Using a drone, Chris Hytha takes detailed photographs of Chicago landmarks skyscrapers.

Top row, left to right: Tribune Tower, Mather Tower, American Furniture Mart, Steuben Club.

Second row: Reliance Building; 333 N. Michigan; Board of Trade; Carbide and Carbon Building.

Third row: United Methodist Church, Hotel Intercontinental, Jewelers’ Building, Palmolive Building.

Bottom row: Pittsfield Building, Wrigley Building, Trustees System Service Building, Monadnock Building

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"Once a Chicago 7, always a Chicago 7," until its saved or lost. Link to all past Chicago 7s.

Promontory Point in Autumn. Promontory Point, 1937, Alfred Caldwell, Chicago Lakefront between 54th and 56th Streets. Photo Credit: Vashon Jordan www.vashonjordan.com

"Promontory Point Conservancy has formally submitted a request to the Chicago Commission on Landmarks to designate Promontory Point as a Chicago city landmark. Included in their request is a report by preservation consultant Julia Bachrach detailing the historical significance of the Point, underscoring the need for landmark designation. They are joined in their call for preservation by Alderman Leslie Hairston, Cook County Commissioner William Lowry, State Representative Curtis Tarver, State Senator Robert Peters, and U.S. Representative Robin Kelly. Mayor Lori Lightfoot, in a statement to the Hyde Park Herald in August 2022, endorsed a preservation approach to any future repair, restoration, and rehabilitation at Promontory Point. Other organizations in support of this request are Landmarks Illinois, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Friends of the Parks, Openlands Chicago, Hyde Park Historical Society, the Cultural Landscape Foundation, Preservation Chicago, and others.

"The conservancy is requesting that this matter be heard at the next meeting of the Landmark Commission. The broader community is invited to send a letter to Landmark Commission member and Department of Planning and Development Commissioner Maurice Cox urging that this matter be heard and the point be protected as an historical landmark. A customizable letter can be accessed and sent through this link.

"Becoming a city landmark will help ensure that Promontory Point is protected against the city’s proposed plan to demolish the historic limestone revetment and replace it with a concrete barrier. Preservation Chicago placed the Point on its annual “7 Most Endangered” list for 2022 due to this looming threat. Promontory Point Conservancy has crafted a preservationist approach to repairing, restoring, and rehabilitating the revetment that includes two community-funded engineering studies that demonstrate this approach being both feasible and significantly cheaper than the city’s proposal. This preservationist plan enjoys widespread support from the community, including from the political representatives at all levels of government." (Promontory Point Conservancy Op-ed, Hyde Park Herald, 11/28/22)

"Hyde Park residents have been fighting to save the limestone staired revetment wall at Promontory Point for more than 20 years.

"Now they’re angling to have the matter settled, if not necessarily once and for all, then at least for the foreseeable future.

"The Promontory Point Conservancy, in conjunction with Preservation Chicago, has submitted a preliminary landmark recommendation report to the Commission on Chicago Landmarks. If the Point is ultimately declared a Chicago Landmark, it would be afforded greater protection from potential demolition or alteration.

"The conservancy is requesting to have the matter heard at the commission’s next meeting, which would kick start the landmark process.

"The conservancy has built a broad coalition of support for the Point’s landmark push, he said, from government officials — allies include local Ald. Leslie Hairston (who’s announced her retirement) and U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly — to the leaders of historic preservation and open space organizations.

"Renowned landscape architect Alfred Caldwell was instrumental in designing Promontory Point, which juts into the lake at roughly 55th Street. Its limestone revetment dates back to the 1930s, built as part of the New Deal’s Works Progress Administration program.

"When the Army Corps of Engineers began shoring up revetments elsewhere along Chicago’s lakefront in the early 2000s, the limestone rocks were ripped out and replaced with concrete. The Point was spared at the time thanks to vocal opposition from people who objected to what they saw as the loss of history, charm and aesthetics.

"But in 2021, after lakefront beaches and properties took a beating from high water levels and powerful storms, the Army Corps received funding to conduct a comprehensive study of Chicago’s shoreline, with a specific focus on the south end.

"Anticipating that the study’s results might favor concrete revetments at the Point, Preservation Chicago placed Promontory Point on its annual '7 Most Endangered' list for 2022. (Wetli, WTTW Chicago, 11/28/22)

"Tearing down a pair of early 20th-century towers and their neighbors on State Street would be a waste of money, natural resources and the city’s architectural heritage, speakers at a federal hearing said Thursday night.

