November 2018 Month-in-Review Newsletter

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Advocacy

WIN: Uptown Theater Restoration Plan Receives City Council Approval!

Uptown Theatre, Rendering Credit: Lamar Johnson Collaborative

Uptown Theatre, 4816 N. Broadway, People line up to see the Uptown Theatre during opening week in August 1925, Photo Credit: Chicago Tribune Historic Photo

Uptown Theatre Exterior Existing Conditions. Photo Credit: Eric Holubow

On November 13, 2018, the Chicago Community Development Commission  voted to approve the $75 million rehabilitation of the long-vacant Uptown Theatre. After decades of false starts and unfulfilled promises, this marks an highly important and tangible step forward for the restoration of this magnificent building. Almost exactly 37 years ago, the Uptown Theatre hosted its last concert on Dec. 19, 1981 before being closed due to water damage from frozen pipes. The effort to save this "lost cause" from demolition has been long and arduous, but the preservation community never gave up on the dream of one day seeing the Uptown Theatre restored. In 1991 after a decade of advocacy, the Chicago preservation community succeeded in having the Uptown Theatre designated a Chicago Landmark. No one at that time could have guessed that the building would remain shuttered for nearly 30 more years!  Recently, Friends of the Uptown and Preservation Chicago sponsored an online petition to encourage the restoration of the Uptown Theatre that generated 10,778 signatures before it was closed having achieved its goal of seeing the building restored! Preservationists will need to wait a little longer, as construction work is expected to begin in August 2019 with a grand reopening scheduled for early 2021. As Blair Kamin wrote in his Chicago Tribune column, “ local preservation groups — Landmarks Illinois, Preservation Chicago and Friends of the Uptown [formed in 1998) — and the Washington, D.C.-based National Trust for Historic Preservation, which in 1996 put the Uptown on its list of the nation’s most endangered places, deserve credit for the tenacity they exhibited in fighting for what many assumed was a lost cause. City officials also get kudos for laying the infrastructure groundwork that could help a renovated Uptown succeed .” (Kamin, Chicago Tribune, 6/29/18)  Mayor Rahm Emanuel and 46th Ward Alderman James Cappleman have long understood the importance of the Uptown Theatre. During his first campaign, Mayor Emanuel spoke about his interest in creating an Uptown Music District that would include a restored Uptown Theatre, the Aragon Ballroom, the Riviera Theatre, the Green Mill and other entertainment options. Recently, the Double Door announced plans to reopen in Uptown in the historic Wilson Theater Building and Baton Show Lounge announced plans to reopen in the historic Uptown Broadway Building. Additional steps to prepare Uptown for this exciting next phase have included the creation of the Uptown Square Chicago Landmark District in 2016 which protected 57 buildings, the restoration of the Gerber Building and the new Wilson Street ‘L” station, and streetscape improvements including a planned new pedestrian plaza and public stage, located just south of Lawrence and Broadway. Mayor Emanuel said, “ The Uptown Theatre is more than a theater. It’s an iconic community anchor. The restored building will be the centerpiece of the new, revitalized entertainment district that will attract hundreds of thousands of show-goers while promoting continued economic growth for the surrounding neighborhood .” (Chicago DPD, 11/20/18) Ald. James Cappleman said, “The renovation of this magnificent theatre has been my number one priority since I was re-elected. The Uptown Theatre restoration will be an economic engine for Uptown, bringing not only hundreds of jobs for residents, but also youth employment training. This project will improve the neighborhood for decades to come.” (Chicago DPD, 11/20/18)

Uptown Theatre Interior, 4816 N. Broadway. Photo Credit: Chicago Tribune Historic Photo

Mayor Emanuel announces the Uptown Theatre restoration project in the Grand Lobby in June 2018. Photo Credit: Chicago DPD

Uptown Theatre Grand Lobby Existing Conditions. Photo Credit: Eric Holubow

“ The Uptown Theatre is one of the greatest theaters in America, and it’s the premier property in Uptown. Its restoration will be expensive but the theater is a treasure that must be saved, ” said Jam co-founder Jerry Mickelson. “ Assistance from all levels of government — local, state, and federal — is necessary to get this project over the finish line. Future generations will not forgive those who do not save this magnificent palace, because a venue like the Uptown Theatre will never be built again .” (Chicago DPD, 11/20/18)   The complicated financing package requires significant private and public support including approximately $13 million in Tax Increment Financing through the Lawrence/Broadway TIF district, $14 million in State of Illinois’ Property Assessed Clean Energy Act PACE financing, $3 million in Adopt-A-Landmark funds, $10 million in Build Illinois bond funding; $9 million in federal historic tax credits, and a mix of private debt and equity from development team, Farpoint Development and Jam Productions.   The developer is Chicago-based Farpoint Development in joint venture with Chicago-based promoter Jam Productions, which purchased the Uptown Theatre in 2008 for $3.2 million after a court-ordered foreclosure sale. Jerry Mickelson and Arny Granat are co-founders and co-owners of Jam Productions. Farpoint is led by Steve Goodman, a co-founder of Sterling Bay which is one of Chicago’s largest real estate development firms.    The restoration architect will be Chicago-based Lamar Johnson Collaborative supported by Schuler Shook, a well-known national theater consultant whose previous projects include the historic Palace Theatre in St. Paul, the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, and the Black Ensemble Theatre in Chicago. (Jones, Chicago Tribune, 11/13/18)   "George Halik, principal at Lamar Johnson, said the intent was to install a new marquee that would replicate the original, which is different from the more recent one with which most Chicagoans are most familiar." (Jones, Chicago Tribune, 11/13/18)   Interior improvements are expected to include new elevators, concessions, building systems and related work that will increase capacity from approximately 4,100 to 5,800 people. Exterior work will repair the building’s masonry and terra cotta, and improve marquees and related signage, among other repairs and improvements.   “ It’s been more than 35 years since the theater closed to the public, which makes this the most anticipated restoration project in the City’s history ,” said DPD Commissioner David L. Reifman. “ The Uptown is the last and largest movie palace in the United States that hasn’t been demolished or restored and its re-opening is going to be recognized by preservationists, entertainment entities, cultural organizations and cities around the world. ” (Chicago DPD, 11/20/18)

A Palace of Enchantment, Balaban & Katz Magazine, August 17, 1925, www.compassrose.org

In the Spanish Baroque Revival style, the Uptown Theatre is one of the grandest and most opulent “Picture Palace” theaters ever built in America. It was the crown jewel of the Chicago-based Balaban & Katz theater chain and is one of Chicago’s greatest movie theaters. The Uptown Theater cost $4 million in 1925 and was “Built For All Time . ”     As described in the Balaban & Katz Magazine from August 17, 1925,  “By that they mean that rosy, romantic and beautiful plans of youth never come true. But here is the Uptown Theatre. It is beyond human dreams of loveliness, rising in mountainous splendor, achieving the overpowering sense of tremendous size and exquisite beauty – a thing that comes miraculously seldom.   “Entering it you pass into another world. The streets, the clangor of iron on cement, the harsh outlines of the steel thickets we call the city, all disappear. Your spirit rises and soars among the climbing pillars that ascend six stories to the dome ceiling of the colossal lobby. It becomes gay and light under the spell of the warm coloring that plays across heavily carved and ornamented wall as myriads of unseen lights steal out from mysterious hidden coves to illumine the interior with romantic sundown colors”.   “The Uptown Theatre is like a castle in Old Spain upon which countless artists and sculptors have lavished their talents. Behind the carved Travertine marble, the colossal pillars that gleam with bright shields and deep rich efflorescence, behind the velvet hangings and Spanish shawls, behind the magnificent mural paintings, the curving ceilings with their griffins, their heads of laughing kings, behind the charming little windows of Hispaniola that open on the great auditorium behind all that carries you into the spirit and mood of quaint, rich, grand Old Spain…”  (Balaban & Katz Magazine, 8/17/25, page 1)   Located at 4816 N. Broadway, the Uptown was designed by the acclaimed theater architects C.W. Rapp and George L. Rapp. At the time it opened, the grandiose tagline used to advertise the Uptown Theatre was “An Acre of Seats in a Magic City”. At 46,000 square foot, the Uptown is actually slightly larger than an acre! At the grand opening, the orchestra pit housed 60 musicians on an immense elevator platform, and the theatre was equipped with the most expensive Wurlitzer Grande theater organ built up to that time  “with 10,000 pipes ranging in size from smokestack of an ocean-liner to a lead-pencil hidden behind the walls on either side of the proscenium arch.”  (Balaban & Katz Magazine, 8/17/25, page 6)   In its first five years of operation, more than 20 million Chicagoans passed through its doors. The massive Uptown Theater had 4,381 seats and is said to be among the largest movie palaces ever built in the United States. Removable seating on the main level could enable people to stand at events, bringing the overall capacity to 5,800. It is larger than the seating capacity of most other large Chicago theaters including the Arie Crown Theater (4,250), the Auditorium Theater (3,901, originally 4,200), Chicago Theatre (3,600), the Oriental Theatre (2,253), the Cadillac Palace Theatre (2,344), and the Majestic/CIBC Theatre (1,800). The Congress Theatre, which is currently being restored, is projected to have a capacity of 3,500 for general admission shows and 2,600 for shows with seating.   "Jerry Mickelson of Jam Productions credits Chicago officials and longtime volunteers for the Uptown surviving decades of deferred maintenance and neglect through a succession of owners and receivership. Also, the City of Chicago invested in more than $1 million in court-ordered stabilization work and repairs, which removed and stored decorative terra cotta and replaced the system of pipes through which the rain and snowmelt from 12 roof surface drains. It was this system’s failure in the arctic winters of the early 1980s which caused water damage to some interior areas of ornate plaster ceilings and walls."  (Lynn Becker, ArchitectureChicagoPlus, 12/18/2011)   "We've come very far in the 50 years since the demolition of the Garrick Theater and Chicago Stock Exchange building when your common citizen may not have been involved in architectural preservation,"  said Ward Miller, Executive Director of Preservation Chicago. "But this is another example of a project that has so much good potential, in so many ways and something that could positively impact the entire Uptown Entertainment District." (LaTrace, 8/22/17)   "If the Uptown really does wind up being reborn, it will mark a major change from 1961, which witnessed the destruction of Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan’s Garrick Theater, a masterpiece of the first Chicago School of Architecture, and its replacement by a parking garage. Along with the demolition of the Chicago Stock Exchange Building in the early 1970s, that traumatic event helped lead to the creation of today’s strong preservation movement in Chicago and the Uptown’s bright new prospects ." (Kamin, Chicago Tribune, 6/29/18) Additional Reading  Uptown Theatre has already become a magnet for live music and buzz — just hear REO Speedwagon's reaction, Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 12/6/18 City Commission approves $13 million in support for Uptown Theatre rehabilitation, Chicago Department of Planning and Development, 11/20/18 Uptown Theatre restoration working toward summer start date; the plan to reopen the neglected Chicago landmark has secured key city backing, Jay Koziarz, Curbed Chicago, 11/13/18 Community Development Commission signs off on $75M Uptown Theatre restoration, Fran Spielman, Chicago Sun-Times, 11/13/18 Uptown Theatre's $75 million restoration will begin next summer, Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 11/13/18 Uptown Theater Renovation Would Take 18 Months, Boost Capacity To 5,800, Check out photographer Eric Holubow's photos from inside the palace. Block Club Chicago Staff, 11/14/18 Column: It's great that the Uptown Theatre has a future. What kind of future will it be?, Blair Kamin, Chicago Tribune, 6/29/18 Uptown Theatre will be restored: $75 million plan unveiled for grand palace on North Side, Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 6/28/18 Uptown Theater will be restored to 1925 glamor with $75 million, Sara Freund, Curbed Chicago, 6/29/18 Chicago’s legendary Uptown Theatre to come back to life?, Elizabeth Blasius, The Architect’s Newspaper, 6/26/18  On the 30th anniversary of its closing, Andy Pierce reminds us what's so magical about the Uptown Theatre, Lynn Becker, Architecture Chicago Plus, 12/18/11 Hidden Movie Palaces, Geoffrey Baer Interview, Chicago Tonight WTTW Chicago, April 26, 2011 VIDEO Uptown Theatre, Linda Winke, Chicago Architecture Foundation A Palace of Enchantment, Balaban & Katz Magazine, August 17, 1925, Compassrose.org A Second Act For The Uptown Theater?, Odette Yousef, WBEZ Chicago, September 19, 2014, RADIO Inside the Uptown Theatre's Unique features, Chicago Tribune, 8/7/15 Link to Save the Uptown Theatre Petition Preservationists: The Uptown Theatre needs to become a priority, AJ LaTrace, Curbed Chicago, 8/22/17 It's Time To Restore The Historic Uptown Theatre, Petition Urges, Stephen Gossett, Chicagoist, 7/7/17 Uptown: Portrait of a Palace (25 minute documentary, 2006) Friends of the Uptown Theatre Website

LOSS: Boston Store Stables Demolished!

