. In November 2019, Preservation Chicago identify a qualified purchaser of substantial means who was ready, willing, and able to purchase the home for use as a single-family residence. After an intensive six-month preservation advocacy effort, this purchaser closed on the historic property in May 2020.

Despite the preservation-oriented offer and the outpouring of concern from neighbors and preservation organizations, the Nordine estate made known their intent on December 23, 2019 when a demolition permit application for the building was submitted. Because of the orange-rated status of the home on the Chicago Historic Resources Survey, the application for a demolition permit triggered the start of a 90-day demolition delay which would have expired on March 12, 2020.

Fortunately, the dedicated advocacy of the Edgewater community, the Edgewater Historical Society, Preservation Chicago, Landmarks Illinois, along with the support of 48th Ward Alderman Harry Osterman, the City of Chicago Commission on Chicago Landmarks, Landmarks Staff, and Commissioner of Department of Planning and Development Maurice D. Cox created the circumstances to allow the Preliminary Landmark designation which was approved on March 5, 2020. This designation protected the historic building against demolition and encouraged the preservation-oriented sale.

"Every day, some 120,000 rail travelers pass through Chicago’s Union Station, which has been a city icon as well as a major transit hub for nearly a century.

"Originally envisioned by architect Daniel Burnham, who was director of the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893, it was designed by his successor firm, Graham, Anderson, Probst and White, whose Wrigley Building, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, and the Field Museum of Natural History define the city’s skyline.

"The Indiana limestone monolith, which stands prominently on the west side of the Chicago River and serves as Amtrak’s Midwest flagship, has undergone a number of restorations and renovations throughout its history.

"The latest—the $22-million restoration of its barrel-vaulted 219-foot-long skylight, which soars 115 feet over its Great Hall—was undertaken by the Windy City-based firm of Goettsch Partners, which has worked on various projects at the Amtrak-owned terminal over the last decade.

"The original cast-iron skylight, the defining feature of the station’s ornate Beaux-Arts Great Hall, had deteriorated over time for a number of reasons, including design flaws that fostered inadequate drainage that produced leaks that stained and damaged surrounding interior architectural elements and sculptural artwork."

"After mulling several options, Koroski and his team—consulting partner Larry Weldon, AIA, senior consultant Randy Chapple, AIA, SE, CSI, and associate Andrew Fox—decided not only to restore the original skylight but also to design an energy-efficient, modern skylight five feet above it as an insulating protective cover.

"'We wanted a solution that would last for the next 100 years,' Koroski says. 'And we wanted to make the Great Hall, which is where passengers wait for trains, a brighter, more inviting space.'

"Determining the original color of the ceiling’s ornate plasterwork also proved problematic. 'The paint analysis showed a dark color that disagreed with our research,” he says. “While we were deciding what to do, we went on to other things, and in that time, the sunlight revealed the original color. We realized that successive layers of paint had chemically altered the original. There was a simple finish—there was only one paint and one glaze, but it required a tremendous effort to replicate the density and shadowing of the glaze coat.'

"Restoring the station’s pair of Night and Day statues to their golden glory was another key part of the project. Day, who is holding a rooster, and Night, who is cradling an owl, were designed by sculptor by Henry Hering and have been in the station since its opening in 1925." (Ruhling, 5/26/20)

On July 14, 2020, the City of Chicago Community Development Commission approved the sale of the historic Jefferson Park firehouse at 4841 N. Lipps Avenue for $1 to Ambrosia Homes. The developer will purchase the building from the City of Chicago and adaptively reuse it as a micro-brewery for Lake Effect Brewing Company with nine apartments above. The project is estimated to cost $2.4 million. A new floor will be added to the structure setback from the front facade of the building. The Jefferson Park Firehouse has been vacant for five years and previously was used for the 45th Ward sanitation office.

There was significant concern regarding the original redevelopment proposal for the Jefferson Park Firehouse presented in February 2018. However concern shifted to enthusiasm as the revised adaptive reuse plans embraced and enhanced the historic character of one of Chicago’s oldest surviving firehouses.

Preservation Chicago applauds developer Tim Pomaville for this preservation-oriented direction. A dedicated advocacy effort and the willingness of the developer to consider preservation-sensitive alternatives resulted in an excellent outcome. As part of this effort, Preservation Chicago partnered with local neighborhood organizations, community organized, conducted a focused social media campaign, and advocated directly to the developer, alderman and other key decision makers.

Built in 1906, the two-story brick fire station at 4835 N. Lipps Avenue originally had elegant beaux-arts detailing including strong horizontal base elements, a decorative cornice and a projecting triangular pediment. In a very welcome change, the developer is now planning to reconstruct the lost elements.

“Using reference photos of what the firehouse used to look like, Pomaville said the new plans aim to restore as much of the original ornamentation that was removed from the building over the years. Some of this includes restoring the triangular ornamentation from the front of the building and installing stained glass windows which historic photos show the firehouse used to have.” (Hernandez, Block Club Chicago, 3/28/19)

“We really want to compliment the city’s original design of that building. That’s the main theme,” Pomaville said. “So wherever we can, we’re going to try to make it like it was. And I think it’s pretty neat, it’s going to be a very pretty building when it’s done.” (Hernandez, Block Club Chicago, 3/28/19)

The revised redevelopment plans for the historic Jefferson Park Firehouse embrace the building’s history, character and authenticity. Preservation Chicago believes that embracing the historic character will not add materially to the project costs, but it will contribute significantly to the success of the micro-brewery once the building is open.

The Northwest Chicago Historical Society and Preservation Chicago encourages ownership and City of Chicago to seek a Chicago Landmark Designation for the building. This could be considered as an individual landmark or as an extension of the thematic Chicago Fire House Landmark District.

Preservation Chicago applauds current 45th Ward Alderman James M. Gardiner for his support. We also applaud Ambrosia Homes and Lake Effect Brewing for listening to the community, integrating the comments and changing the trajectory of the development. A special thanks to the dedicated and outstanding advocacy of the Northwest Chicago Historical Society, Susanna Ernst, Frank Suerth, and Jacob Kaplan.