"The hearing was the start of the General Services Administration’s public engagement process for its proposed demolition of a row of four buildings, the 16-story Century Building, the 22-story Consumers Building and two low-rises between them. Earlier this year, Congress allocated $52 million for demolition of the strip, from 202 to 220 S. State St. The move is designed to reduce security risks for the Everett Dirksen U.S. Courthouse immediately to the west.

"About a dozen architects, preservationists and others all urged the GSA to back off the demolition plan. No commenters at the hearing stood up for demolition.

"'Everyone involved should be ashamed,' said Chicago resident Aoife Fahey, who attended the meeting virtually.

"Demolishing the buildings would be 'a waste and a bad decision,' said Keith Giles, a veteran Chicago developer who was a partner in a $141 million residential redevelopment project for the buildings before Chicago officials halted the plan in 2019 because of the federal government’s security concerns.

"'I respect and understand the importance of security, particularly in today’s world,' Giles said. 'However, eliminating these buildings and creating a large empty plaza with a few security guards will be a mistake if it happens.'

"Renovation is one of the possibilities, the GSA noted in its introductory slide show Thursday, but it would come with a set of 15 stipulations aimed at helping with security. Among them are no residential use of the buildings, no occupants with sight lines into the Dirksen or other federal properties, and no parking in or next to the buildings.

"In May, a coalition of archives proposed a [Chicago Collaborative Archive Center] plan they believe meets all the stipulations. Filling the building with several private archives would limit the number of people using the buildings and allow for extra security measures that might feel burdensome to more bustling users.

"Pallmeyer said there is 'a lack of significant federal funds to make long-term improvements' to the buildings. Speakers from Preservation Chicago urged the GSA to put the allocated $52 million toward restoration of the buildings with safety concerns in mind. Making that switch would entail getting two words inserted into the legislation: 'demolish' would become 'demolish or renovate.'

"Preservation Chicago's Adam Natenshon said that while there’s no solid estimate of the cost to renovate the buildings, he felt confident it would be less than demolition. The recent renovation project at Lane Tech High School, he said, entailed rehabbing more than twice the combined square footage of the State Street quartet, but the total cost was $52 million. That’s the same amount allocated for demolition on State Street.

"At the meeting, the GSA laid out a timeline for the engagement process that will last two years before a final decision is made. The four buildings, which have sat unused for almost 17 years, will remain in limbo during that time.

"'It’s tragic that the buildings will stand another two years vacant and with few repairs, when there are viable reuse options,' said Ward Miller, Preservation Chicago’s executive director.

Former parishioners are taken into police custody after blocking the truck carrying the La Pietà statue, which was removed from St. Adalbert’s and moved to St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Pilsen on Nov. 29, 2022, after months of activism to keep the statue in its original home.. St. Adalbert Church, Henry J. Schlacks, 1636 W. 17th Street. Photo Credit: Colin Boyle / Block Club Chicago

Heavy police presence during the removal of St. Adalbert’s La Pietà statue in Pilsen on Nov. 29, 2022, after parishioners stood guard 24/7 for months to keep the statue in its original home. St. Adalbert Church, Henry J. Schlacks, 1636 W. 17th Street. Photo Credit: Colin Boyle / Block Club Chicago

Parishioners protest the removal of the La Pietà statue from the former St. Adalbert’s Church in Pilsen on Oct. 18, 2022. St. Adalbert Church, Henry J. Schlacks, 1636 W. 17th Street. Photo Credit: Colin Boyle / Block Club Chicago

"The battle over a beloved statue inside a shuttered Pilsen church came to a crescendo Wednesday as work crews removed the Michelangelo replica and police arrested five people protesting the project.

"The Archdiocese of Chicago and the St. Paul parish has wanted to remove the La Pietà statue from St. Adalbert’s Church, 1650 W. 17th St., for months, but protesters blocked the removal on multiple occasions. The church closed in 2019 as part of a consolidation but longtime parishioners have focused on preserving the statue amid their battle with the archdiocese, which wants to sell the land.

"On Tuesday morning, crews successfully removed the statue, which depicts the Virgin Mary holding the dead body of Jesus, through a hole in one of the closed church’s walls that was created for the removal. It was loaded onto a flatbed and brought to its new home at St. Paul’s Catholic Church, 2127 W. 22nd Place.

"A small group of protesters were arrested Tuesday after trying to block the truck carrying the statue outside St. Adalbert’s, a police spokesperson said. Charges were pending.

"Beginning in September, residents rotated shifts to watch over the statue, camping outside to block it from being removed. The transfer of the statue raised concerns among parishioners about whether the archdiocese will properly seal the hole once the statue is removed and if it will accelerate the demolition of the parish.

"Workers previously tried to move the statue in October, but were again thwarted by protesters.