Boston Store Stable Building during demolition, by Holabird & Roche, 4340 S. Vernon Photo Credit: Bernard Loyd

Boston Store Stable Building, by architects Holabird & Roche, 4340 S. Vernon Photo Credit: John Morris/Chicago Patterns

Holabird and Roche plans for South Side stable for Boston Store. Copyright Chicago History Museum

Save the Boston Store Stables Building Neighborhood Organizing Meeting, Photo Credit: John Morris/Chicago Patterns

The Boston Store Stables was a well-designed commercial warehouse building at 4340 S. Vernon Avenue in Bronzeville. It was built in 1906 by the Boston Store to support their new flagship department store located at State and Madison in the Loop, also built in 1906. The Boston Store Stables served as a horse stable and parcel distribution station which allowed more rapid and efficient servicing of their south side customer base.     After a long period of vacancy, it was demolished in late November 2018. The Boston Store’s north side parcel delivery stables at 4858 N. Clark and west side parcel delivery stables at 4520 W. Madison have long since been demolished.     The Boston Store Stables were designed by Holabird and Roche with “bright red brick, three large, front-facing quoined arch window surrounds, brick circular portals, and quoined columns. Though lost to time and neglect, the stable originally had decorative terra cotta coping on top of the front facade. The stable building is unusual because these Romanesque and Italianate-era architectural traits popular in the 1880s and 1890s were mostly out of fashion by the time of the stable’s design in 1906.” (Chicago Patterns, 9/24/18)   After serving for many years as the Boston Store Stables, it later became the Black Elks Lodge and more recently a community church. Neighbors can still recall the days when the Checkerboard Lounge was thriving around the corner on 43rd Street. Big names who played the Checkerboard would sometimes hop over to the Black Elks Lodge for another set. Now the stories of the Boston Store Stables' many iterations can only be told on pages and web sites dedicated to Chicago’s lost built environment.   The Boston Store Stables suffered from years of neglect and abandonment, but the building was not in immediate danger. The property had been on the market for a few years with hope that a preservation-oriented developer would emerge. The building became an urgent preservation issue when a demolition permit application from the recent buyer was discovered and made clear the new owner’s intention for the building. The demolition permit was issued on November 1, 2018.   Preservation Chicago worked closely with neighbors and preservation partners to help organize a preservation effort to bring about a positive outcome. Preservation Chicago would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to Bernard Loyd at Urban Juncture as well as to the dedicated neighbors who rallied to organize and support the preservation effort. John Morris with Chicago Patterns played an integral role in breaking this story and sounding the alarm regarding the pending threat to the building, in addition to conducting outstanding historical research. A series of neighborhood meetings were held, a Change.org petition generated approximately 750 signatures in a little over a week, conversations were held with 3rd Ward Alderman Pat Dowell, and conversations were held with the developer’s broker. The developer expressed a willingness to entertain offers to buy, but would not delay their demolition schedule and would not share their timeframe. Exterior tours of the building were coordinated with potential preservation-oriented buyers, including one foundation that expressed interest. Despite all of these efforts, unfortunately, there was simply not enough time for a preservation-friendly developer to emerge to buy-out the current owners and rescue the building.   A 90-Day Demolition Delay would have provided a modest window of time that community and preservation partners could have used to explore reuse options for the historic building. Despite its history and cultural significance, 4340 S. Vernon lacked landmark status and is notably absent from the Historic Resources Survey. Buildings with Orange Rating (denoting historical or architectural significance) automatically trigger a 90-day waiting period as part of the Demolition Delay Ordinance. (Chicago Patterns, 9/24/18)   Rapid Response preservation efforts are by nature, reactive, and threats often emerge in response to an otherwise stable building suddenly becoming endangered due to change in ownership. The 90-Day Demolition Delay plays an important role in delaying the release of the demolition permit to allow preservation advocacy the time it needs to be successful.    The Chicago Historic Resource Survey (CHRS), which provides an inventory of historic and significant older buildings in its neighborhoods, is aging, has gaps, and is due for a comprehensive update. An updated survey could provide communities, developers, elected officials and preservation advocates greater information from which to work. An updated survey would allow greater awareness and recognition regarding the significant buildings that tell Chicago’s story and to help guide reinvestment in historic buildings, a strategy which has been proven to help build healthy neighborhoods.     Until the time when the Chicago Historic Resource Survey can be updated, Preservation Chicago continues to deepen efforts to partner with communities, preservation advocates, elected officials and city departments to create alternative neighborhood building inventories to recognize places and spaces significant to community members and the City of Chicago.   In his May 4, 1987 second inaugural address, Mayor Harold Washington said, “Throughout Chicago history, when we have faced such crises, we have summoned our resources and developed partnerships. We have reawakened the power to redirect our priorities. Now once again we are called to the challenge. We must apply the lessons of the past to the challenges of today.” In 2019 and the years to come, Preservation Chicago looks forward to bringing to life that legacy called out by Mayor Washington. We hope you will join us. Additionally, Preservation Chicago would support the Chicago Landmark Designation of the flagship Boston Store department store (more recently occupied by Sears) located at 2 N. State and Madison in the Loop designed by Holabird and Roche in 1906. Additional Reading Facing Demolition: The Last Remaining Boston Store Stable, John Morris, Chicago Patterns, 9/24/18 Fight Is On To Save One Of Bronzeville’s Links To Its Past, The Boston Store Stable; the Boston Store Stable has ties to Chicago's architectural and mercantile history, and also has links to Bronzeville's rich past, Patty Wetli, Block Club Chicago, 11/16/18 Neighbors Launch Preservation Push in Bronzeville: Save Our Stable!, John Morris, Chicago Patterns, 11/15/18

THREATENED: Superior Street Rowhouses to Receive 90-Day Reprieve from Demolition Due to an Extension of the 90-Day Demo Delay!

Save These Victorian Rowhouses from Demolition! change.org petition

42, 44 & 46 East Superior Street Rowhouses, Photo Credit: Taylor Moore / Block Club Chicago

42, 44 & 46 East Superior Street Rowhouses, Photo Credit: Taylor Moore / Block Club Chicago

Etching from Andreas's History of Chicago showing the 4th Presbyterian Church that stood east of the rowhousess until 1914 when it was replaced by the extant Methodist Book Publishing House. The houses are visible in the image. Image Credit: History of Chicago; From the earliest period to the present time, by A.T. Andreas, 1885

42, 44 & 46 East Superior Street Rowhouse Extended Demolition Delay Notification, Photo Credit: City of Chicago