A Preservation Chicago 7 Most Endangered in 2014, the historic Jeffery Theater and Spencer Arms Hotel is located at the crossroads of what was once the bustling heart of the South Shore business district located at the northwest corner of 71st Street and Jeffery Boulevard adjacent to the Jackson Park Highlands Landmark District of fine historic homes. Built in 1923 it was opened as a vaudeville venue and movie house.

The Jeffery Theater was originally constructed as a vaudeville house but also featured a single movie screen when it opened in 1923. The building also includes storefronts and apartments along 71st Street. It was located in the heart of the South Shore commercial center between Eucline Ave. and Jeffery Blvd. with the adjoining South Shore National Bank and later ShoreBank and successors abutting the east wall of the theater.

It was designed by architect William P. Doerr in a neoclassical style with a tall vertical neon sign that was visible down the length of 71st Street. It once boasted a fine marquee as well.

In the late 1990s, the building was purchased by ShoreBank. They remodeled the former theater interior into offices and added a drive through facility for the bank. However, the terra cotta ornamented façade remains largely intact as well as most of the historic lobby.

In 2010, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation closed Shore Bank as a failed institution. Its assets and deposits were assumed by a newly chartered institution. In 2014, news broke that the property, which has been on the market, was under contract for sale and development as a McDonald’s. This development fell through, and it has remained vacant for a number of years.

In 2015, an aspiring developer Alisa Starks, owner of Inner City Entertainment, purchased the building with plans to demolish the historic theater and adjacent residential building and replace it with a new theater. The plan was first announced in September 2017. There is considerable skepticism in the community about the likelihood of this development being completed. The developer has the support of 5th Ward Alderman Leslie Hairston.

If the historic façade of the Jeffery Theater together with its storefronts and apartment building is demolished, it would undermine the commercial 'small town' feel of 71st Street and may negatively impact the Jackson Park Highlands Chicago Landmark District directly to the north. If the new development were to proceed, the historic theater facade and lobby would be an asset to the new development and should not be demolished.

Decades ago the loss of the theater’s auditorium space located behind the lobby resulted in much of the original building being lost. However, the historic façade and lobby survive and still retain much of the original historic fabric and ornamentation. The Jeffery Theater remains an important community landmark in the once-bustling commercial district and should be incorporated into any future development.

"The National Trust for Historic Preservation has given the Muddy Waters Mojo Museum a $50,000 grant to begin renovations on legendary bluesman's long-derelict former home in North Kenwood.

"Waters, a six-time Grammy-winner and inductee into both the Blues Foundation and Rock and Roll halls of fame, bought the 1889-built house at 4339 S. Lake Park Ave. in 1954 and lived there for 20 years, using it as a rehearsal studio and temporary housing for a number of musicians.

"By 2013, however, Waters had been dead for 30 years, and the Department of Buildings had found the house to be unsafe, with windows, doors, stairway and porch in need of repair, according to the Tribune. It was threatened with demolition.

"But the Mojo Museum was one of 532 proposals the National Trust's African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund considered for $1.6 million in grant money this year. After seven months of review, it got the money; Chandra Cooper, Waters' great-granddaughter, envisions a community cultural center and neighborhood museum focusing on its namesake and the blues.

"'We want to be able to support older artists as well and as a small venue, where people can go in the basement and do a little recording, because while it wasn't a recording studio downstairs — it was a rehearsal studio — we'd like to incorporate that into the overall experience,' she said. Further plans include a community garden that could host small performances as well.

"The museum needs more than $300,000 total to bring the dream into reality, but the initial grant will allow the immediate stabilization of the building. A project timeline is dependent on fundraising, but Cooper would like to finish the project within the next two years.

"'We'll be able to do the roof. We'll be able to do some tuck-pointing. We possibly could do the windows and then start the front of the house where the bay window is,' she said. 'It was so significant to get this grant money from the trust, because it's really saving this house from any more deterioration.'

"Waters' house was a crossroads for mid-century blues artists and his chief rehearsing space. A native Mississippian, he forged a new, urban blues style with his instrument, the electric guitar, advancing the genre and inspiring musicians worldwide.

"'African Americans have been vanguards at the forefront of innovating American music, and this really is a testament to Muddy Waters,' said Action Fund Executive Director Brent Leggs. The house, he said, was where Waters 'could contemplate and create his own art — it's more than just a place where he laid his head and slept and ate. It stands today as a site of art and creativity that represents the life of Muddy Waters.'

"The Mojo Museum is one of two Chicago sites awarded grants this year, together with the Sweet Water Foundation, 5749 S. Perry Ave., which got a $50,000 planning grant to develop a reuse plan to revitalize 10 blocks in Washington Park. In 2018, the South Side Community Arts Center, 3831 S. Michigan Ave., got $75,000 for capital repairs, and The Forum theater, 318-324 E. 43rd St., got $100,000 last year for redevelopment.

"Leggs said his organization is not in the business of preserving dead relics. Cooper's vision to reuse the legacy property for arts-centric programming, community uplift and unique cultural experiences, he said, makes the grant about more than just commemorating Waters' memory: 'We're supporting a grassroots advocate, a grassroots champion, who is helping to preserve cultural heritage that's nationally significant." (Gettinger, 7/20/20)

Preservation Chicago has been actively concerned about the deteriorating condition of the Muddy Waters' House and are thrilled to see reinvestment to stabilize and active this important Chicago Landmark. Landmarks Illinois included the Muddy Waters House on its 2018 list of endangered historical properties and played an important role in bringing about a good outcome for the property. The Muddy Waters' House is protected as part of the North Kenwood Chicago Landmark District.

Preservation Chicago has been advocating for years for the creation of a Jazz, Blues and Gospel Chicago Thematic Landmark District that would recognize, support and protect the places and spaces where some of the world's greatest musicians made music history.

"Two nearly 100-year-old buildings in Old Irving Park are going to be demolished to make way for housing developments. Several single-family homes are planned for the site of Iglesia de Cristo at 4300 N. Kedvale Ave., according to a spokesman for Alderman Samantha Nugent (39th).

"The project’s developer is in the process of obtaining a permit to demolish the church and plans to build the homes under the site’s existing RT-4 zoning, the spokesman said. The property reportedly was purchased in June for about $1.1 million. Details of the project were unavailable by press time, but the spokesman said that the developer has agreed to discuss the project with representatives of the Old Irving Park Association.