"Anina Jakubowski, a former St. Adalbert’s parishioner and student, said she got a text from friends early Tuesday letting her know workers were finally taking the statue. She raced to Pilsen from her home in Downers Grove to be there as the statue was removed, she said.

"'Oh no, the thing that we dreaded — it’s happening,'" Jakubowski said raced through her mind.

"Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th) has worked to downzone the church site for years in an effort to force any developer to engage with Pilsen neighbors and St. Adalbert’s former parishioners.

"Sigcho-Lopez’s ordinance passed the zoning committee in May, despite a representative from the archdiocese at the time saying it would likely sue the city if it passed. It was set to go before the next City Council meeting, but allies of the mayor blocked the vote. (Savedra and Boyle, Block Club Chicago, 11/29/22)

St. Adalbert Church was a Chicago 7 Most Endangered Buildings for several years, and was designed by architect, Henry Schlacks. As the building is orange-rated and city officials have promised that it would become a Chicago Landmark. The building was deconsecrated and closed three years ago by the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Preservation Chicago encourages the City of Chicago to initiate landmark proceedings for St. Adalbert before the Commission on Chicago Landmarks. If the church and rectory were to be brought into Preliminary Landmark Recommendation, it could remain in a long-term Tolling Agreement, to give the Archdiocese, the City and other stakeholders the opportunity to continue with robust conversations.

This would offer all of the protections of a true Chicago Landmark Designation, and also prohibit the removal of art glass. Tragically, all the art glass was recently removed without a permit from the orange-rated All Saints-St. Anthony Church in Bridgeport, another closed church by Henry Schlacks. St. Anthony's sanctuary was devastated by contractors working for the Archdiocese prior to transferring the property to a private developer.

In the past that this idea of a Tolling Agreement worked for St. Gelasius/St. Clara, now known as The Shrine of Christ the King, as well as the New York Life Building, now the Kimpton Hotel Gray at LaSalle and Monroe Streets. That designation of St. Gelasius, which the Archdiocese opposed, led to Cardinal George inviting another religious order from Wisconsin to move to Chicago and establish this as their national headquarters, known as the Institute of Christ the King, within the St. Gelasius/St. Clara Church building and complex. So, the Chicago Landmark Designation was a wonderful planning tool, which led to excellent outcomes.

Dear Mr. Chairman and Members of the Commission on Chicago Landmarks,

We at Preservation Chicago unequivocally support the Preliminary Landmark Recommendation for the Greater Union Baptist Church, originally constructed as The Church of the Redeemer, and located at 1956 W. Warren Boulevard, on Chicago’s Near West Side.

The Greater Union Baptist Church building has been a cornerstone of Chicago’s Near West Side for generations and has endured many changes to the community over the past 136 years, including vast nearby Urban Renewal projects, social unrest and riots following the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., along with the expansion of multiple institutions surrounding this magnificent church. It’s a testament to the long-term commitment of its leadership and congregation, that Greater Union continues its service to the community, over the past nine decades, in which it has been located within this historic structure.

The church building itself is a beautiful sight to behold, constructed in the Richardson Romanesque Style, with its high gables of richly-colored red brick, ornamental terra cotta and sandstone. The organization of its principal facades, along both Warren Boulevard and Damen Avenue, is highly disciplined and further embellished with a variety of arched openings, often filled with highly decorative art glass windows. Its beautiful volumes are a commanding presence. This is especially noteworthy, as the building’s design captures one’s eye from a far distance, despite not having a tall tower or belfry, which is a more typical anchor and component of such an important edifice.

Greater Union Baptist Church is truly a remarkable structure, modern for its time, and with a remarkable column-free interior sanctuary, located on the second floor, with its wood-beamed ceiling, original brass chandeliers, converted to electricity, organ, curvilinear pews and richly-colored art glass by the Chicago firm of McCully & Miles. This designation may also further elevate the work of McCully & Miles, to join that of such firms as Tiffany, LaFarge, and Healy & Millet, all working in about the same time period, as the art glass windows at Greater Union are of such excellent quality.

Of great importance is the architect of Greater Union Baptist Church, William LeBaron Jenney (1832-1907). Jenney, an architect and structural engineer, who experimented with metal framing, noting his experience in the American Civil War as a bridge engineer for the Union Army, and is recognized on the world stage as the “Father of the Skyscraper,” or first steel/metal-framed building. That first early skyscraper, “The Home Insurance Building,” of 1884-1885, located on Chicago’s LaSalle Street (demolished in 1931), was designed a year prior to Greater Union Baptist Church building.