With only days remaining until the expiration of the 90-Demolition Delay hold after which time the City of Chicago is obliged to release a requested demolition permit, the Superior Street Rowhouses have been granted an additional 90-day delay on the demolition. The extension of the demolition delay is often difficult to achieve and requires the support of the alderman, the City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development staff, and the consent of the owner/developer.     In early November 2018, 42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly took the important preliminary steps to formally request that the City Council downzone the Superior Street Rowhouse properties. Preservation Chicago applauds Alderman Reilly for his strong leadership and his proactive steps to protect these authentic, beautiful, and charming historic Chicago rowhouses from being bulldozed. Concern is increasing for the adjacent seven-story Art Deco limestone building and historic four-story red brick Giordano’s building, also known as the Methodist Book Concern Building by Thielbar & Fugard.   “It’s really important to keep the human scale and historic character of these buildings,” If we’re not careful and we allow another high-rise, we’re going to kill that golden goose”, said Ward Miller of Preservation Chicago in reference to the desirability of the surrounding residential area. (Crain's, 10/10/18)   Downzoning is one of the only planning tools available to aldermen to be able to influence the direction of new development. In the case of the Superior Street Rowhouses, Alderman Reilly told Crain’s Chicago Business that he used the downzoning “in order to essentially get the developer's attention and ask them to voluntarily extend the demolition deadline so we can look at those properties with (the Commission on Chicago) Landmarks and the city to determine whether or not they need to be landmarked and preserved. It's not intended to be a permanent zoning classification, but I needed to use this to slow them down a bit and have them come back to the table and give us some more time to look at those buildings." (Crain's, 11/1/18)   In addition to Alderman Reilly, Preservation Chicago wishes to recognize and applaud the Chicago Department of Planning and Development Landmarks Staff, our preservation partners, and the nearly 5,000 Chicagoans who signed the petition to support the protection of these architecturally significant Chicago rowhouses. Each component is essential for conducting an effective preservation effort that yields a positive outcome.     While the 90-Day Demolition Delay extension is a critically important and very positive step forward, the reprieve is temporary and the Superior Street Rowhouses remain very much imperiled. Preservation Chicago continues to proactively advocate for the creation of a Designated Chicago Landmark District that would protect the Superior Street Rowhouses and the few remaining original 19th century homes within the neighborhood that have survived until today.     “Walking past these structures, one experiences both the history and story of the neighborhood over time, and a sense of place. They have a beautiful human scale to them, a sense of charm, and have always made the community more livable, with their fine craftsmanship and green spaces,” said Ward Miller. (Loop North News, 10/24/18)   “These are all really wonderful buildings and they could make part of a landmark district,” said Ward Miller. “To ensure the protection of these buildings, Preservation Chicago is hoping that area residents will help push for the creation of a new landmark district. This is ‘McCormickville’. This is where the McCormick family lived before and after the Great Chicago Fire. And with the continued demolition of other shorter, older buildings in the area, there are only a handful of the original McCormickville buildings left. We need to value every inch of space where there are historic buildings that tell the story of the neighborhood.” (Curbed Chicago, 12/8/16)   “The new landmark district could protect a dozen or so structures interspersed from Ohio Street north to Superior Street and State Street east to Rush Street. The proposed landmark district of these buildings would complement landmarks such as Chicago Water Tower on North Michigan Avenue, Holy Name Cathedral on North Wabash Avenue, and St. James Cathedral on East Huron Street. All the buildings were constructed between 1869 and 1883. Several of the residential structures were home to Chicago’s most prominent industrialists of their time, including the McCormick family, which owned McCormick Harvesting Machine Company,” said Ward Miller. (Loop North News, 10/24/18)   "If these three orange-rated townhouses are demolished, much of the scale and character of the Near North Side, Gold Coast and McCormickville District will be lost. These smaller buildings add a distinct character, quality, craftsmanship, history and elegance to the community, which is close to being completely lost to overdevelopment in the vicinity,” said Ward Miller. (Block Club Chicago, 10/30/18)    “New York City also has groups of these types of buildings on several of its side streets on both the Upper East Side and the Upper West Side, some which comprise large Landmark Districts and they give that city a certain quality as well. Collectively, we often don’t appreciate those kinds of buildings in Chicago and their reuse of fine quality former residences in that same way or on that same scale as other cities like New York and Boston, and that’s tragic too!” said Ward Miller. (Skyline, Peter vol Buel)   “These buildings also provide unique opportunities for small businesses and provide ‘an envelope’ for all sorts of creative things to happen from within these historic structures. They really do encourage unique small businesses, and add a livability quality to the community. At one time, there were many such small elegant restaurants and shops housed in these types of buildings from the Chicago River to Oak Street. As a matter of fact, it was often these beautifully crafted buildings that initially gave Oak Street its unusual character and success. Some of those buildings still exist, but they are becoming more and more rare. Once they’re gone, they’re gone forever!" said Ward Miller. (Skyline, Peter vol Buel)   Preservation Chicago is actively working "on the ground" with neighborhood organizations and other stakeholders to generate support for a Designated Chicago Landmark District. Preservation Chicago researchers are hard at work discovering and assembling as much historic material as possible about these and the handful of other similar surviving buildings in the neighborhood.   Preservation Chicago strongly opposes the demolition of these three, architecturally significant, orange-rated East Superior Street Rowhouses dating from the 1870s and 1880s. The adjacent seven-story Art Deco limestone building and historic four-story red brick Giordano’s building are also endangered. The three 1880’s-era rowhouses at 42 E. Superior Street (George A. Tripp House), 44 E. Superior Street and 46 E. Superior Street (Hennessey Houses) were added to the 90-Day Demolition Delay List on September 12, 2018. The George A. Tripp House at 42 E. Superior Street has been the long-time home to Sunny Side Up Brunch and Coffee Shop.   The twin houses at 44-46 E. Superior were built sometime between 1871 and 1876 as a pair of attached single-family homes. The residents of 44 E. Superior were Richard Hennessey (1845-1920) and his brothers. Richard was a building contractor along with his brother Patrick Martin Hennessey with the firm of Hennessey Bros. His brother Peter J. was a distiller and Thomas Hennessey was a soda water manufacturer.    The other half of the building at 46 E. Superior was occupied by the family of Michael W. Kerwin (1835-unknown) who owned a liquor business. It appears likely that the Hennessey brothers played a role in building the double house. The Hennessey Brothers worked during the early 1900s with several notable architects, so it is likely that the double house was designed by a notable architect. The house at 42 E. Superior was likely built around 1880-1885 for George A. Tripp and his family.    Newly uncovered historic research indicates that two nearby residential buildings at the southwest corner of Superior and Rush Streets were designed by the notable Chicago architect Henry Ives Cobb. Henry Ives Cobb was a principal of the firm Cobb & Frost which is better known for designing numerous important Chicago landmark buildings including the Chicago Athletic Association, the Newberry Library, the Chicago Historical Society Building (Tao Chicago), the Chicago Varnish Company Building (Harry Caray’s Restaurant), the old Chicago Federal Building, the Ransom-Cable House, the Potter Palmer “Castle”, and many of the historic buildings on the University of Chicago campus.   716 N. Rush Street was Cobb's own personal residence and 720 N. Rush was the home of William Blair, of the William Blair Financial Advisors and a relative of the McCormick family. These buildings could be combined with the Superior Street rowhouses as part of a new McCormickville Landmark District. 720 N. Rush Street is currently the site of Rosebud Restaurant. (Special thanks to Matt Wicklund for this historic research.)   At the public meeting held by Alderman Reilly in March 2017 regarding the proposed development, Ward Miller’s passionate statement in support of preservation was met with an enthusiastic round of applause from the over 300 neighbors and residents in attendance.   In April 2017, Alderman Reilly rejected a proposal by Symmetry Development to build a 60-story tower on the northeast corner of Superior Street and Wabash Avenue. Alderman Reilly opposed the development in part because of the widespread community opposition due to the traffic issues it would cause and issues of preservation. This victory was only temporary and the developer is moving forward with its plans to bulldoze and clear the site.   Perhaps the developer’s strategy is that the urban blight created from a vacant lot will help ease the process to push through a future plan for a large parking garage and glass-box tower on the site. We have no specific knowledge in this instance, however there are many examples of other developers and owners who have strategically demolished significant historic buildings prior to requesting or receiving approval for new development or prior to listing properties for sale.   Preservation Chicago strongly encourages the City of Chicago to take additional steps to withhold releasing the Demolition Delay Hold or demolition permit until AFTER the public approval process for the new development has been completed. There are many examples, the most notorious being Block 37, in which significant time passed between the demolition of the existing historic buildings and the start of construction on the new building.   Preservation Chicago, along with many community members, are encouraging the preservation of these structures and the creation of a Chicago Landmark District in the area, most of which are orange-rated and are already considered highly significant. A new McCormickville Landmark District comprised of the handful of remaining historic buildings would be a powerful tool to protect this neighborhood’s historic building fabric and strengthen the vibrancy of this community. Preservation Chicago had suggested the McCormickville Landmark District to be considered for designation in the past.   Preservation Chicago remains very concerned over the increasing frequency and recent losses of low-rise historic Near North Side buildings. As development pressure grows and as surface parking lots are being developed, developers have begun to actively target remaining clusters of intact, low-rise, historic buildings as development sites.    “We are at a tipping point,” said Miller, “where the community may become a high-rise canyon, deprived of sunlight, negatively impacting quality of life issues, which [ultimately] may impact the desirability of the community.” (Loop North News, 10/24/18) Additional Reading Join nearly 5,000 supporters and Sign the Petition to Save These Victorian Rowhouses from Demolition! Alderman moves to downzone River North site; Ald. Brendan Reilly yesterday moved to reduce the zoning allowance at 42 and 44-46 E. Superior St., hamstringing a development group, Danny Ecker, Crain's Chicago Business, 11/1/18 Can preservationists save these River North buildings? A New York developer wants to raze two buildings at 42 and 44-46 E. Superior St., where it planned a 60-story condo-hotel tower—until it was rejected by Ald. Brendan Reilly., Alby Gallun, Crain's Chicago Business, 10/10/18 19th century Superior Street row houses threatened with demolition, Peter von Buol, Loop North News, 10/24/18 Developer Behind Failed High-Rise Plan Moves To Tear Down Historic Row Houses Near Mag Mile… Again;The row houses "add a distinct character, quality, craftsmanship, history and elegance to the community," preservationists say, Taylor Moore, Block Club Chicago, 10/30/18 River North’s 60-story ‘Carillon’ tower shot down, shorter high-rise still possible, Curbed Chicago, Jay Koziarz, 4/10/17 Rejected! River North’s Tallest Planned Tower Since Trump’s Gets Blocked, DNAinfo Chicago, David Matthews, 4/12/17 Neighbors rebel over proposed 60-story high-rise in Cathedral District, Loop North News, Patrick Butler and Steven Dahlman, 3/15/17 Near North Side residents air opposition to proposed 60-story tower, Chicago Tribune, Gail Marks Jarvis, 3/14/17 Plan for 725-foot River North skyscraper revealed, Curbed Chicago, Jay Koziarz, 3/14/17 Preservationists want a new landmark district in River North, AJ LaTrace, Curbed Chicago, 12/8/16

WIN: Proposed Pilsen Landmark District Receives Preliminary Landmark Status!

Preliminary Pilsen Chicago Historic Landmark District, Photo Credit: Chicago DPD

1554 W. 21st Street, Pilsen, Demolished in 2012. After six years, a new 4-flat was permitted to replace the blighted vacant lot. Photo Credit: Chicago Cityscape on Twitter @ChiBuildings

After many years of preparation, Preliminary Landmark Status was approved for the proposed Pilsen Chicago Landmark District at 1:55pm on December 6, 2018. Pilsen is a dense and varied collection of historic buildings built by Bohemian immigrants in the late 19th century and early 20th century and preserved and enriched by Mexican immigrants over the past 50 years.   Below is Ward Miller's public testimony to the Commission on Chicago Landmarks on December 6, 2018 in support of the proposed Pilsen Chicago Landmark District. We at Preservation Chicago support the proposed Chicago Landmark Designation of the many buildings of Pilsen, extending along 18th Street, between Leavitt on the west and Sangamon on the east, and the 13 blocks bounded between Ashland Avenue, 21st Street and Racine.   This proposed district encompasses a portion of the earliest boundaries of the City of Chicago, dating back to when the City was first incorporated in 1837. The community was initially settled in part by the builders and workers of the Illinois & Michigan Canal, and the nearby railroads in the 1840s and 1850s and by the McCormick Reaper Company plant in the 1870s. Later, this was followed by other factories and industries, and also the construction of the Chicago Sanitary & Ship Canal, opened in 1900, which reversed the flow of the Chicago River and diverted polluted water away from Lake Michigan. This area of Chicago’s “Lower West Side” has always been a “port of entry” into Chicago and its neighborhoods by waves of immigrants—very much like New York’s Lower East Side and Bowery District.   From the Irish and Germans, to the Bohemians—Czech, Slovak and Eastern European communities, to the Latino and Mexican-Americans that have settled there over the past decades, Pilsen has an amazing richness in both its built environment and its ethnic fabric. We at Preservation Chicago absolutely support and celebrate these layered histories and hope these protections and this designation will further encourage long-term stakeholders and the diversity of this community’s fabric to remain. This Landmark Designation should also protect the incredible collection of large-scale murals and artwork, located throughout the community.   Pilsen, also known as the “Lower West Side” and Community Area number 31, in the CHRS-Chicago Historic Resources Survey, has over 800 buildings identified as significant structures. This vast number of significant buildings is among the top five largest Community Areas with the most significant historic structures identified in the entire city of Chicago. Only West Town, Lincoln Park, the Near West Side and the Near North Side, have a greater concentration of these types of significant buildings, and many of those communities have multiple Chicago Landmark Districts, where Pilsen has none.   Pilsen also has some of the most continuous intact historic streetwalls, and these are among some of the oldest in Chicago, with many structures dating to the 1870s, 1880s and 1890s. These structures range in a wide variety of architectural styles from Italianate, Second Empire, Queen Anne, Romanesque, Renaissance Revival, Gothic Revival, Victorian, “Workman’s Cottages” and the Vernacular to name several styles represented here. Some of these buildings are defined by large corner bays, multiple groupings of dormers extending from their rooftops of the commercial buildings along 18th Street, and many exhibiting incredible craftsmanship, details and integrity. There’s also a unique selection of fine-quality buildings in Pilsen, which exhibit a certain scale and architectural quality, dating from the last decades of the 19th Century, which distinguish it from other communities and both residential and commercial districts across the City.   We’ve been honored to work with members of the community, elected officials, 25th Ward Alderman Danny Solis, and the City, over the past four years towards this Chicago Landmark District. This outreach also includes efforts to save nearby historic St. Adalbert’s Church—called “the Mother Church of Chicago’s South Side Polish Community,” designed by architect Henry Schlacks.   We at Preservation Chicago wish to thank the Department of Planning & Development-Historic Preservation Division, Commissioner Reifman, Eleanor Gorski, Dijana Covello and Matt Crawford, in addition to Alderman Solis for their efforts to bring forth a Pilsen Chicago Landmark District.   Lastly, with many celebrations underway recognizing the Illinois Bicentennial this week—celebrating 200 years of Statehood on December 3rd, we cannot think of a better honor than to recognize a large, unique and diverse community in Chicago, with an amazing history like Pilsen, and its contributions over time to our City, the State of Illinois and the Union, as a Designated Chicago Landmark. We are grateful for the opportunity to fully support this proposed Landmark District.