"Preservation Chicago executive director Ward Miller said that the planned demolition of the church demonstrates the need for better laws in Chicago to help slow down the demolition process for older buildings.

"'We aren’t anti-development, (but) there’s no reason why these buildings can’t be repurposed for multiple apartments, condos ... or even rowhouses,' Miller said. He added that the brick church is a 'bit of a showstopper' and 'really a fine building.'

"Miller said that Chicago should follow the lead of other municipalities and place an automatic hold on permit applications seeking to demolish any building 50 years or older. The local alderman, a community group and the city Department of Planning could use this time to discuss preservation options when appropriate with the developer, he said. The city’s existing demolition delay process was developed 25 years ago and leaves out many said.

The home (in reference to 4242 N. Kedvale Ave) is on the Chicago Historic Resources Survey, which includes about 17,000 properties, about a quarter of which are city landmarks. The survey was geared toward identifying existing and potential landmarks, but the home did not meet the city’s existing demolition delay standards, which do not apply to all buildings listed in the survey.

(Nadig, 7/1/20)

"Thirty empty homes in the North Pullman neighborhood may soon be rehabbed into affordably priced for-sale housing, if the Chicago City Council approves a deal announced Tuesday.

"If approved by the council later this month, the city will make a $900,000 grant to

Area Wide Realty to buy 30 North Pullman homes. Area Wide will then rehab the homes and put them on the market. Some will be priced so households making 80 percent of the area median income or less can afford, and some will be priced for households making up to 120 percent of the AMI.

"The homes will be sold to Area Wide by two entities, each of which owns a portfolio of homes in the neighborhood: Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives, selling 17 homes, and the Cook County Land Bank, selling 13. Area Wide executive Michael Olszewski has a long track record dealing with distressed properties.

"'We're totally gutting them and rehabbing them,' said Ald. Anthony Beale, whose 9th Ward includes North Pullman. Beale described it as 'a great opportunity to continue to get more housing stock in the community,' and 'a continuation of the renaissance' in his ward.

"North Pullman, the neighborhood immediately north of the historic Pullman rail car factory, was built later than the Pullman neighborhood, south of the factory. From the start its housing was more modest than the picturesque blocks of homes that typify Pulllman. As a result, revitalization has been slower there, but CNI and others have spent years working to rehabilitate North Pullman’s housing." (Rodkin/Quig, 6/14/20)

"City Housing Commissioner Maria Novara said the project is a way to preserve the homes and get them into the hands of first-time homeowners. 'Built more than one hundred years ago but left to languish in the late 1990s, like Pullman itself the housing has ‘good bones’, is sturdy and ready to meet the housing needs of this century’s occupants,' she said in a statement.

"Once completed, the homes will be put up for sale as affordable single-family homes within the $120,000 to $140,000 range, according to David Doig, president of Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives.'The neighborhood is part of the historic district and it has suffered disinvestment, but because it’s a landmark the buildings cannot be torn down so we’ve rehabbed them,' said Doig.

"Alderman Beale touted the project as a signs of the area’s resurgence. 'As someone who has lived through the hard times here when no one thought Pullman and Roseland had a chance to survive, it’s gratifying to see that all are pulling together to continue the renewal that is happening here,' the alderman said." (Maynez, 7/22/20)

"A shuttered 1920s terra cotta building and a vacant former Chicago police impound lot will be transformed into neighborhood hubs of healthy living, health care, nutrition, urban farming, a recycling enterprise and more under a resident-driven development plan for the Auburn Gresham community.

"The $52.8 million plan, 'Always Growing, Auburn Gresham,' on Thursday was awarded $10 million by the Pritzker Traubert Foundation, securing the first Chicago Prize, a new grant that supports projects that spur economic development and improve well-being and safety on Chicago’s under-resourced South and West sides.

"For Carlos Nelson, the redevelopment of the shuttered 1920s building, at 79th and Halsted streets, symbolizes the transformation of a community.

"A building at 839 W. 79th St. is shown Aug. 6, 2020, in the Auburn Gresham community. The Pritzker Traubert Foundation awarded a $10 million Chicago Prize to the group to turn the shuttered 1920s terra cotta building into a healthy living hub.

"'Seventy-ninth and Halsted, with this four-story (building) sitting ominously vacant, has become the background of our community,' said Nelson, the CEO of the Greater Auburn-Gresham Development Corporation, a partner in the project. “What this means for me is we are now able to hope. It literally provides hope to youngsters, families and seniors who have endured decades of disinvestment and blight." (Sweeney, 8/6/20)

Preservation Chicago encourages ownership and City of Chicago to seek a Chicago Landmark Designation for this historic building. This could be considered as an individual Chicago Landmark or as part of a larger Auburn Gresham Landmark District.

"A 19th-century church building on North Avenue where two proposed residential conversions have failed in recent years is back on the market, at $2.4 million.

"The question for any potential buyer will be how many residential units will get the neighborhood’s blessing—or how few. In 2017, a developer’s plan to turn the former St. Paul’s Church into 28 apartments failed to get neighborhood support. In 2019, a different developer’s plan for 19 units did not move forward either.

"Under its current zoning classification, B-32, the roughly 8,100 square feet of land St Paul’s stands on would be allowed to have eight units of about 1,000 square feet each. The building itself is about 16,500 square feet, which would likely allow a redeveloper to get more than eight units approved.

"'What we’re hearing is that based on (purchase) and rehab costs, it would be difficult to make anything work with under about 19 units,' said Nicholas Zettel, who works on zoning issues for Ald. Daniel La Spata, 1st, in whose ward the building stands. Zettel said no proposals have been brought to the ward office since the 19-unit project’s developers backed out last year.

"The current condition of the church’s interior would not allow a new user to move right in without updates, Zettel said. “It’s in some kind of a state,” Zettel said. “It will have to be a rehab project if you want to preserve the exterior.”