In the years following the construction of the church, originally known as “Church of the Redeemer,” William LeBaron Jenney went on to design some of the Chicago’s tallest structures and recognized Chicago Landmarks, including the Manhattan Building, the Ludington Building, Second Leiter Building, the New York Life Building, among others, while also influencing a generation of architects and the design of their buildings around the world. Jenney’s work and achievements are recognized as the beginnings of the Chicago Commercial Style and Chicago School of Architecture.

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

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

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

With that said, Preservation Chicago fully supports the Preliminary Landmark Recommendation and Chicago Landmark Designation for Greater Union Baptist Church.

Sincerely,

Ward Miller, Executive Director, Preservation Chicago

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"We oppose the demolition of a beautiful, 150-year-old, multi-unit building and the permanent displacement of its tenants so that a neighbor can have a larger side yard.

"The wood-frame three-unit building with graceful porches and delicate details at 2240 N. Burling in Chicago’s Lincoln Park has been home to generations of Chicagoans for literally 150 years. But despite recent renovations and a strong rental market, a neighbor purchased it for over a million dollars with plans to demolish it and enlarge his adjacent single-family home’s side yard.

"2240 N. Burling Street is one of the last remaining survivors of the Chicago Fire era. Only a handful remain today of what was once an entire neighborhood of these beautiful buildings. Just two blocks beyond the flames of the Great Chicago Fire in 1871, it was built in circa 1874 when Chicago was trying to recover from the destruction. Its delicate detailing reveals an unshaken optimism for the future despite the overwhelming difficulties of the time. And its three large, family-sized apartments reveal a utilitarian urgency to provide high-quality housing to the 300,000 Chicagoans who lost their homes.

"Time is short to save it. The 90-Day Demolition Delay clock is ticking and will expire unless it appears on the February 9, 2023 Commission on Chicago Landmarks meeting.

"Chicago must act now to stop the loss of these three units and hundreds of residential units every month. The vibrancy of our neighborhoods, public schools, and commercial corridors depends on it.

"Suburban-scaled, single-family mega-houses and mega-yards spanning five lots and which displace a dozen or more working- and middle-class families after their legacy rental buildings are demolished should not be tolerated in the City of Chicago.

Despite Chicago’s affordable housing shortage, this pattern is happening again and again. Proactive steps must be taken to stop this trend from accelerating.

"We call on the 43rd Ward Alderman and City of Chicago to take a strong stand and proactive steps against the demolition of Naturally-Occurring Affordable Housing (NOAH) in historic neighborhoods. This is a difficult and complicated issue and a long-term solution will require dedication, leadership and time.

"In the short-term, we call on the 43rd Ward Alderman and City of Chicago to take a strong stand and proactive steps against the demolition of 2240 N. Burling Street and the few remaining Chicago Fire era buildings in Lincoln Park, before the expiration of the Demolition Delay on February 15, 2023, including a possible Chicago Landmark Designation.

"On November 18, 2022, the current owner applied for a demolition permit for 2240 N. Burling Street. Its status as an Orange-Rated building due to architectural significance in Chicago Historic Resources Survey, requires a mandatory 90-Day Demolition Delay. Unless it’s designated a Chicago Landmark, which protects against demolition, or the owner has a change of heart, the demolition permit will be issued on February 15, 2023 when the delay expires and this three-flat will be lost forever.

"Every year, Chicago demolishes 2,000 to 3,000 residential units. Saving the four residential units at 2240 N. Burling Street is the first step towards structural change to stem the loss of Naturally-Occurring Affordable Housing in historic neighborhoods.  

"A $30 million, six-story affordable apartment building could replace a retail strip and storage facility at a prominent Howard Street intersection under a development proposal.

"Development group Housing For All wants to build 110 affordable apartments and ground-floor retail at the northeast corner of Howard and Paulina streets, directly across from the Red Line, according to plans shared by Ald. Maria Hadden’s 49th Ward office.

"The project would move forward in two phases and require state and likely city funding, said Shelly Tucciarelli, a developer with Housing For All.

"The six-story development would replace a single-story retail strip at 1646-1660 W. Howard St. that holds a currency exchange, Post Office and Redz Belizean Restaurant.

"The project will also require the demolition of the Werner Bros. Storage building, a warehouse at 7613 N. Paulina St. designed by architect George S. Kinglsey and built in 1921. The building is listed as 'orange-rated' in the city’s historical survey, requiring a review of the building and development plans before a demolition permit is approved.

"The Werner building can’t be redeveloped into housing because some of the floors do not meet ceiling height requirements for housing units, Tucciarelli said. The warehouse is mostly vacant.

"The development would move forward in two phases, with the first phase replacing the Howard Street retail building followed by a building on the Werner Bros. site. There would be 55 apartments built in the first phase.