WIN: Waterman Building on State Street to Become Boutique Hotel

Waterman Building, 129 South State Street, by Holabird and Roche with proposed restoration with new storefront at ground and second floor. Rendering Credit: NORR Architects

Waterman Building, 129 South State Street, Pre-Renovation Conditions, Photo Credit: ChicagoDesignSlinger.com

Drawing of L. E. Waterman Building, 129 South State Street. Credit: The American Stationer And Office Outfitter, Volume 86, Page 31, May 8, 1920.

The American Stationer And Office Outfitter, Volume 86, Page 31, May 8, 1920.

Hardwood Record - Veneer & Panel Section, Volume 49, Page 31, September 25, 1920. Posted to Twitter by Lynn Becker.

In 2006, the Waterman Building received the dubious honor of being included on Blair Kamin’s short list of the most “unsightly structures” in the Loop which he describes as “structures that make you cringe every time you see them -- gross architecture, grotesque decoration, hideous materials.”  His description was as follows. “- BEEF 'N BRANDY (WATERMAN BUILDING), 127 S. STATE ST. The original elegance of this seven-story commercial loft building, designed by the distinguished Chicago firm of Holabird & Roche and finished in 1919, has been grotesquely obscured by three levels of facade paste-ons, including a faux New England front with clapboard and shutters. With the adjoining Palmer House Hilton due for a major fix-up, this eyesore will really stand out.” (Kamin, Chicago Tribune, 6/26/16) Fortunately, the San Francisco-based boutique hospitality chain Sonder and the building owners have recognized its intrinsic value and hidden beauty and have signed a long-term lease to create a boutique hotel. The building owners are Shai Town Realty Group and GW Properties with design work from NORR Architects.  The seven-story building was originally designed for L.E. Waterman Company, a leading manufacturer of fountain pens, by the distinguished architectural firm of Holabird & Roche in 1919. Waterman Company occupied the building until 1938. The historic Waterman building originally included “an elaborate ground floor storefront decorated in some 500 shades of encaustic mosaic. Once you passed through the doors and into the store shoppers entered into an exquisite retail showroom that rivaled the interior of Waterman's flagship location in New York City. The upper floors were designed to be used as pen assembly and stock rooms, and the architects provided astonishingly wide, natural light producing window spans outlined in slim, Gothic-inspired, decorative terra-cotta.” (ChicagoDesignSlinger.com, 3/1/2015) According to "American Stationer" from May 8, 1920, their ground floor show room was described as "one of the most artistically correct and magnificent display rooms to be found anywhere." Additionally, "the panels in the front of the Waterman Company’s new Chicago building are decorated with Encaustic Mosaic. It is the first building in the world on which this material has been used. Encaustic Mosaic is the name given by its inventor to a new material which both facilitates and enlarges the scope of the art of mosaic. It is a colored cement which has literally been baked in wax, hence the name encaustic. It is made in some 500 tints and shades of color and many be applied in any size or shape desired. The use of this material gives the Waterman Building a distinctive and attractive appearance." (The American Stationer And Office Outfitter, Volume 86, Page 31, May 8, 1920) The proposed adaptive reuse will convert the upper five floors of the historic office building into a 41-room boutique hotel; floors which have been largely vacant for over 30 years. Successful Sonder hotels are located in Rome, London, New York, San Francisco, New Orleans and Montreal with apartment-like accommodations that seek to combine the convenience of a hotel with the comfort of home. The lower floors have been vacated by the restaurant Beef ‘N Brandy and new tenants are being sought. In September 2018, Sonder opened a 30-room hotel in the Chicago Landmark Plymouth Building at 417 S. Dearborn Street where it leases all 12 stories of the building from LG Development. The Plymouth Building was designed by Simeon Eisendrath in 1899, who had previously been a draftsman for Adler and Sullivan. Sonder also signed a long-term lease deal to open a 39-room boutique hotel on the top six floors of the Chicago Landmark Jewelers Building, originally known as the S.A. Maxwell & Company paper-goods store located at 19 S. Wabash Avenue by Adler & Sullivan dating from late 1881-82. The sale and renovation of the Jewelers Building to a venture of Peerless Development and Honore Properties was reported in April 2018, but Sonder's involvement was not disclosed at that time. (Ori, Chicago Tribune, 11/26/18) “There are some really great historical details in all these buildings, which makes it feel like you’re staying in a place with character,” said Sonder Chicago general manager Ellen Schulz. “They’re all adaptive reuse buildings that have maintained their historical charm.” (Ori, Chicago Tribune, 11/26/18) “We see a huge demand for our product,” Schulz said. “We’re looking to grow in Chicago, and we are actively pursuing more deals.” (Ori, Chicago Tribune, 11/26/18) Sonder, Shai Town Realty Group, and GW Properties represent a new generation of owners, developers and operators who increasingly recognize the inherent value of Chicago’s historic buildings. The growing recognition within the Chicago real estate community of the inherent ability of historic buildings to drive greater profits has been confirmed by the strong success of the London House Hotel in the London Guarantee Building, the Chicago Athletic Association Hotel in the Chicago Athletic Association Building, Chicago Motor Club Hampton Inn, St. Jane Hotel in the Carbide and Carbon Building , The Alise Chicago in the Reliance Building, the Ace Hotel, and the Kimpton Hotel Gray in the New York Life Building. Preservation Chicago applauds Sonder’s adaptive reuse of historic office buildings as boutique hotels. We welcome them to Chicago and wish them great success. We also encourage them to continue to expand other historic Chicago buildings which require reinvestment and reactivation. Perhaps elements of the original showroom splendor will be rediscovered during the renovation and the historical research below might be a source of inspiration for the design team. According to " Hardwood Record " from September 25, 1920 , "Another superb evidence of the popularity of American Black Walnut is to be found in the fixtures and furniture of the magnificent new Waterman Building, 129 South State Street, Chicago which was opened on May 10. All the fixtures and furniture are of black walnut, the sales and display room, offering a particularity fine example of the decorative possibilities of figured walnut veneers. An examination of the photograph of the interior of this room, looking towards the entrance, will discover the beautiful effect that has been secured with matched panels of walnut veneer on the show case bases and the wainscoting. “The L. E. Waterman Company, the producers of the famous Waterman Fountain pen, spared no expense in decorating the showroom and the unique feature of it is that over 5,000 drawers of walnut, faced with figured veneer, are ranged along the sides of the long room, for the storing and quick handling of fountain pens, and walnut was selected by the architects because the company wanted drawers which would not shrink or warp and would under no circumstances stick. A device has been introduced enabling one to lock or unlock one hundred drawers at one operation. The five thousand and more drawers, together with the wainscoting and display case bases, are finished with a wax finish, four coats of shellac preceding the application of wax. The finish displays the natural figure of the walnut veneers to great advantage. “The Waterman Building is the first building erected in the Chicago “Loop” since the beginning of the war and embodied all the ultra-modern improvements in construction and convenience. The exterior of the building is blue terra cotta with interesting encaustic mosaic panels in red, black and gold, establishing a new architectural feature in Chicago business buildings. There is no feature of the building inside or out, however in which John N. Marley, the Chicago manager, takes more pride than the walnut furnishings. The architects are Holabird and Roche.” (Hardwood Record - Veneer & Panel Section, Volume 49, Page 31, September 25, 1920.) Additional Reading Column: San Francisco-based company bringing hotels to three historic Loop buildings, Ryan Ori, Chicago Tribune, 11/26/18 Waterman Building, Chicago, by: Chicago Designslinger, March 1, 2015

Plymouth Building, 417 S. Dearborn Street, by architect Simeon Eisendrath, 1899, prior to remodeling. Historic Photo Credit: Chicago History Museum

Jewelers Building ( originally the S.A. Maxwell & Company) , 19 S. Wabash Street, Adler & Sullivan, 1881/82. Historic Photo Credit: Ryerson & Burnham Libraries

LOSS: Victorian Queen Anne at 1441 W. Carmen Bulldozed!

1441 W. Carmen Avenue Pre-Demolition, Photo Credit: Leyla Royale

1441 W. Carmen Avenue Post-Demolition, Photo Credit: Alex Nitkin

Save 1441 W. Carmen from Demolition Change.org Petition

“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 Despite strong neighborhood opposition, the historic Queen Anne home at 1441 W. Carmen Avenue has been demolished. But it wasn't without a fight. In the face of overwhelming odds, Leyla Royale took action when she learned about the pending demolition of a beautiful 1890s, three-story, orange-brick Victorian Queen Anne, with a high-pointed gable, bay window, front porch with slender columns. “The yard is lush, shady and, most important for a developer, really big.” (Schmich, Chicago Tribune, 6/12/18) “[I] loved walking by the house, thinking about all the people who had passed through it, all the history it contained. Tearing it down seemed crazy. It really upset me.” said Royale. So she started an online petition to Save 1441 Carmen Avenue.  (Schmich, Chicago Tribune, 6/12/18) Apparently, she was not alone, as within a day or so of her starting the petition, and with the support of Preservation Chicago’s Rapid Response advocacy, the petition received over 1,200 signatures! The number of signatures grew to over 2,300. Royale and the Winona Foster Carmen Winnemac Block Club presented the petition to 47th Ward Alderman Ameya Pawar. “I think a lot of people in neighborhoods are tired of buildings like this being torn down for cookie-cutter condos and cookie-cutter million-dollar single-family homes,” Royale said.   “Now we’re really in a crisis where we’re seeing fine quality buildings being demolished across the city's neighborhoods,” said Ward Miller, executive director of Preservation Chicago. “The massive new construction changes the light, the air, the mood of neighborhoods; steal our visible connection to the past. Stopping the trend may be impossible, but it could be slowed.”   (Schmich, Chicago Tribune, 6/12/18) “Martin Tangora, a longtime Chicago preservationist, suggests extending the demolition holds on orange-rated buildings from 90 days to 180. Strengthen the public notice process to make sure neighbors hear of the notice. Expand the number of buildings covered by the demolition delays.” (Schmich, Chicago Tribune, 6/12/18) Additional Reading  Save 1441 Carmen from Demolition, Change.org petition Column: Awful! Sad! No More! Stop demolishing Chicago's beautiful old homes, Mary Schmich, Chicago Tribune, 6/12/18) Neighbors Sign Petition To Save Victorian Home From Demolition, Amber Fisher, Patch Chicago, 7/12/18

THREATENED: Oriental Theatre Blade Sign Marquee To Be Scrapped

Oriental Theatre Sign, 24 W. Randolph Street, Rapp and Rapp. Photo Credit: Heather Stone / Chicago Tribune

Historic Oriental Theatre Blade Sign on Cover of Downtown Chicago In Transition, by Eric Bronsky and Neal Samors. Photo Credit: Chicago Transit Authority

Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph Street, Rapp and Rapp. Photo Credit: Eric Allix Rogers

Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph Street, Rapp and Rapp. Photo Credit: Eric Allix Rogers

The Oriental Theatre opened on May 8, 1926 and has been an anchor in Chicago’s Theater District ever since. Located at 24 W. Randolph Street, the Balaban & Katz picture palace and live theater was opened with great fanfare one year after they opened the Uptown Theatre. The exuberant ornament of the Oriental Theatre interior was inspired by Indo-Chinese influence. The exotic “Far East” décor was intended to transport visitors to a fantastic realm.     The incredible interior décor is described as “a virtual museum of Asian art, presented popular first-run motion pictures, complemented by lavish stage shows. Turbaned ushers led patrons from the lobby, with polychrome figures and large mosaics of an Indian prince and princess, through an inner foyer with elephant-throne chairs and multicolored glazed Buddhas, to the auditorium’s “hasheesh-dream décor.” (Broadway In Chicago.com)   The Oriental Theatre was designed by Rapp and Rapp, the highly accomplished theater architectural firm, who also designed the Uptown Theatre, Riviera Theatre, Palace Theatre, Chicago Theatre and Central Park Theatre and more than 38 theaters outside of Chicago. Additionally, the Oriental Theatre was built on the site of the former Iroquois Theatre, where a catastrophic fire in 1903 claimed the lives of over 600 theatergoers.  This tragedy catalyzed extensive changes in fire-codes in Chicago and across the country.   The theater was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. After a period of decline and vacancy, and a brief period as a radio and television appliance store, a restoration of the theater was completed in 1998. The Oriental Theatre is owned by Broadway in Chicago which is controlled by the Nederlander Organization, an extensive family business that owns theaters throughout Chicago, New York and Detroit. Since the 1990s, they have owned and operated the Majestic Theater/Schubert Theatre/LaSalle Bank Theater/Bank of America Theater/CIBC Theatre located at 18 W. Monroe Street.   James L. Nederlander, president of Nederlander Organization, has announced his intention to rename the Oriental Theatre in memory of his late father, James M. Nederlander. This follows in family tradition as in the 1980s, James M. Nederlander renamed the Billy Rose and National Theatre on West 41st Street in New York after his late father David T. Nederlander.   Preservation Chicago does not oppose the proposed name change for the historic theater, but encourages the Nederlander Organization to preserve the historic blade sign which has been a core visual element of the Randolph Theatre District for nearly a century. Perhaps the name change could be handled in a more historically sensitive way which could both honor the memory of James M. Nederlander and the building’s history by reworking the lower horizontal marquee and by changing out the current “Ford” lettering on the blade sign. Even when the theater was renamed the Ford Center for the Performing Arts in 1997, the historic neon blade sign was maintained. Many of the great neon signs along Randolph Street have been lost over time and the reinstallation and restoration of the historic Oriental Theatre neon blade sign marked a significant step towards reactivating and re-illuminating the dynamism of Chicago’s Theater District. Additional Reading After 92 years, the Loop’s Oriental Theatre is changing its name, the historic venue will officially adopt its new name and marquee in February, Jay Koziarz, Curbed Chicago, 11/15/18 Chicago's Oriental Theatre is getting a new name, Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 11/13/18 Broadway In Chicago’s Oriental Theatre Open House Chicago Oriental Theatre

WIN: Pullman Clock Tower Building Restoration Underway

Pullman Clock Tower and Administration Building, Solon S. Beman, 11057 S. Cottage Grove Avenue, 1880. Photo Credit: Eric Allix Rogers

Pullman Hotel Florence, Solon S. Beman, 11111 S. Forrestville Avenue, 1881. Photo Credit: Eric Allix Rogers

Pullman Market Square, Solon S. Beman, E. 112th Street Circle, 1893. Photo Credit: Eric Allix Rogers

Pullman Rowhouses, Solon S. Beman, 619 E. 111th Street (formerly Florence Boulevard), 1878. Photo Credit: Eric Allix Rogers

Twenty year after its fire, the restoration of the Pullman Clock Tower and Administration Building is finally underway with a target completion date of Labor Day weekend 2020. The National Park Service, with financial and strategic support Illinois Department of Natural Resources, is investing over $13 million in the restoration and adaptive reuse of the Clock Tower and Administration Building and the building will again be open to the public as the new Pullman visitor center, according to Pullman National Monument superintendent Kathy Schneider in an interview with Block Club Chicago.   Commissioned by George Pullman to produce his legendary Pullman Palace Car Company sleeping cars, starting in 1880 architect Solon S. Beman designed the first model, planned industrial town in the United States. The Pullman Historic District is significant and one of the most beautiful industrial landscapes in the country. Pullman is one of the most famous company towns and the backdrop for the violent 1894 Pullman labor strike. The Pullman Historic District was designated a National Monument on February 19, 2015 which makes it a part of the National Park System.    Built in 1880, the Pullman Clock Tower and Administration Building designed by architect Solon S. Beman was the central hub of activity among the extensive manufacturing buildings. Unlike most industrial and manufacturing buildings of that period (and today), the Administration and Factory Complex was a beautifully designed, highly ornate collection of buildings designed within a park-like setting. The Pullman Clock Tower and Administration Building was built on the shores of Lake Vista, an artificial lake which also served as a cooling reservoir for the enormous Corliss steam engine. As visitors would approach Pullman by rail, the first building a visitor would see was the glorious primary facade of the Pullman Clock Tower and Administration Building. George Pullman built a powerful profitable corporation, and also built a beautiful planned community.   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.   “The State of Illinois owned this site for a long time and didn’t have any resources to bring to the table,” said Ryan Prehn, Chief of Parks with Illinois’ Office of Land Management. “The absorption into the Illinois Department of Natural Resources brings real money now.” (Block Club Chicago, 11/15/18)   The Pullman visitor center will help to tell the remarkable stories of Pullman including urban planning, labor history, and George Pullman with programming and exhibits to include “themes such as the planning and development of Pullman, the Pullman Strike of 1894, and the role of Pullman Porters in the civil rights movement which will be highlighted in permanent exhibitions.”   “It's overwhelming hearing about all of the people who have worked on this and how everyone sees the neighborhood in different contexts,” said Pullman resident Jacob Hagan. “What the National Park Service is doing is unique by pulling in multiple stories to highlight the broader picture.” (Block Club Chicago, 11/15/18)   While the future of the Hotel Florence remains uncertain, restoration work on the first floor has resumed after being stopped in 2014. With all of the success of boutique hotels in historic buildings, Preservation Chicago would encourage the Hotel Florence to be faithfully restored and reopened as a highly authentic hotel or museum! Additional Reading Pullman National Monument Visitor Center Coming To Clock Tower Building By 2020; The National Park Service and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources showed off plans to Pullman residents Wednesday evening, AJ LaTrace, Block Club Chicago, 11/15/18 The Encyclopedia of Chicago -Pullman From factory town to national monument: A brief history of the Pullman Historic District, Chicago Tribune, 2/19/15 Historic Pullman Foundation  The Pullman State Historic Site Pullman Clock Tower and Administration Building, Pullman National Monument, National Park Service

PARTIAL WIN: After Emergency Demolition, Façade Reuse Proposed for 5th Church of Christ Scientist/Shiloh Baptist Church

Shiloh Baptist/5th Church of Christ Scientist, by Solon S. Beman, 1914, 4820 S. Dorchester Avenue, in the Kenwood Landmark District, Photo Credit: Eric Allix Rogers

Shiloh Baptist/5th Church of Christ Scientist, by Solon S. Beman, 1914, 4820 S. Dorchester Avenue, in the Kenwood Landmark District, Photo Credit: Eric Allix Rogers

After 15 years of vacancy, neglect, and the resulting severely deteriorated condition, a redevelopment plan has emerged that would preserve the columned front façade of Shiloh Baptist Church/5th Church of Christ Scientist. Designed by Solon S. Beman in 1914, the Shiloh Baptist Church/5th Church of Christ Scientist is located at 4820 S. Dorchester Avenue in the Hyde Park–Kenwood Landmark District. The façade is protected as a contributing building within the Designated Chicago Kenwood Landmark District. While it is also within the Hyde Park – Kenwood National Register District, National Register Districts provide no protection against demolition. Preservation Chicago and concerned members of the Hyde Park and Kenwood Community attended many Building Court hearings, including those on November 30, 2017 and December 14, 2017. The current owner and developer allowed significant deterioration of the building’s condition which resulted in the emergency demolition of the rear portion of the building, leaving only the front façade and return walls on the side of the building still standing. At a November 7, 2018 community meeting sponsored by 4th Ward Alderman Sophia King, John Liu, the owner and developer, announced plans to build 13 townhouses around a courtyard. Each townhouse would be approximately 3,500 square feet, with underground garages. “Earlier plans entailed preserving some or all of the original building and parts of its interior, but Liu said the "only way we could do this at a price that meets the market" was to demolish all but the columned—and landmarked—facade. Demolition is at least 80 percent complete, he said, and the first two townhouses, which have the facade as one of their walls, are under construction.” (Rodkin, Crain’s, 11/8/18) "While we've not seen any plans, we are pleased that the project appears to be moving forward," Ward Miller, executive director of Preservation Chicago. "It's been far too long since this structure has been utilized, and it's been a concern to us." (Rodkin, Crain’s, 11/8/18) Preservation Chicago had long sought to find a patron for the building and would have preferred a preservation-oriented developer who would have stabilized and redeveloped this not just the façade of this historic landmark, but the entire building.   Additional Reading Townhouses coming to site of historic Greek temple-like Kenwood church; Built in 1914 and vacated by a Baptist congregation in 2003, the onetime Fifth Church of Christ, Scientist, has been the site of a series of rehab plans that fizzled, Dennis Rodkin, Crain’s Chicago Business, 11/8/18

THREATENED: Tidal Wave of Historic Church Closings Coming

Preservation Chicago has been working for years to prevent the loss of significant church buildings such as Shrine of Christ the King, St. James, St. Adalbert’s, St. Boniface, St. Lawrence, and many others. We have had some remarkable successes and some tough loses. Preservation initiatives, including the lawsuit to prevent the demolition of St. James which was litigated in Latin at the Vatican but ultimately failed to save the church, have encouraged the Archdiocese of Chicago to consider reuse ideas first versus a costly, multi-million dollar demolition of these structures. It now appears that these isolated church closings were the “tip of the iceberg” and that a “tidal wave” of church closings is coming. One initial estimate is that approximately 75 Catholic churches will be closed or consolidated over the next ten years. Many of the churches targeted first for closure are the oldest and largest buildings due to their higher operating costs and not surprisingly, this includes many of Chicago’s most extraordinary churches. Due to the 1987 amendment introduced by then Alderman Burt Natarus, only a handful of Chicago churches are designated Chicago Landmarks. The following churches have been added to our rapidly growing Preservation Chicago Endangered Church Watch List. St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church, 8237 S. South Shore Drive, South Shore, William J. Brinkmann, 1909 All Saints - St. Anthony Catholic Church, 518 West 28th Place, Bridgeport, Henry J. Schlacks, 1913  St. Ita Catholic Church, 5500 N. Broadway, Edgewater, Henry J. Schlacks, 1924-1927 St. Mary of the Lake Catholic Church, 4200 N. Sheridan Road, Uptown, Henry J. Schlacks, 1917  St. Barbara Catholic Church, 2859 S. Throop Street, Bridgeport, Worthmann & Steinbach, 1914 St. Gabriel Catholic Church, 600 W. 45th Street, Canaryville, Burnham & Root, 1888 St. Jerome Croatian Catholic Church, 2823 S. Princeton Avenue, Bridgeport, Christian O. Hansen, 1885 Santa Lucia-Santa Maria Incoronata, 3022 S. Wells Street, Bridgeport, Ray Basso, 1961 St. Therese Chinese Catholic Church and School, 218 W. Alexander Street, Bridgeport, William F. Gubbins, 1904 St. Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Church, 4827 N. Kenmore Avenue, Uptown, Joseph W. McCarthy, 1917 St. Mary of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, 1039 W. 32nd Street, Bridgeport, Henry Engelbert, 1889 Nativity of Our Lord Catholic Church, 653 W. 37th Street, Bridgeport, Patrick C. Keeley, 1885 St. Adalbert Catholic Church, 1650 W. 17th Street, Pilsen, Henry J. Schlacks, 1914 (Mother Church of the South Side Polish Catholic community) Additional Reading Archdiocese merges 2 South Side churches; action on 8 more coming Wednesday, Maudlyne Ihejirika, Chicago Sun-Times, 11/28/18 Saint Michael The Archangel Catholic Church, Andi Marie, Chicago Patterns, 5/21/14