"Demolition approval would be difficult to obtain because the building is in the Wicker Park Historic District, designated by the city in 1991." (Rodkin, 7/8/20)

"Like many prominent churches in the surrounding communities, St. Paul's has an important legacy and appears on the Chicago Historic Resources Survey for being architecturally significant. Designed by the architect G. Isaacson in 1890, the study church features a muscular Romanesque appearance and steeples that stagger in height. According to archived construction news clippings, the estimated cost to build the church was $30,000 in 1890." (AJ LaTrace, Curbed Chicago, 7/20/17)

"A building that for a century served Palmer Square neighbors, either through religious services or after-school programming, has been transformed into more than a dozen high-end apartments. And the apartments, most of which are renting for $2,650-$2,795, are going fast.

"Despite the challenges facing Chicago’s real estate market amid the pandemic, it’s only taken the development team about four months to rent all but one of the apartments at The Grand Palmer Lodge, 3228 W. Palmer St. Now the developers are selling the building for $6 million.

"'When you have a new unique property, it tends to get a lot of interest,” said Jordan Gottlieb, principal of Essex Realty, the brokerage firm selling the building. 'There’s not many of these around.'

"Built in the 1920s, the main building was originally home to Temple-Beth El’s community space. The Boys & Girls Club took over the building in 1955 and went on to offer after-school programming and services for local kids and their families at the location for 60 years.

"In 2018, the Logan Square Boys & Girls Club announced it would be leaving the building, putting the future of the historic building in doubt. Preservationists worried the structure would be torn down.

"But New Era Chicago and development partners, Campbell Coyle Real Estate and Ranquist Development Group, stepped in and pitched an adaptive reuse project, assuaging fears. As part of the renovation, the developers removed the 1950s annex on the site and built a parking lot in its place. They also established a pocket park and a community garden next to the building.

"'We really partnered with the community to develop this thing,' Hagenson said. 'We’re lucky that everyone’s aligned and we were able to preserve this building in a way that keeps it active and avoided a teardown that someone else might’ve done.' (Bloom, 7/21/20)

Logan Square Preservation and Preservation Chicago have been working with the owners and 32nd Ward Alderman Scott Wageusepak for over two years and applaud all the stakeholders for helping to create this outstanding preservation-oriented outcome. We'd encourage owners and City of Chicago to consider a Chicago Landmark Destination of the front facade of the building to honor its legacy.

"A $1.5 million Neighborhood Opportunity Fund grant introduced to City Council today by Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot would help create a cross-cultural business incubator in Little Village for start-up companies, artists, and multi-media professionals.

"The grant would be used by the Little Village Chamber of Commerce and Little Village Community Foundation to rehabilitate a vacant, three-story building at 3523-25 W. 26th St. as a co-working office space, a shared commercial kitchen and a café. The $3.5 million, 12,000-square-foot project would create 15 permanent and 28 construction jobs and help existing and start-up professionals to improve their business skills.

"The Neighborhood Opportunity Fund allocates voluntary zoning fees from downtown construction projects to support neighborhood commercial corridors in low- to moderate-income communities on the South, Southwest, and West Sides. Projects with grant amounts exceeding $250,000 require City Council approval." (Chicago DPD, 7/22/20)

"Argus Brewery, which quietly stopped operating on Chicago’s Far South Side in late March, is available on the people’s internet marketplace for $2.5 million. Included in sale: the 9,700-square-foot (Designated Chicago Landmark) building in the Roseland neighborhood, brewing equipment, furniture, electronics, a delivery van and Argus’ intellectual property.

"The building was originally home to a horse stable for the Schlitz beer company, a relic of when beer 'was distributed by horse drawn wagons and sold in lard-lined buckets in one of the nation’s first planned industrial communities,' according to the posting. Also included: 'A large freight elevator with original motor, designed by Nikola Tesla, (that) still works!'”

"Brewery founder Bob Jensen wasn’t aware of the posting until Tuesday; he said his real estate agent must have made the listing. He has been trying to sell the brewery since April. Jensen said he has had interest from two current breweries in the Chicago area and three different people interested in getting into the beer business.

"Jensen bought the building as an investment before launching Argus in 2009. The brewery struggled with quality and consistency for several years before revamping its staff and approach and ultimately winning medals at highly regarded beer competitions.

"In April, word emerged that Jensen had shuttered the brewery, something he has said he was considering for months due to slow sales and a failure to gain a foothold in one of the nation’s most competitive beer markets. The coronavirus pandemic pushed him to do it." (Noel, 6/9/20)

"A long-unsold mansion on Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s block of Astor Street is going up for auction, with a promise that no matter what the highest bid is, the seller will take it.

"The property [at 1442 N Astor Street], a three-story brick and limestone house built in 1891 with a one-story addition done in the 1930s, first came on the market in May 2014, priced at $8 million. By January 2020, seller Margaret Elliott had cut the price by more than half, to $3.75 million.

"On August 20, the house will be auctioned online, and according to the firm handling the sale, there is no reserve. In an auction, a reserve is a bottom-line price below which the seller won’t go. Only if the top bid is at the reserve or higher does the sale go through.

"Jennie Heal, president of Supreme Auctions, the Scottsdale, Arizona firm handling the sale with local listing agent Alex Wolking of Keller Williams Chicago Lincoln Park, confirmed that Elliott has no reserve, either announced or unannounced. (Some auctioneers do not announce their reserve, and bidders only find out when nobody wins the house. A published reserve is often announced as a minimum bid.)

"After the property had sat unsold for a few years, in early 2019, she added to the offering. In an attempt to overcome one of the home’s weak points, the boxy one-story addition that detracts from the three-story section’s handsome profile, Elliott commissioned an architect to design an addition to the one-story piece that would make it match the three-story piece in size. She then went through the process of getting the plans approved by the Commission on Chicago Landmarks.

"The total interior space would then be 10,000 square feet, but the plans also allowed for treating the property as two structures: the original three-story house and a new three-story neighbor that might be a single or multiple residential units. Heal said those plans are included in the present sale offering." (Rodkin, 7/23/20)

Preservation Chicago is working with Sheridan Park neighbors to bring the beautiful historic home at 4706 N. Malden Street in the Sheridan Park National Register District to the attention of preservation-oriented buyers.

"Victorian home with elaborate trim and interior woodwork. Nestled on Malden street with mature trees and an iron gate fence, this home features a large driveway, front yard, elaborate cone tower on the left side of the house. Seven bedrooms and a basement give plenty of room for bringing this home to its former glory. Wood and iron wrap around staircase leads to the second floor. This can be a perfect home to renovate to all of your specific tastes and desires. Additional six parking spaces in the rear of the property are rented out for additional income. Needs work from water leak damage." 