"Tucciarelli is a longtime developer who is helping build affordable housing catering to Indigenous people at a site in Irving Park. She also spent 20 years working at the Illinois Housing Development Authority, where she managed the low-income housing tax credit program, she said.

"Housing For All is building a 47-unit affordable housing development in suburban Aurora that will adaptively reuse two historical schools. One of the property owners involved in that project also owns the Rogers Park parcels at Howard and Paulina streets, Tucciarelli said. (Ward, Block Club Chicago, 10/25/22)

Affordability and preservation are strongly symbiotic and mutually beneficial. The Werner Brothers Storage Building is an ideal candidate for affordable housing adaptive reuse. Preservation Chicago strongly encourages the developer to pursue this option as they have successfully done in Aurora. Additionally, we encourage 49th Ward Ald. Maria Hadden and community members to make historic preservation a requirement of this redevelopment.

Low income housing tax credits and the 20% Federal Tax Credit for the Rehabilitation of Historic Properties work well together and can generate significant additional development funding. Historic preservation tax credits could generate 20% additional funds for development expenses within the historic building. Millions of additional development dollars could be used to build additional affordable units on site. Additional affordable units, perhaps as many as eight or ten, would be widely celebrated and historic tax credits are the key to unlocking the funding for them.

"The Chicago City Council has approved initial funding for the adaptive reuse of the Armour Institute building at 3300 S Federal Street in Bronzeville. Located on the western end of the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) campus, it is commonly known as the main building, or main, by students and used to be the heart of the college in its earlier days as the Armour Institute. The renovation efforts are being co-led by MCM Company and Washington Park Development Group with local architecture firm Pappageorge Haymes working on its design.

"Built in 1893, the Romanesque revival-style structure was designed by Patton & Fisher who also did the neighboring Machinery Hall in 1901. With an original price tag of $500,000, they were funded by Philip D. Armour Sr. whose meatpacking fame is depicted in Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle and established the Armour Institute in 1890. The architects clad the base with a gray granite with the remainder of the facade utilizing Victorian era red brick and a set of stained-glass windows showing Philip himself.

"Closed in the early 2010s, the massive building has sat vacant with students often breaking in to take a peek at its historical architecture, but now after various approvals it moves closer to being converted into 102 residential units. These would be made up of 93 studios and nine one-bedroom apartments, of which 21 will be considered affordable and all will have access to a fitness center along with a rooftop deck among other amenities. Renovations will include adding a new staircase, repairing windows and exterior elements, and rebuilding the existing boiler.

"The funds approved will help the $37 million project get off the ground, they will come in the form of $2.5 million in Tax Increment Financing (TIF) approved last year, $14.7 million in loans, $6.3 million in Historic Tax Credits, and an additional $13.3 million in various other smaller sources. With this, the developer can now move towards permitting and construction, although at the moment no formal timeline has been revealed and no applications have been submitted by the developer as well." (Achong, Chicago YIMBY, 11/13/22)

Preservation Chicago is thrilled that after a long period of uncertainty, this comprehensive restoration and adaptive reuse of Main Building is moving forward. The Illinois Institute of Technology (former Armour Institute) Main Building was a Preservation Chicago 7 Most Endangered in 2017. We worked with IIT towards a good reuse development and have continuously supported this project before the City of Chicago and Commission on Chicago Landmarks.

"The State of Illinois needs a wakeup call about the Damen Silos site along the Chicago River.

"We have been witnessing the dramatic transformation of the Chicago River from an industrial corridor into a centerpiece of Chicago and the next great park system. In many places it is a vibrant public waterfront, with a rich river ecology inviting all, both human and wildlife, to visit.

"These are not one-off efforts. They are part of a broader plan to bring the river back to the people of Chicago as a healthy, natural and recreational resource. The long-term economic impact of this transformation is often overlooked, but is a substantial component of our economic success.

"As is often the case, private investments follow forward-thinking public ones. With Lincoln Yards to the north and The 78 to the south, along with the University of Illinois Discovery Partners Institute, Chicagoans will be seeing more open space, more public access, and more recreational river access soon.

"The Chicago River has, without doubt, shifted from a primarily industrial and sewage infrastructure to a living, breathing, natural resource that is rich with biodiversity and serves as an important and beloved recreational amenity. This is especially important in communities that lack open space and have other environmental stressors and inequities.

"Someone tell me why the State of Illinois is taking a unique 23.4-acre South Branch site that is framed on three sides by the Chicago River and canal slips, and is also home to the dramatic architecture of grain silos, and selling it to MAT, an asphalt plant owner?