St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church, 8237 S. South Shore Drive, South Shore/South Chicago/The Bush, William J. Brinkmann, 1909 Photo Credit, Eric Allix Rogers

St. Gabriel Catholic Church, 600 W. 45th Street , Canaryville, Burnham & Root, 1888, Photo Credit, Lynn Becker

St. Mary of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, 1039 W. 32nd Street, Bridgeport, Henry Engelbert, 1889 Photo Credit, Eric Allix Rogers

St. Mary of the Lake Catholic Church, 4200 N. Sheridan Road, Uptown, Henry J. Schlacks, 1917, Photo Credit, Eric Allix Rogers

St. Jerome Croatian Catholic Church, 2823 S. Princeton Avenue, Bridgeport, Christian O. Hansen, 1885, Photo Credit, Eric Allix Rogers

St. Ita Catholic Church, 5500 N. Broadway, Edgewater, Henry J. Schlacks, 1924-1927, Photo Credit, Eric Allix Rogers

Nativity of Our Lord Catholic Church, 653 W. 37th Street, Bridgeport, Patrick C. Keeley, 1876-1885 Photo Credit, Eric Allix Rogers (Parish of Daley Family)

St. Barbara Catholic Church, 2859 S. Throop Street, Bridgeport, Worthmann & Steinbach, 1914, Photo Credit: St. Barbara Catholic Church

All Saints - St. Anthony Catholic Church, 518 West 28th Place, Bridgeport, Henry J. Schlacks, Photo Credit, All Saints - St. Anthony Catholic Church

WIN: Warehouse Loft Across from Lincoln Yards Adaptively Reused

Lofts at Southport, 2065 N. Southport Avenue. Rendering Credit: GREC Architects

2065 N. Southport Avenue. Pre-Construction Condition. Photo Credit: CoStar

Lofts at Southport, 2065 N. Southport Avenue. Rendering Credit: GREC Architects

2065 N. Southport Avenue is a 4-story brick and timber industrial loft warehouse built in 1915. The 90,000 square foot building is being redeveloped into the Lofts at Southport which will include both loft-style offices and apartments. Offices will be located on the lower two floors and 56 rental apartments will located on the upper two floors. Ceiling heights range from 12 to 16 feet. The Lofts at Southport development team is a joint venture between Iowa-based Heart of America Group and local developers Jon Morgan and Matt Ferrino with architectural design by GREC Architects. The project is scheduled for completion in June 2019. A previous office conversion of the building was proposed by Shapack Partners in 2016. The building is located across the street from the now demolished former A. Finkl & Sons' campus and the future Lincoln Yards development. The Chicago City Council’s 2017 comprehensive rezoning of the North Branch Corridor has allowed the adaptive reuse of historic industrial and commercial buildings such as this into residential uses.    Preservation Chicago applauds the adaptive reuse of historic loft buildings and would like to encourage preservation-oriented developers such as Jon Morgan, Matt Ferrino, and Heart of America Group to consider the adaptive reuse of other historic loft buildings with in this district. With massive changes underway within this former industrial corridor, it’s essential that the City of Chicago and preservation-oriented developers move quickly to protect architecturally significant buildings.  The City of Chicago has created a list of 70 architecturally significant buildings along the North Branch Industrial Corridor that could be threatened by new development. These buildings need to be preserved in order to maintain a connection to the corridor’s history, to ensure “quality of life issues,” and to promote healthy communities. However, the steps must be taken as quickly as possible, as one of the historic buildings identified on the list, 1666 N. Ada, has already been demolished.  Preservation Chicago encourages Chicago Department of Planning and Development Historic Preservation Division/Landmarks to include the designation of these buildings as Chicago Landmarks along with open space and parklands as part of the on-going discussions and master planning for the North Branch Corridor area. Preservation Chicago is actively working with stakeholders and is an official member of the North Branch Park Preserve Coalition.   Many of these 70 identified buildings are in fact highly significant industrial buildings, designed by noteworthy architectural firms and individuals. The following highlights represent just a small sampling of the architects and buildings noted in the list. The Adler & Sullivan Architects/ Louis Sullivan-designed structures at 1440 N. Kingsbury Street Complex/Carbit Paints, originally constructed as the Euston & Company Linseed Oil Plant in 1899 and the Chicago Linoleum Company Plant in 1903 as the plant of the Carbit Paint Company. Located at 2013 N. Elston is the Horween Leather Company complex, originally the Herman Loescher Leather Tannery. The architect of Horween needs to be definitively confirmed, but in past research the taller structure, with a decorative cornice and angled facade elevation suggest a strong connection to Adler & Sullivan.   The 2001 N. Elston Avenue complex, now known as the “Self-Storage Building” was designed by Simeon Eisendrath, for the Eisendrath Leather and Glove Company. Eisendrath worked in the Adler & Sullivan firm and designed the Chicago Landmark “Plymouth Building” on South Dearborn Street. The Plymouth Court side of the building still has its original cast “Sullivanesque” foliated ornament, by the Winslow Brothers Company, who worked with Louis Sullivan on the Carson Pirie Scott Store cast iron ornament. The Schoenhofen Brewery Building/SiPi Metal Corp Site is located at 1700 N. Elston Avenue and was designed by Louis Lehle, the famous brewery architect. A thematic Chicago Landmark “Tannery District” of buildings and another protected district tied to beer brewing and manufacturing could protect many of these significant buildings. Additional Reading Apartments, offices head to 100-year-old building next to Lincoln Yards, Anticipating a construction boom across the street, the adaptive reuse project is racing toward a summer completion date, Jay Koziarz, Curbed Chicago, 11/28/18 Chicago City Council approves sweeping North Branch zoning ordinance; One of the largest zoning changes in recent history, the move will transform the Chicago River north of downtown, Jay Koziarz Curbed Chicago, 7/27/17

WIN: Historic Gold Star Bar Neon Blade Sign Will Be Saved

Gold Star Bar's Iconic Neon Sign, 1755 W. Division Street. Photo Credit Alisa Hauser / Block Club Chicago

Adapted from Alisa Hauser’s Block Club Chicago article Gold Star Bar Sold, But ‘Legacy Will Be Preserved,’ New Owners Promise, 11/2/18.  Read the full article at Block Club Chicago! Gold Star Bar, a nearly century-old Division Street watering hole known for its welcoming and unpretentious vibe, has been sold. Longtime owner MaryAnn Reid confirmed to Block Club that her iconic Wicker Park bar at 1755 W. Division St. and the three-story 1890s apartment building it anchors was sold to John and Kate Leydon. The Leydons plan to preserve the bar’s legacy and keep many of the things that made Gold Star so beloved over the years, such as a pool table, free popcorn, art shows featuring local artists and the iconic neon sign. For Reid, the fact the Leydons were eager to preserve the bar played a key role in her decision to sell her business to the couple. “The legacy of preserving the bar is my top priority. I don’t want the sign to ever go down. I want to come back here for free popcorn,” Reid said. “Neighborhood taverns used to be on every corner and they have unfortunately become an endangered species. Kate and I want to do our part to preserve the history of the neighborhood meeting place,” John Leydon said. “And the thought of that magnificent Gold Star sign being removed is something we want to do everything in our power to ensure will remain for generations to enjoy. We are honored MaryAnn has entrusted us to carry on the tradition. The bar does not plan to close, but in the coming days it will undergo what Leydon said are “necessary upgrades while still honoring the history and celebrating the future.” “Gold Star has a rich history. Nelson Algren and Art Shay were regulars. Baby Face Nelson, Al Capone’s brother and this list goes on. Back in the day, there was a stage and live music was on the menu. We are big fans of The Green Mill and The California Clipper and would love to bring that vibe to Wicker Park. Just ideas at this point,” Leydon said. The building is teeming with history. Anchored by a bar with two floors of apartments upstairs, Gold Star’s history as a bar dates back to the Prohibition era. As noted in a DNAinfo feature on the city’s 12 oldest bars, the neon sign above Gold Star Bar in West Town still announces “Furnished Rooms” for rent by the hour, a holdover from the building’s seedy hotel days. According to Liz Mason, who researched the bar for a walking tour of area dive bars, an antique key rack at the left of the front door of Gold Star Bar was for “ahem, well, let’s just say gentlemen could get with a prostitute in a room.” That room by the hour key rack still hangs on the wall. Leydon confirmed the history of the key rack and the upstairs rooms. “It’s been operated as an apartment building for decades but pre- and post-Prohibition prostitutes worked in the bar and upstairs. The original owner would send a bus down to Navy Pier to pick up the sailors and bring them back to the Gold Star,” Leydon said.  Preservation Chicago would support a Division Street Commercial Landmark District in the future. Additional Reading Gold Star Bar Sold, But ‘Legacy Will Be Preserved,’ New Owners Promise, Alisa Hauser, Block Club Chicago, 11/2/18  Editor’s Note Alisa Hauser has been doing excellent reporting throughout Chicago’s Wicker Park, Bucktown, Ukrainian Village and East Village neighborhoods for nearly a decade. Preservation Chicago and all Chicagoans who love local news will miss her outstanding work. Thanks Alisa! Portland is lucky to have you! Goodbye, Wicker Park, Alisa Hauser, Chicago Pipeline, 11/25/18

THREATENED: Charming Lincoln Park Home to be Cleared for Meg House

Historic Brick Home built in 1873, one of the oldest remaining in the district, at 1822 North Howe Street, threated with demolition. Photo credit: Dennis Rodkin

Proposed new construction, 1822 North Howe Street, Rendering credit: Environs Development