Preservation Chicago has been working with Sheridan Park neighbors, community and elected officials for over a decade to encourage a larger Chicago Landmark District that would encompass the Sheridan Park National Register District.

Preservation Chicago is working with Sheridan Park neighbors to bring the beautiful historic home at 4607 N. Magnolia Avenue in the Sheridan Park National Register District to the attention of preservation-oriented buyers.

4607 N. Magnolia Avenue is a large Queen Anne home with a large half-moon wrap around porch and turret. Located on a double lot in historic Sheridan Park, this is a wonderful "this old house" rehab opportunity.

Built by Niels Buck in 1897-1898, the home has 6 bedrooms, 2.1 baths, a front door with original glass, a grand staircase with built-in window seat, a double parlor living room with pocket doors, a gas fireplace with a cast iron inset, a formal dining with built-in hutch, a maids stairwell, and hardwood floors with mahogany, birch and maple inlays. The 3rd floor has a ballroom, a maid's bedroom, 2nd kitchen and bath as well as a sun room. Property includes a large, four car garage.

Preservation Chicago has been working with Sheridan Park neighbors, community and elected officials for over a decade to encourage a larger Chicago Landmark District that would encompass the Sheridan Park National Register District.

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: 10057 S. Michigan Avenue, Roseland (a Chicago 7 Most Endangered 2020)

#100878866

Date Received: 07/17/2020

Ward: 9th Ward Alderman Anthony A. Beale

Applicant: McDonagh Demolition

Owner: City of Chicago

Permit Description: Emergency wreck and remove 2-story brick and frame multi-unit residence.

Status: Released 07/17/2020 [Per Administrative Order issued by the Department of Buildings to address dangerous and hazardous conditions.]

This was an early house belonging to Pieter Boone at 10057 S. Michigan Avenue c. 1870 and part of a later wave of Dutch immigrants. It was constructed from locally made De Jong Brick and was among the earliest structures of Roseland.

Address: 1319-1325 S. Ashland Avenue/1544-1554 W. Hastings Street, Near West Side

#100875210

Date Received: 05/22/2020

Ward: 28th Ward Alderman Jason Ervin

Applicant: Alpine Demolition Services, LLC

Owner: 130 Ashland Opportunity, LLC

Permit Description: The demolition of a three-story masonry church, while preserving the foundations and footings.

Status: Under Review

Preservation Chicago has advocated for St. Stephenson for many years. We found multiple developers interested in adaptively reusing this historic building for a residential use. Multiple offers for purchase that were presented, but the church ownership declined all offers. We continue to outreach to ownership regarding potential alternative, but they have been unresponsive.

Address: 2114 N. Lincoln Avenue, Lincoln Park

100855857

Date Received: 04/22/2020

Ward: 43rd Ward Alderman Michele Smith

Applicant: JAR Corp.

Owner: Frederic Boyer

Permit Description: Partial demolition to accommodate third floor additions and a side addition.

Status: 90-day hold extended to 10/19/2020 by mutual agreement

Address: Jeffrey Theater and Spencer Arms Hotel, 7054 S. Jeffery Boulevard / 1952 E. 71st / 1950 E. 71st Street, South Shore (a Chicago 7 Most Endangered 2014)

#100850960

Date Received: 02/11/2020

Ward: 5th Ward Alderman Leslie A. Hairston

Applicant: Spirit Wrecking & Excavation, Inc.

Owner: South Shore Commercial Properties, LLC

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

Address: 3246 W. Bryn Mawr Avenue, North Park

#100863883

Date Received: 03/25/2020

Ward: 39th Ward Alderman Samantha Nugent

Applicant: John Hanna

Owner: 3244-50 Bryn Mawr LLC

Permit Description: Partial demolition of an existing 1-story commercial building; the front façade will remain with a new 4-story addition (with a 6-foot setback from the front façade)

Preservation Chicago has advocated along with the community for the preservation of this facade and restoration as part of the redevelopment plans for this site. We attended community meetings with the developer and neighborhood groups to advance this goal.

“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.

On June 4, 2020, the Commission on Chicago Landmarks voted to award preliminary Landmark designation to the former Schlitz Brewery-Tied House located at 9401 S. Ewing Avenue in Chicago's East Side community. If approved by Chicago City Council, it would become the 10th Tied House Landmark in Chicago. Preservation Chicago applauds the owner Mike and Laura Medina who plans a preservation-oriented restoration and use as a tavern, and 10th Ward Alderman Susan Garza for her strong support. Preservation Chicago presented in support of the designation to the Commission on Chicago Landmarks on June 4, 2020 and is thrilled with this outcome.

"A long-running tavern in Chicago’s East Side neighborhood is heading for landmark status with the city. It’s a bar that’s lived a lot of lives, and its new owners see it as an important piece of a tight-knit, but much-changed community.

"Before Mike and Laura Medina bought the bar at 94th Street and Ewing on the Far South Side, the building went through many incarnations. It was built in 1907.

"'This is one of about 60 ‘tied houses’ that Schlitz brewing company built as a way to have a place to exclusively sell their beer,' Mike Medina said. After prohibition, tied houses were regulated out of existence. But some of them, including this one, kept going as privately-owned bars.

"Since they bought the building last year, the Medinas have found and been given artifacts from the bar’s history, like an old telephone a neighbor saved when the bar was cleared out; a box of foreign currency, likely from the crews of foreign ships that passed by; and a “rooms for rent” sign and ring of skeleton keys from the largely-untouched rooming house on the building’s second floor.

"'On top of the ephemera we’ve found, it’s just the originality of the building,” Medina said. “They never gutted anything, never modernized it to a point where you couldn’t get a sense of what it used to look like, which is really cool. There’s a lot to this place that we keep discovering.'

"When Schlitz built a tied house, they weren’t shy about it – there’s a giant logo carved right into the facade. For most of its existence, the building also had a gorgeous stained glass window featuring the Schlitz logo and an ornate design. It was removed sometime before the Medinas purchased this property.