"This is a step backward that challenges what so many have been working on for decades.

"Pilsen is immediately to the north and McKinley Park to the south — two neighborhoods, rich in history that are working to improve their quality of life and access to the river. How does this decision fit with their community planning strategies?

"The state needs to understand that the idea of putting material yards along the Chicago River is a thing of the past. In the long run, the environmental impact and public health costs will be higher for all of us. The Chicago community, its current and last two mayors, and many alderpersons have endorsed ecological and people-centric visions for this river.

"The Damen Silos site should be a park, a community asset, a job training center, an arts and cultural amenity, and part of a more forward-thinking South Branch vision for this century.

"This is a plea to Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Sen. Dick Durbin and Sen. Tammy Duckworth to halt the State of Illinois sale of this South Branch river land. This decision will not make Chicago a healthier place to live and work, it will not support the biodiversity and resiliency that our city needs, nor will it help our air quality and water quality, which ties directly to the health and wellness of Chicagoans.

"It is time now for all of us to stand up together and speak for this remarkable river." (Enquist, Chicago Sun-Times, 11/13/22) Philip Enquist, FAIA (Fellow, American Institute of Architects), is an architect and urbanist.

"Humboldt Park neighbors have launched a petition in hopes of demolishing an unauthorized construction project next to a landmarked museum in the neighborhood’s namesake park, saying 'parkland is under siege.'

"Husband-and-wife neighbors Kurt Gippert and Paula Cabrera are behind the petition, which had nearly 300 signatures as of Thursday afternoon.

"Neighbors and preservationists were shocked earlier this year when construction on a cinder-block building next to the National Puerto Rican Museum of Arts & Culture, 3015 W. Division St., started without any notice. The project was an unsanctioned effort to establish an archives and storage building for the museum, run by former Humboldt Park Ald. Billy Ocasio.

"The ancillary building was going up mere feet from the museum’s home inside the historical Humboldt Park receptory and stables, one of the oldest-surviving structures in the neighborhood.

"City officials stopped work on the project. But Gippert and Cabrera, who live a couple blocks from the park, said they want the partially constructed building torn down and moved away from the landmarked stables.

"'If the public intervenes now, we may be able to get this project moved to a more suitable location,' they wrote in the petition.

"The city’s Department of Buildings put the kibosh on the cinder-block project in September, ordering Ocasio and his team to stop work on the building because museum leaders didn’t obtain proper permits.

"Ocasio, who served as 26th Ward alderman 1993-2009, acknowledged the museum missed some steps of approval in an interview with Block Club. Ocasio is now the museum’s executive director.

"Gippert and Cabrera wrote in the petition neighbors need to demand a public review process before anything else happens with the project.

"'We cannot trust this to work itself out and this is the time to let our voices be heard,' they said.

"Gippert, an antiquarian book seller, said he supports a museum expansion that will bring more archival and preservation work to the institution and the neighborhood — but not at the expense of the landmarked building and the park, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

"The partially-built structure blocks views of the Queen Anne-style receptory and stables building and detracts from the innate beauty of Humboldt Park, Gippert said.

"'Corruption is pretty standard in Chicago. Most people accept it,' he said. 'This exceeds the corruption I can tolerate. It’s a failed relationship with all departments — local, state and federal.' (Bloom, Block Club Chicago, 11/11/22)

"An Uptown church and social services center is getting a much-needed renovation and conversion into a nonprofit community hub after being sold for the first time in its nearly 100-year-history.

"The now-closed Preston Bradley Center at 941 W. Lawrence Ave. has been sold to Daniel Ivankovich, a renown orthopedic surgeon, philanthropist and blues musician known as Chicago Slim.

"Ivankovich plans to rehab the church, cultural center and social services building into a home for his and other nonprofits. The building would act as an office space for the organizations and a community space for hosting health clinics, seminars and arts and cultural programs.

"Some of the 1925 building’s historical uses, including as a place of worship and a respite for the underprivileged, will remain, Ivankovich said.

"'We’ve been looking at unconventional spaces that had a cultural or historical significance that we could build on,' he said. 'We’re looking to make it an even greater resources to Chicago, to Uptown.'

"The Preston Bradley Center will serve as the home of One Patient Global Health Initiative, a group run by Ivankovich and wife Karla Ivankovich that provides medical services to disadvantaged populations in the Chicago area.

"It will also be home to Chicago Blues Society, a nonprofit founded by Ivankovich that provides music lessons for underserved kids and helps working musicians by providing services, including free health care.

"Ivankovich bought the building for $2 million and plans to spend more on a renovation to the building. The nonprofits could move in by spring.