If developer Environs Development has its way, the 1873 home at 1822 N. Howe Street will be demolished to make way for a 15,500-square-foot mega house. Built two years after Chicago’s Great Fire, the Lincoln Park home is actually comprised of two brick structures. With close proximity, similar brick, and a similar roofline, they were later connected and renovated into a single home. This interesting home is approximately 5,400 square feet and includes five full bathrooms and two half baths. Environs Development, run by architect and developer Ken Brinkman, has 1822 N. Howe under contract or under option. The listing broker would not disclose the sale price. The developer has listed for sale a new construction mega house for $15 million that would be 15,500 square foot with 8 bedrooms, 9 bathrooms, and “includes an elevator, attached garage, expansive outdoor space and options for indoor pool, golf simulator, indoor basketball court, and beyond. A home of up to 21,000 SF is allowable on this site.” (Redfin Listing) Tear-down developers are often willing and able to outspend buyers looking to live in and restore historic homes. The triple wide Howe Street lot has 77 feet of street frontage and is 125 feet deep for a total of 9,625 square feet. This site is of particular interest to developers as it is over three times wider that a standard 25 foot lot. Because of the large lot size, the proposed development can be designed “as-of-right” within the permitted zoning envelope. If no zoning change is required, aldermanic approval is not required, and almost no oversight or planning tools are available to the alderman or community. The location is just west of the boundaries of the highly sought after Old Town Triangle Landmark District, so the Landmark District provides no protections for this building. Additionally, developers know that properties in protected historic landmark districts are highly desirable and add value, so if they develop close to, but just outside of historic landmark districts, they can benefit from the high-desirability but without any restrictions. The building was not protected by any landmark designation or not even included in the Chicago Historic Resource Survey (CHRS) which might have required a demolition delay. Downzoning historic properties so that the zoning more closely corresponds to the current existing building would help to encourage reuse of existing buildings and homes. An extension of the nearby Chicago Landmark District would have provided the greatest protection and oversight for historic homes like 1822 N. Howe Street.  Additional Reading Environs Development is proposing a 15,500-square-footer for this lot, which has 77 feet of street frontage. It's the second highest price for a proposed new-construction house in the neighborhood. Dennis Rodkin, Crain’s Chicago Business, 11/5/18  1822 N. Howe New Construction Listing

LOSS: “Spotlight on Demolition” 1230 W. Jackson Boulevard, Near West Side 2716 W. Montrose, Ravenswood Manor 1730, 1732, & 1734 W. 18th Street, Pilsen 2446 W. Foster, Lincoln Square 2333 N. Mildred Avenue, Park West 3930 N. Greenview Avenue, Southport

1230 W. Jackson Boulevard, Demolished November 2018 Photo Credit: Google Street View

2716 W. Montrose Avenue, Demolished November 2018 Photo Credit: Google Street View

1730, 1732, & 1734 W. 18th Street, Demolished November 2018 Photo Credit: Google Street View

2446 W. Foster Avenue, Demolished November 2018 Photo Credit: Google Street View

2333 N. Mildred Avenue, Demolished November 2018 Photo Credit: Google Street View

3930 N. Greenview Avenue, Demolished November 2018 Photo Credit: Google Street View

LOST CHICAGO...BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

Palmer House by John Van Osdel Built 1875, Demolished 1925

The Palmer House ca. 1920, by John Van Osdel in 1875. Demolished in 1925. NOTE: Seven-story L..E. Waterman Building is visible on far right of photgraph Historic Photo Credit: Chicago History Museum Collection, greatchicagofire.org, (ichi-00750)

Palmer House Architect: John Van Osdel Location: Southeast corner of State and Monroe Streets Built: 1875 Demolished: 1925 "The Palmer House was rebuilt on its present site, and has always ranked as one of the first-class hotels of the world. Two of its distinguishing features are, in part, that it has always been Democratic headquarters and the favorite of commercial travelers. Its lobbies have always been attractive rather for their beauty than their size but its grand State Street portico, and its architecture generally, are quite striking. It holds its own among the new buildings, both for external beauty and convenience of interior arrangements. The entresol, or gallery floor, and the writing-room under skylights in the rotunda, are features that have commended this hotel strongly to its patrons. The dining-halls have always ranked among the handsomest in Chicago, and the parlors, “bridal-chambers,” halls, and many suites of rooms have exhausted the resources of French and American house-furnishing art.” (Rand McNally’s Bird’s Eye Views of Chicago, 1893, pg. 57) “Supreme among the post-fire hotels was the $2,500,000 Palmer House at State and Monroe Streets. The design of the hotel was based on plans by John Van Osdel which were expanded by C. M. Palmer, an architect who did much work in Chicago in the 1870s. The Palmer House gloried in thirty-four varieties of marble, a twenty-five-foot-high rotunda, an Egyptian parlor, and furniture imported from France and Italy. It also claimed to be the world’s first fireproof hotel – a strong selling point in Chicago – and 600 tons on Belgium iron were used in its constriction, This Palmer House was demolished in 1925 to make way for the current hotel of that name." (Lost Chicago, David Lowe, pg. 116) The current Palmer House, designed by Holabird & Roche in 1923 – 1925, became a Designated Chicago Landmark in 2006. The Palmer House remains a great and cherished Chicago institution.

PETITIONS

Petition: Save the Superior Street Rowhouses from Demolition!

42, 44 & 46 East Superior Street Rowhouses, Photo Credit: Taylor Moore / Block Club Chicago

Please sign the Save These Victorian Rowhouses from Demolition Petition. Unless urgent action is taken, these three 1880s-era rowhouses will be demolished shortly after the 90-Day Demolition Delay Hold Extension expires on March 8, 2019.  These authentic, beautiful, charming historic Chicago rowhouses will be bulldozed to create a vacant lot. The likely strategy is that the urban blight from a vacant lot will help the developer to push through an unpopular plan for a massive parking garage and generic glass-box tower on the site. Preservation Chicago STRONGLY OPPOSES THE DEMOLITION of these three, architecturally significant, orange-rated rowhouses at 42, 44 and 46 East Superior dating from the 1870s and 1880s. The adjacent seven-story Art Deco limestone building and historic four-story red brick Giordano’s building are also endangered. The clock is ticking as development pressure intensifies and developers have begun to actively target the last remaining clusters of intact, low-rise, historic buildings as development sites. "And with the continued demolition of other shorter, older buildings in the area, that there are only a handful of the original McCormickville buildings left. We need to value every inch of space where there are historic buildings that tell the story of the neighborhood.” Ward Miller, (Curbed Chicago, Koziarz, 12/8/16) Preservation Chicago urgently requests the City of Chicago and 42nd Ward Alderman Reilly not to release the Demolition Delay Hold and not to issue a Demolition permit until after the public approval process for the new development has been completed. There are many examples, the most notorious being Block 37, in which significant time passed between when the demolition of the existing historic buildings and when the new construction broke ground. Additionally, Preservation Chicago urgently requests the City of Chicago and 42nd Ward Alderman Reilly to create a new “McCormickville” Landmark District comprised of the handful of remaining historic buildings. It would be a powerful tool to protect this neighborhood’s historic building fabric and strengthen the vibrancy of this community. Please join the other 4,500 others and add your name to the Save These Victorian Rowhouses from Demolition Petition.

Petition: Save Our Starship, Save the Thompson Center

Thompson Center, Photo Credit: Eric Allix Rogers

Please sign the Save Our Starship Petition and help Save the Thompson Center. Architect Helmut Jahn’s kaleidoscopic, controversial State of Illinois Center/James R. Thompson Center in Chicago shocked the world when it opened in 1985. It may not be long for this world. Today this iconic building is a bit faded due to decades of deferred maintenance. Occupying an entire block in the heart of the Loop, the Thompson Center is potentially threatened with sale and demolition by the state legislature and Governor Rauner.  It is one of Chicago’s most iconic late 20th-century, post-modern buildings and it represented a radical departure from the design of conventional government office buildings of its time. Despite initial construction challenges, this singular architectural vision of an open, accessible, and inspiring civic building, defined by its iconic, soaring atrium remains intact. Helmut Jahn is one of Chicago’s most famous contemporary architects, whose career began here with C. F. Murphy and whose work is now celebrated around the world from Chicago to Berlin to Shanghai. This is a building for the people of Chicago, for the State of Illinois, for everyone see, to experience and be inspired by. Most importantly it is open to all.  We strongly encourage the City of Chicago move to officially recognize and protect the thrilling civic spaces and their visionary design, which continue Chicago’s legacy of bold, risk-taking architecture. The vast soaring atrium lends itself to highly collaborative potential uses. We encourage the State of Illinois to designate a portion of the building to be an incubator that would provide discounted rent to small arts organizations, nonprofits, tech start-ups, and other creative uses to help drive innovation in Chicago. By seeding these organizations at the Thompson 'Innovation' Center, they would help to activate the building and help to provide the vibrancy to the building that was always contemplated but never realized. Further, the building's public atrium should be embraced through live art and performances to be held throughout the year, but especially during the winter months. Efforts to both protect its architectural vision and to activate the building should be implemented. A comprehensive redevelopment plan could correct the deferred maintenance. A tower-addition study by Helmut Jahn’s design firm has suggested that the existing building could accommodate new construction that would add square footage while remaining sensitive to the historic building, atrium, and public space. We strongly encourage the City of Chicago and State of Illinois to move quickly to designate the Thompson Center/State of Illinois Building a Chicago Landmark. This would protect the building, plaza, and the public sculpture, “Monument with Standing Beast” by Jean Dubuffet.   Please sign the Save Our Starship Petition and help Save the Thompson Center. SAVE OUR STARSHIP rally video to “Save the Thompson Center” Shea Couleé's performance at a rally to “Save the Thompson Center”

Petition: Save the Clarendon Park Field House

Clarendon Park Field House, Historic Postcard Credit: Chuckman Collection

Please sign the Save Clarendon Park Petition The Clarendon Park Community Center will either begin an extensive renovation or will be demolished and replaced. The building hangs in the balance and a strong voice from the Clarendon Park community is essential to help decision makers to make a good decision. As recently as 2015, demolition was widely considered to be the most likely outcome for the historic Clarendon Park Community Center building and it was included as a 2015 Preservation Chicago 7 Most Endangered Building. It was widely celebrated when in 2017 $6.1 million TIF funds were earmarked for the long-neglected Clarendon Park Community Center building with the expectation that the building would finally be renovated. Now there is concern that the Chicago Park District will choose to use these funds for a smaller, new construction building instead of restoring the historic building. The historic Clarendon Park building was designed by city architect C.W. Kallal in a Mediterranean Revival Style. This “Italian Resort Style” became the model for such other highly regarded lakefront landmark buildings as Marshall and Fox’s South Shore Country Club in 1916 (now South Shore Cultural Center) and the 63rd Street Bathing Pavilion in 1919. This style was defined by tall towers capped with hipped roofs clad in clay tiles, large entry colonnades, porticos, loggias and open-air promenades. Preservation Chicago urges the Chicago Park District to recognize the value of this important historic building and to commit to seeing it restored. Preservation Chicago applauds 46th Ward Alderman James Cappleman for his commitment to seeing the Clarendon Park Community Center protected from demolition and for helping to solidify the necessary renovation funds. The Clarendon Park neighbors and community stakeholders continue  to play an important role and deserve special recognition for their unwavering support for this building with special thanks to Katharine Boyda, Melanie Eckner, the Clarendon Park Advisory Council, Uptown United and Uptown Chicago Commission. Preservation Chicago hopes to see this important building’s exterior restored to an appearance more similar to its original design. The distinctive tall towers fronting Clarendon Avenue and the smaller towers fronting the beach, along with the entry colonnade and the verandas and open-air loggias were beautiful and distinctive architecture elements that should never have been removed. Their reconstruction would elevate the Clarendon Park Community Center to its rightful place alongside the 63rd Street Bathing Pavilion and other important landmark lakefront buildings from this period. Please join the 2,200 others and add your name to the Save Clarendon Park Petition

Petiton: Stop Destroying Chicago Bungalows: Support Sensible Second Story Additions

Chicago Bungalow Association Stop The Pop Initiative, Photo Credit: Chicago Bungalow Association