"'We’ve been trying to track down who has it to approach them and see if they’re willing to part with it, because we feel it belongs (here),' Medina said. In the meantime, the Medinas were put in touch with a stained glass artist who had been given the original blueprint for the window.

"'There’s a lot of neighbors around here that have very good memories of this building, the people in it, the times they had here. That’s not disposable,” Medina said. “It’s no less significant just because it’s at 94th Street and Ewing than it is if it was on maybe a more prosperous side of town.'

"The Medinas hope to reopen the bar, which they’re calling the East Side Tap, sometime next year. Once it’s approved by the City Council, the building will join nine other former Schlitz properties as Chicago landmarks." (Blumberg, 7/16/20)

"If you stand at the corner of Lawrence Avenue and Broadway in the Uptown neighborhood, you’ll see two famous Chicago music venues: the Riviera Theatre and the Green Mill. The Uptown Theater, which closed to the public in 1981, looms behind them. And looking east down Lawrence, beyond the “L” tracks, you can see the tall vertical sign for the Aragon Ballroom, yet another legendary spot for experiencing live music.

"Karen Kinderman lives nearby this cluster of music venues, and she’s wondered why they were all built in this small section of her neighborhood. So she came to Curious City to find out how Uptown became the entertainment center it looks like today

"Uptown’s growing entertainment scene was also shaped by the ways Americans enjoyed spending their leisure time in the 1910s and 1920s, including three important trends: cabaret, movies and dancing.

The Green Mill and Rainbo Gardens were cabarets, a style of entertainment venue that emerged in America around World War I, influenced by similar places in France and Germany.

“Chicago was really the leader in the beginning of that kind of entertainment in the United States,” said Charles A. Sengstock Jr., author of That Toddlin’ Town: Chicago’s White Dance Bands and Orchestras, 1900–1950. “It set up a feeling of intimacy between the entertainer and the audience that could not be realized in a theater.”

"During that same era, moviegoing was a national craze, just two decades after the very first motion picture parlors had opened. In 1918, the 2,600-seat Riviera Theatre opened a block south of Green Mill Gardens, with a 30-piece “synchronizing symphony” performing during the silent films.

"The Riviera was the second theater built by the legendary Chicago company Balaban & Katz. According to movie historian Douglas Gomery, Balaban & Katz decided to build its earliest theaters in neighborhoods with growing populations, such as Uptown — “near fans who had just moved to what were then outlying districts. New mass transit made access simple.”

"In the following years, Balaban & Katz bought up Green Mill Gardens’ outdoor space. That L-shaped property was where they opened the Uptown Theatre in 1925.

"'They spared no expense in creating the most modern and lavish theater probably that the country ever knew — and will ever know,' historian John Holden said.

"A Balaban & Katz advertisement called the Uptown Theatre “a spacious playhouse of magnificence to meet the requirements of this progressive and rapidly growing community.” When the theater opened, its marquee boasted: “An acre of seats in a magic city.” With 4,381 seats, it was the world’s largest theater, a distinction it held until New York City’s 6,500-seat Radio City Music Hall opened seven years later.

"How can we make amends for the atrocities of slavery and segregation? Historian and preservationist Brent Leggs discusses one step in confronting the past: preserving African American historic sites.

"Brent Leggs is the executive director of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund. Envisioned as a social movement for justice, equity, and reconciliation, the Action Fund is promoting the role of cultural preservation in telling the nation's full history, while also empowering activists, entrepreneurs, artists, and civic leaders to advocate on behalf of African American historic places.

"A Harvard University Loeb Fellow and author of Preserving African American Historic Places, Brent is a national leader in the U.S. preservation movement. His passion for elevating the significance of black culture in American history is visible through his work, which elevates the remarkable stories and places that evoke centuries of black activism, achievement, and community.

"Over the past decade, he has developed the Northeast African American Historic Places Outreach Program, and its theme, the Business of Preservation, to build a regional movement of preservation leaders saving important landmarks in African American history. As the project manager for several National Treasure campaigns across the country, he led efforts to create the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument in Alabama, which President Barack Obama designated in January 2017. Other campaign successes include the perpetual protection of cultural monuments like Villa Lewaro, the estate of Madam C. J. Walker in Irvington, New York; Joe Frazier's Gym in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson, New Jersey; A. G. Gaston Motel in Birmingham; Nina Simone's birthplace in Tryon, North Carolina; and John and Alice Coltrane's home in Huntington, New York.

"Brent has taught at Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania, and Boston Architectural College, and he is an Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Maryland's Graduate Program in Historic Preservation." (TED Radio Hour, 7/10/20)

"Somewhere, Daniel Burnham weeps.

"In 1909, the 19th-century architect first floated the idea of a manmade park off the coast of Chicago, stretching seven miles between Grant Park and Jackson Park. The island was to be a reprieve from the bustling city nearby — a lush oasis on Lake Michigan for rest and relaxation.

"Today, more than a century later, Burnham’s dream has taken the form of a ratty island stuck in development purgatory. Tall prairie grass and rare birds thrive at its southern end, where the rising waters of Lake Michigan threaten to swallow the landmass completely. Walking the parkway, it feels almost inevitable that nature will reclaim the 91 acres of land.

"Welcome to Northerly Island, Chicago’s most cursed public park.

"Most modern accounts inaccurately recall Burham’s 1909 Plan of Chicago, which outlined what would later become Northerly Island, as advocating for a series of barrier islands along the entire lakefront. But the blueprint actually only designated barrier islands on the North Side. For the south shore, Burnham proposed a channel-like lagoon running parallel to the coast. He called the outer strip of land Shore Park.

"Burnham envisioned Shore Park as a “supremely beautiful” outdoor playground. “When this parkway shall be created, our people will stay here, and others will come to dwell among us — the people who now spend large amounts of money in Paris, Vienna, and on the Riviera,” he wrote in the plan.

"But, in the early 1920s, the South Park Commissioners downsized the Shore Park plan in favor of a series of five islands along the south lakefront. Ultimately, they only built one — Northerly Island — in 1925.