"'Everything is there,' Ivankovich said. 'It just needs to be restored.'

"The Preston Bradley Center was built by its namesake, the Rev. Preston Bradley, in 1925 to house his Peoples Church of Chicago, a progressive Christian congregation. The six-story building includes a nearly 1,300-seat auditorium with two balconies. It has a large hall or event space, office space and art studios.

"The building will hold offices for nonprofits and be able to host health clinics and other pop-up services, Ivankovich said. A soup kitchen that used to reside in the center will be welcomed back.

"'I see the building functioning as an incubator for non-for-profits,' Ivankovich said.

"The renovation saves a building that is a contributor to the Uptown Square Historic District and that has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places." (Ward, Block Club Chicago, 10/28/22)

In 2015, Preservation Chicago advocated for a individual Chicago Landmark Designation for the building that would include both the exterior and significant interior features including the large 1,300 seat sanctuary / auditorium and the highly decorative Masonic Hall located on the top floor of the building.

Fortunately, the exterior of Preston Bradley Center / Peoples Church is protected by the Uptown Square Landmark District. However, the interior is not explicitly protected. At that time, the ownership was open to an Individual Landmark Designation, but the process never moved forward. We hope to revisit the possibility of creating an Individual Landmark Designation for Preston Bradley Hall/Peoples Church which would both protect these important interior spaces and provide assistance to support this vital social and cultural center which serves the greater Uptown community.

Upon learning that Preston Bradley Center would be listed for sale, Preservation Chicago began actively seeking buyers for the Chicago Landmark that would preserve the building and social uses. Daniel Ivankovich is precisely the type of community-oriented, preservation-sensitive buyer we hoped to find and are thrilled by this news.

"A historic Motor Row building owned by former Bears defensive end Israel Idonije is getting a tony makeover.

"The four-story, 38-unit complex in the storied Hudson Motor Building, 2222 S. Michigan Ave. received key city zoning approval in mid-November. It now awaits a full City Council vote before moving forward.

"The $62.5 million development envisions 18 hotel rooms and 53,700 square feet of retail. It is being developed by Hudson Michigan Avenue LLC, of which Idonije is a partner.

"Plans also include a restaurant and event venue on the first floor, with an additional event area on the mezzanine. The second and third levels have apartments ranging from one to four bedrooms, and hotel rooms, according to the plans. Hotel guest rooms would occupy the second and third level, as well. The fourth floor would include additional units, a rooftop pool, men’s and women’s changing rooms and an outdoor deck, according to the plans.

"The three-story terra cotta building was once home to the Hudson Motor Car Company, which was in operation from 1909 to 1954. It was designed by Chicago architect Alfred Alschuler in 1922, according to Preservation Chicago.

"The development is the latest in ongoing efforts to revitalize Motor Row, which was designated a Chicago Landmark District in 2000. Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced $11 million in infrastructure improvements in July." (Nesbitt Golden, Block Club Chicago, 12/6/22)

"The building’s facades will undergo a complete restoration as part of the project. On the S. Michigan Ave frontage, all of the historic windows will be restored, and a new door will be installed to allow for necessary egress. The white terracotta will be repaired and cleaned, with the remainder of the cast iron storefront and center entry frame set to be restored as well.

"To allow for proper light and ventilation to the residential units, a center portion of the north elevation will be removed on the second and third floors. The other volumetric change will be on the roof where a one-story addition will be added to house residential units and rooftop amenities. To avoid adversely affecting the building’s frontage along S. Michigan Ave, the addition will be setback 88 feet, while the volume will setback just 28 feet from S. Wabash Ave. The outdoor space facing S. Michigan Ave will feature a roof deck and outdoor pool. (Kugler, Urbanize Chicago, 12/6/22)

Preservation Chicago has been a longtime advocate for the Chicago Motor Row District and we are pleased to see the Hudson Motor Car Company adaptive reuse moving forward.

Read the full story at Block Club Chicago and Urbanize Chicago

"Since starting out five years ago on Chicago Avenue in West Town as a prized project of former Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the manufacturing incubator mHUB has been doing noble work.

"It connects emerging entrepreneurs, many of them minorities, to the funding and advanced know-how needed to get started. The organization said it has had a hand in 500 startups and business expansions that have gone on to create 4,000 jobs. Its ultimate mission is to make sure Chicago keeps its place in global manufacturing, whatever happens with financial pressures and supply chains.

"Factory jobs are good for economic diversity and a source of decent wages for jobs that might not require advanced degrees. So the average person has a rooting interest in mHUB’s success.