Please sign the Stop Destroying Chicago Bungalows Petition An onslaught of developers are threatening Chicago's iconic bungalows by tearing off the entire upstairs levels and replacing them with full second stories in lieu of sensible additions. These “bad” additions, aka "pop tops," destroy the architectural/aesthetic value of homes and streetscapes, as well as neighbors' property values. The inferior materials and methods used are short-lived and structurally overwhelming; a complete contrast to bungalows themselves, which were built to last for many decades. There are ways to expand bungalows with second story additions that are compatible to the original building in style and proportion. Sensible additions can provide an equally full, high-ceiling expansion of space, and are pleasing to the surrounding neighborhood and environment. The Chicago Bungalow Association (CBA) is a non-profit membership organization dedicated to helping homeowners maintain, preserve and adapt their unique Chicago bungalow, an indelible part of the City's landscape. On behalf of CBA's staff, our 16,000 members and the 80,000 Chicago bungalows, we have created the #StopThePop campaign in an effort to protect Chicago bungalows from this destructive trend. With your support, we hope to achieve the following: Educate developers and the public on "good" vs. "bad" additions through campaign-driven seminars, panels, fact-sheets and a comprehensive set of Design Guidelines for additions. Provide homeowners with direct access to qualified and affordable architects, engineers and contractors experienced in creating sensible second story additions. Bring awareness to Aldermen and the City of Chicago Department of Buildings through our campaign petition, homeowner testimonials, and statements of support from neighborhood organizations. We are just getting started and need you to join our efforts by signing this petition and sharing it with your family, friends, and neighbors. Stay up-to-date on #StopThePop by visiting www.chicagobungalow.org. Do not hesitate to email your thoughts and ideas in strengthening this campaign.  Please join the 1,500 others and add your name to the Stop Destroying Chicago Bungalows Petition

EXHIBITS

Don't Miss "Ando and Le Corbusier: Masters of Architecture" at Wrightwood 659  Through December 15, 2018

Wrightwood 659, A new Art Space in Lincoln Park Photo Credit: Jeff Goldberg / Esto

Wrightwood 659, A new Art Space in Lincoln Park Photo Credit: Jeff Goldberg / Esto

Wrightwood 659 is a new exhibition space conceived for the presentation of exhibitions of architecture and of socially engaged art. It is designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Tadao Ando, who has transformed a 1920s building with his signature concrete forms and poetic treatment of natural light. In a city rich with art institutions and internationally known for its architecture, Wrightwood 659 is designed as a site for contemplative experiences of art and architecture, and as a place to engage with the pressing social issues of our time. Located at 659 W. Wrightwood Avenue, in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, it is a private, non-commercial initiative envisioned as an integral part of the cultural and civic fabric of Chicago, as well as a new kind of arts space and cultural resource. Ando created the new gallery in an existing brick shell by removing the entire interior structure and inserting a new steel and reinforced-concrete skeleton. The building contains 35,000 square feet on four floors — with 18,000 square feet of exhibition space — and has the highest levels of museum- grade environmental and mechanical controls. Wrightwood 659 will be open to the public in the spring and fall, presenting two exhibitions a year, generally alternating between socially engaged art and architecture. It aims to provoke consideration and activism on behalf of a more just society, while simultaneously providing an environment that enables quiet contemplation and thoughtful looking. Wrightwood 659 does not have a collection, and it is not intended to be a collecting organization. Admission is by online reservation only. Walk-ins are not allowed. More info and to make reservations at the Wrightwood 659 website

Don't Miss "Treasures From The White City: Chicago World’s Fair of 1893" at The Richard H. Driehaus Museum Through January 6, 2019

“Treasures from the White City: The Chicago World’s Fair of 1893” at the Richard H. Driehaus Museum. Photo Credit: Richard H. Driehaus Museum

“Treasures from the White City: The Chicago World’s Fair of 1893” is on display at the Richard H. Driehaus Museum until January 6, 2019. Treasures from the White City: The Chicago World’s Fair of 1893 includes objects drawn from the Museum’s permanent collection, as well as the collection of Richard H. Driehaus and features original works and memorabilia designed for and exhibited at the fair. Pieces by Louis Comfort Tiffany created for his magnificent World’s Fair chapel, substantial silver selections designed by both Gorham Manufacturing Company and Tiffany & Company, and artifacts from the exposition such as tickets, maps and programs will be featured in the exhibition presented in celebration of the fair’s 125th anniversary. More information at the Driehaus Museum Website

Don't Miss "Pictures from an Exposition: Visualizing the 1893 World's Fair" at The Newberry Library Through December 31, 2018

“Pictures from an Exposition: Visualizing the 1893 World’s Fair," the first show in the Newberry Library's remodeled first floor, mines the research institution’s archives to display maps, postcards, artwork and other fair-related items. Photo Credit: Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune

Chromolithograph poster showing the Ferris Wheel, which debuted at the 1893 World’s Fair, Pictures from an Exposition: Visualizing the 1893 World's Fair, Image Credit: The Newberry Library

“Pictures from an Exposition: Visualizing the 1893 World’s Fair” is free and open to the public and will be on display at the Newberry Library through Dec. 31 at Trienens Galleries. As the grandest international spectacle in a great age of spectacles, the World’s Columbian Exposition held in Chicago in 1893 captured the public’s imagination through a dazzling array of visual images, from photographs, paintings, and illustrated albums to souvenirs, guidebooks, magazine features, and popular histories. But the allure of the fair depended less on the aesthetics of single objects than upon its status as a total, unified work of art. Featuring works of art and ephemera from the Newberry’s extensive collection of exposition materials, Pictures from an Exposition explores the fair’s tremendous power of attraction, both at the time of its presentation and through history into the present, for both those who attended and those who experienced it from afar. Opening during the exposition’s 125th anniversary year, the exhibition will pay special attention to the dynamic between fine art and popular imagery, the intertwining of aesthetic and economic imperatives, and the ways in which the exposition’s visual language reflected the important role that images played in late 19th century American history and culture. Free, curator-led tours of the exhibition will be offered on Tuesday, December 11, 6 pm. The tour groups will gather in the lobby and then move into the galleries. We can't stop thinking about the 1893 World's Fair, as the Newberry Library's new exhibit demonstrates, Steve Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 10/17/18 More information at the Newberry Library Website Chicago’s Historic Newberry Library Unveils New Look, Exhibition, WTTW Chicago, Eddie Arruza, 9/26/18 VIDEO Newberry Library shows off new renovations, Columbian Exposition exhibit;The historic Gold Coast building is more bright, welcoming, and user-friendly than ever, Jay Koziarz, Curbed Chicago, 9/28/2018

SUPPORT

Support the Packingtown Museum Kickstarter Campaign!

Mural on the exterior of The Plant at  1400 W 46th Street. Photo Credit; Packingtown Museum at The Plant

Packingtown Museum at The Plant Inside a former meatpacking plant at 1400 W 46th Street, organizers are developing a museum dedicated to preserving the rich history of Chicago's Union Stock Yard. Vision and Mission The Packingtown Museum is dedicated to preserving, interpreting, and presenting the industrial history and cultural heritage of Chicago’s Union Stock Yard and surrounding neighborhoods. Through a combination of exhibits and educational programming, the museum strives to connect Chicago's industrial past to its future and inform contemporary conversations about labor, immigration, food production, community development, and the economy.  About The Plant The Packingtown Museum is housed at The Plant, a former meatpacking facility that is being repurposed as a collaborative community of food businesses committed to material re-use and closed-loop systems. The Plant is owned and operated by Bubbly Dynamics, LLC, which directs the design and build-out of tenant spaces, common areas, and major projects to increase efficiencies of the building and site.  Established in 2002, Bubbly Dynamics is a social enterprise whose mission is to create replicable models for ecologically responsible and sustainable urban industrial development. Bubbly Dynamics’ first building, the Chicago Sustainable Manufacturing Center, was renovated based on these principles and has been home to tenants involved in a variety of light-industrial uses. Bubbly’s second project, The Plant, takes the concept further and is working to demonstrate the benefits of closing loops of waste, resources, and energy for food-producing businesses.   Background & Rationale The very first draft of The Plant's floor plans included a space reserved for the Packingtown Museum. John Edel, founder of Bubbly Dynamics, LLC, recognized the need to tell the story of the South Side of Chicago’s role in the development of industrialization – of food, in particular – which is locally relevant and globally significant.  The story of the development of the Union Stock Yard, the people who worked in them, and the neighborhoods that grew up around it includes chapters on organized labor, the role of immigration in fueling the growth of city and economy, and the changing relationship between people, machines, and food. All of these historical themes are relevant to the political and social dynamics of Chicago and the United States today. Through a better understanding of and appreciation for this 150-year history, we can be more engaged and thoughtful participants in the present and future that is unfolding right in front of us at The Plant.  Link to Kickstarter Campaign for Packingtown Museum at The Plant

Support Computers for Pullman Archives GoFundMe Campaign!

"Pullman Factory Worker with Finished Car", Photo Credit; The Pullman State Historic Site Collections.

The Pullman State Historic Site has an ever-growing and important collection of archival materials (such as photographs and memorabilia) relating to the Pullman Company, the Pullman neighborhood, and the adjacent Roseland neighborhood. These archives range in date from the early 19th century to the present day. A number of dedicated volunteers (including professional archivists) work together to digitize and catalog this collection so that everyone can use it. The Friends of the Pullman State Historic Site work with the Pullman State Historic Site and strongly support these initiatives among others. The Friends group needs your help in making more of these archives available. The archives are currently accessed through a homegrown and increasingly outdated system which no longer sufficiently serves our needs. In order to ensure ongoing public access to these important collections, we need to move to an industry standard digital asset management system. You can review a mockup of the new, more accessible record format here: Unfortunately, the current computer hardware available to us is all but obsolete. By adding additional workstations, more materials can be cataloged and made available in a timely manner. Altogether, the Friends seek to purchase between four and six desktop computers with monitors and imaging software at an estimated cost of $4,000 to $5,000. We would like your help in making the dream of accessing Pullman archives available for everyone. LINK to Computers for Pullman Archives GoFundMe Campaign

CALL FOR 2019 NOMINATIONS for Preservation Chicago's 7 Most Endangered Buildings List

Ashland Sixty-Third Street Bank Building, 1536 W. 63rd Street, Photo Credit: Eric Allix Rogers

Open call for nominations for Preservation Chicago's 2018 Chicago 7 Most Endangered List. If there is a historic building or house in your neighborhood that you are concerned about, PLEASE take a minute and let us know about it. Thank you! Call us at 773.334.8800 or Email us at info@preservationchicago.com or Tell us through social media!

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If You Value Preservation In Chicago... Please Support Preservation Chicago !

Demolition of Chicago Machinery Building, 1217 West Washington Boulevard, designed by D.H. Burnham & Company in 1910, Photo Credit: Ward Miller

Be Generous! Donate to Preservation Chicago to support our tireless advocacy! Spread the Word! Read and repost Facebook , Twitter, and Instagram posts!   Be Informed! Sign up to receive and read the Month-in-Review eNewsletter!   Be Heard! Attend community meetings and stand up to make your voice heard!   Be Counted! Take a moment to sign our online petitions!   THANK YOU from your friends at Preservation Chicago! Your financial support allows Preservation Chicago to advocate every day to protect historic buildings throughout Chicago. For a small non-profit, every dollar counts. Preservation Chicago is a 501(c)(3) non-profit so your donation is tax-deductible as permitted by law. Donation is fast, easy and directly helps the efforts to protect Chicago’s historic legacy.  www.PreservationChicago.org

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