"In the 95 years since, Northerly Island has seen a series of controversies and what-ifs. The one constant has been Adler Planetarium, which opened in 1930. For two years, Northerly Island hosted Chicago’s 1933 Century of Progress World’s Fair." (Smith, 7/9/20)

Ask Geoffrey: Chicago’s Vanishing Water Tanks, Erica Gunderson, WTTW Chicago, 7/16/20

"They’re rare now, but rooftop water tanks once stood sentinel atop every large building in the city, keeping them safe from threat of fire. Geoffrey Baer is here to say thanks for those tanks.

"On top of buildings around Chicago’s neighborhoods, I frequently see water tanks or water tank platforms where the water tank has been removed. What are they for and are they still in use? — Bryan Bacon, West Loop

"We answered a similar question to this one back in 2012 but this is a good time to do an update. Back then, we described the tanks as a vanishing vestige of another era in Chicago, and sadly, they’re continuing to disappear from the skyline.

"The purpose of these tanks was to provide a reliable, easily-accessed water supply to put out fires. The water in the tanks is fed to firefighters by gravity, so it’s almost a fail-safe supply for emergencies. After the Great Fire of 1871, ordinances were passed requiring these tanks on top of warehouses, factories and public buildings. The law spawned a whole industry in water tank construction and maintenance.

"Many firms were owned by German and Swedish immigrants who were experts in high-quality wooden barrel-making. Boards chosen for tank construction had to be free of any knots and gnarls to prevent leaks. Redwood tanks could last 50 years, and cypress ones for a century. Each company added its own signature flourishes to its tanks, such as ornamental caps on the cone-shaped barrel tops.

"The average water tank is about 16-by-16 and holds about 20,000 gallons of water, but they can get a lot bigger. The Carbit Paints tank atop 927 W. Blackhawk holds about three times that.

At their peak, there were at least 1,300 of these tanks across the city, and maybe many more. Today, buildings have electric pumps on site to supply fire suppression systems so the water tanks have become obsolete.

Ward Miller, executive director of the organization Preservation Chicago, estimates that about 125 tanks remain in the city and about 90 are still in use. That’s down from 140 remaining tanks in 2012.

That organization and others have been sounding the alarm about the dwindling number of tanks in Chicago over the past 20 years or so.

In 2006, Richard M. Daley’s administration designated the tanks as historic structures and required building owners to explore options for preserving or reusing the tanks before demolishing them." (Gunderson, 7/16/20)

"The plight of Chicago’s small, two to four-unit buildings, has received research and media attention for nearly a decade, yet little by way of coordinated and comprehensive action. This needs to change. This iconic housing stock has long housed over a third of the city’s working-class residents[1] and has been a crucial source of affordable homes, especially those that include basement apartments that tend to be among the most affordable in the city. Yet Chicago has been losing these affordable homes for nearly a decade due to foreclosure, abandonment, flipping and deconversion. The coronavirus pandemic threatens to accelerate the loss of this crucial affordable housing, with significant displacement consequences for Chicago’s vulnerable renters, low income and households of color, threatening to further widen spatial and racial inequities in our city.

"If we care about black and brown families in Chicago’s disinvested as well as gentrifying neighborhoods, we need to protect this housing stock now.

"Following the 2008 foreclosure crisis, nearly one third of two- to four-flat buildings in weaker housing market neighborhoods were affected by a foreclosure filing, contributing to mass displacement on the South and West sides and the loss of Chicago’s Black population. The foreclosure crisis and ensuing displacement wave resulted in significant community trauma, neighborhood distress and the staggering loss of wealth in Black communities. While new financing that targeted redevelopment of the 1-4 flat stock in the wake of the 2008 crash helped, the economic impacts of COVID-19 threaten to further destabilize these disinvested communities.

"The City of Chicago has declared its commitment to reversing decades of disinvestment and segregation through its Invest South/West initiative, yet stabilizing affordable housing in these areas has yet to officially become part of the effort. To ensure the health, wellbeing and stability of residents in these communities, it’s imperative to ensure they have access to affordable housing. City-wide, nearly 40% of the city’s affordable stock is in buildings with 2-4 units[2] and the neighborhoods with the highest concentration of two- to four-flats are majority black and brown neighborhoods with high poverty rates on the city’s south and west sides.

"In gentrifying areas, two- to four-unit buildings are often swept up by speculators, flipped, and/or “deconverted” into single family homes, resulting in a significant decline in the number of affordable units in stronger housing markets. This trend contributed to the significant loss of Latinx households from these desirable neighborhoods. To achieve the diversity, economic mobility and access to opportunity the City’s values, we also need to protect the two-to-four housing stock in stronger, gentrifying markets.

"Preventative action is needed if we want to keep history from repeating itself. Due to the diversity of Chicago’s housing market and building types, one sized solutions to the housing impacts of the pandemic may bypass huge swaths of the city. And preserving this stock is far less expensive than producing a new unit (affordable or not), so there are cost savings alongside anti-displacement benefits to preserving this stock as well. Now is the time to act and take the preservation of this critical affordable housing stock seriously." (Zuk, 6/29/20)

"A century ago, Chicago was a leader in shading its neighborhoods with an urban forest. But as Chicago continues to lose trees, other cities have caught up and surpassed us.

"For a host of environmental and quality-of-life reasons, It’s time Chicago worked to regain its status as exceptional when it comes to tree-lined streets. Since 2010, due to disease and other factors, Chicago has lost an average of 10,000 more trees than it has planted every year. That’s 200 fewer trees in each of the city’s 50 wards on average each year.

"Trees benefit cities and human health in many ways. They cool areas that otherwise would be heat islands. They filter the air, helping people with respiratory problems, and absorb carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. They soak up stormwater that otherwise results in flooding. They create habitat for wildlife, including birds that fly through on semiannual migrations. Tree-lined streets make daily life in the big city more pleasant.

"But Chicago not only is failing to replace trees, it also is cutting down perfectly good ones. The city has a bad habit of removing healthy parkway trees just because some resident puts in a request. Developers are allowed to cut down mature trees for no justifiable reason.

“It keeps getting worse instead of better,” Openlands Vice President for Community Conservation Daniella Pereira told us.

"Chicago’s official motto is 'urbs in horto' — City in a Garden. Let’s live up to it." (Chicago Sun-Times, 6/21/20)

"Across the city, Chicago bungalow owners demonstrate their love for nature by beautifying their blocks with inspiring home gardens. For the fourth year in a row, the Bungalow Garden Contest aims to celebrate the hard work of our members, and draw attention to how gardens not only enhance a home’s architecture, but can also promote a healthier ecosystem and uplift a community.

"The public votes for winners online! This year, for every eligible* garden contest entry we receive, $25 will be donated to South and West Side Chicago community gardens. (Do you know a community garden that could benefit from donations? Send CBA an email!)

​"The winner in each category will receive:

Chicago Policy King Historic Residence in West Woodlawn with Clinee Hedspeth: a virtual tour presented by Hyde Park Historical Society.

Saturday, August 15, 2020

2 to 3:30 pm

Via Zoom

Free Event and Open to the Public

Join HPHS Board Member Clinée Hedspeth for an extraordinary video tour of a historic West Woodlawn house at South Eberhart Avenue and East 65 th Street built in 1926 by the legendary Chicago policy king Henry Young. The house, a two-flat building with four unit kitchenettes (garden level), has most of the original interiors intact, including wallpaper and floor coverings. This tour is your only way to see inside and includes a special household surprise!

To learn more about Chicago’s policy kings, visit: Kings: The True Story of Chicago's Policy Kings and Numbers Racketeers. Clinee will include remarks from her interview with author Nathan Thompson as well as anecdotes from conversations with several of King Henry Young’s family members and neighbors that knew him. Intrigue! Drama!

For the Zoom link, contact Hyde Park Historical Society at 773-493-1893; info@hydeparkhistory.org 

by Friday, August 14.

"On June 7th, 2020, Holy Trinity Cathedral designed by Louis Sullivan celebrated its 128-year anniversary of its founding as the oldest Orthodox community in Chicago. The goal is simple – we need to finish our restoration of the main cathedral and are in the final stretch of accomplishing this. We need $85,784 to:

"This community was founded by hard working immigrants and even saints of the Orthodox Church. It serves as a prominent holy site for the Orthodox Church in America and is an important monument of architecture within the city of Chicago. This beloved landmark was built by the famous architect, Louis Sullivan and is the only church he design that still exists today. Please help us preserve history while securing the future."

"The COVID-19 pandemic has created special challenges for Glessner House, as we cancel all tours and programs for an extended period, while expenses go on all the same. Donations, large and small, are greatly appreciated to keep us going during this difficult time, and to allow us to plan for the time when we can open the house once again to visitors from around the world, providing memorable experiences.

"Donors of $25 or more can receive a William Morris face mask as a thank you gift, if so indicated during check out. These face masks are exclusive to Glessner House, utilizing the many wonderful Morris designs that Frances Glessner selected to decorate her home. Thank you for your support! The mask shown above is representative; the actual mask you receive may be of a different pattern.

"Since 1966, Glessner House has been leading the effort to preserve and celebrate the legacies of architect Henry Hobson Richardson, the Glessner family, and Prairie Avenue, while also helping to launch and encourage the historic preservation movement city-wide. Over the last half-century, the House has successfully restored H. H. Richardson’s residential masterpiece; preserved the Glessner family’s fine collection of Arts & Crafts era furnishings; celebrated the illustrious history of late 19th and early 20th century Chicago; and introduced tens of thousands of visitors from Chicago, the United States, and around the world to the rich history embodied in the House and its collections."

"Regina's first film uncovers the hidden heroes of the Catholic world — the people who are giving their all to save our beautiful, historic churches.

"Regina went on the road, traveling the low-budget way to dozens of parishes in England, Ireland and the USA. Regina climbed into steeples, flew drones around, slept on couches, interviewed priests, architects, maintenance experts and ordinary people who are in this fight together to save our endangered heritage. And had success! The filming is now complete — all of it for just $8K donated by Regina fans. Film by Alexander Anthony Choong

"Now we're ready for Phase Two: Creating the actual film. And this is where where you come in. We need $23,000 to edit this film and create a one hour documentary that will be shown around the world — and inspire others to save their churches too.

"This is our legacy, and our heritage. Do your part to help save it! Please consider making a tax-deductible donation."

"For the Next Century, For det Neste Århundre"

"Over the past 108 years, The Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church (aka Minnekirken) has been sitting proudly on Logan Square. The physical structure of 'The Red Church' has also been exposed to the Chicago elements, and it is now in need of restoration.

"Visual assessments by local architects and engineers led to the hiring of several restoration professionals in the fall of 2019 to closely and thoroughly examine the structure. The façade of the church was stabilized with masonry repairs, and it was determined that further structural maintenance and restoration is imperative to ensure the long-term stability of the church.

"This restoration project comes at a critical time, when the Logan Square traffic pattern in front of the church is planned to be redirected, and there is addtional work upcoming at nearby CTA properties. With heavy, earth-moving machinery expected to operate not far from the church's doorstep, there is an increased sense of urgency to further stabilize the physical structure of Minnekirken."

"Fund Bronzeville’s future by helping us repair a piece of its past.

"Before its decline in the late 20th century, The Forum served as a hub of Bronzeville commerce, culture, and community. It included one of the most significant assembly spaces on the South Side, hosting politicians, unions, social clubs and fraternal organizations, above first floor storefronts that provided the commercial core of the 43rd Street retail corridor.

"The imposing brick building contains Forum Hall, Bronzeville’s first assembly hall and home of possibly the oldest hardwood dance floor in the city. This is the floor upon which musical luminaries like Nat King Cole, Captain Walter Dyett, and Muddy Waters performed, and national civic movements such as the Chicago Council of the National Negro Congress, Stockyard Congress of Industrial Organizations, and Freedom Riders organized.

"Since 2011, Urban Juncture Foundation has worked in partnership with the owner of The Forum to stabilize the building and rehabilitate it as a community venue that will once again host weddings, political meetings and musical performances, as well as provide an abundance of retail amenities. In July 2019, we won a $100,000 grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation to replace The Forum’s decaying roofs. However, this generous award falls $50,000 short of our requested amount, meaning we can afford to replace only one of two roofs this spring.

"Help us raise the roof and fund The Forum! By contributing to this campaign, you not only help preserve a unique monument to Black history, but also help fund a future where commerce, culture and community once again thrive in Chicago’s historic Black Metropolis."

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

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

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

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