"It’s coming because mHUB is embarking on a $46.8 million venture for which it is slated to get $17.6 million in city help via tax increment financing plus state funding of $9.6 million. The incubator’s equity in the project is $350,000.

"The agreement would let mHUB acquire a nearly century-old three-story building with a clock tower at 240 N. Ashland Ave. It has a contract to pay $32.5 million for the building owned by Peppercorn Capital. In turn, mHUB can vacate leased space at 965 W. Chicago Ave. The plan is for the sale to close early in 2023 and for mHUB to occupy the new space by the end of that year.

"It’s a classy building, listed in the city’s historic resources survey as contributing to the character of the Kinzie Industrial Corridor. The area runs west of the hot Fulton Market District and is feeling the development pressure from it. The building used to be a Cook Brothers warehouse store and then the home of Crate & Barrel spinoff CB2, but has been vacant since 2019.

"City officials said the subsidy agreement would encourage growth in manufacturing jobs while preserving a building that otherwise would fall prey to the next residential developer. Helping mHUB, said Assistant Planning Commissioner Terrence Johnson, would be 'a catalyst for a key economic sector that has previously been identified as a city priority.'

"Planning Commissioner Maurice Cox attributed the above-market price to the presence of other bidders in an area where attractive parcels are getting snapped up. 'The building comes at a pretty high cost, but it’s also a prestigious building. 'This is a brick-and-mortar investment that we’re making in the future of light manufacturing in Chicago,' Cox said." (Roeder, Chicago Sun-Times, 11/14/22)

"The Thielbar and Fugard designed Prairie Style Cameron Building was built in 1926 and served as a manufacturing plant for many years for the Cameron Can Company, before becoming the headquarters for Crate & Barrel’s CB2 until 2019. Now mHUB is looking to leave its current 63,000-square-foot location at 965 W Chicago Avenue in River West and purchase the 80,000-square-foot historical site, as their current lease expires by next year and rents skyrocket. The manufacturing focused start-up incubator has led to 410 patents, 3,900 new jobs, and millions in raised capital for its companies." (Achong, Chicago YIMBY, 11/20/22)

As part of this significant investment of public funds, Preservation Chicago strongly encourages the City of Chicago to consider Chicago Landmark designation for the Cameron Building / Cook Brothers Building. This building is a strong candidate for designation considering its design by notable architects and significant building history.

While Preservation Chicago strongly encourages the use of City funds to restore and reactivate Chicago Landmarks and Landmark eligible buildings, we maintain that application for Chicago Landmark designation status be a requirement for eligibility for the significant investment of public funds.

Read the full story at Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago YIMBY

"When it comes to what community members want to replace the Mars candy factory 2019 N. Oak Park Ave. in Galewood once it closed in 2024, the people have spoken. Residents have settled on a mixed-use development for the site.

"'So this is a factory with walls,' Goldstein said on Oct. 8. 'Now we’re trying to create a community without walls.'

"The design proposal that the majority of community members recommended during the fourth meeting features a 'boulevard' design, which is a style that provides lots of green space and is bifurcated into seven different areas.

"One area includes roughly three acres designed for neighborhood commercial or healthcare uses. Another seven acres is split in two, with one side dedicated to a training, education or recreation space. The other half would house offices and a business incubator. Additional acreage will be divided into a space housing an outdoor classroom, a wildlife habitat space and an area dedicated to urban farming and renewable energy, among other uses.

"A landscaped boulevard path will stretch throughout the areas for access and a service road along the railroad will allow trucks to travel to the urban farming or business areas, eliminating residential traffic on the other side of the site, Goldstein said.

"During the fourth meeting on Oct. 8, Kandalyn Hahn, representing the historic preservation division of the Commission on Chicago Landmarks, said she’s confident that once a status report is complete, the city will focus on preserving the factory’s original facade dating to 1929.

"'The majority of landmark preservations only concern the exterior,' she said. 'That means whatever you want to do to the interior — you can do it.'

"Whether or not the site will become a landmark, however, comes down to a City Council vote following the completion of the report.

"Hahn said the Mars factory site is considered an orange-rated building, meaning it has significance within a neighborhood context. She said the determination of landmark status is a six- to 12-month process.

"She said the commission has met with Mars representatives to notify them of the building’s orange-rated status. A consultant has begun examining the building’s history and architecture to determine if it meets at least two of the seven criteria for landmark status.

"The design recommendation made by attendees over the course of the five meetings will be reviewed by Mars executives, who will make the final decision about the factory’s future.

"Following this decision, Mars will communicate with the community on a quarterly basis to update residents on the decision and buildout process, said Ben Anders, the sponsorship and engagement manager at Mars." (O'Toole, Austin Weekly News, 11/11/22)

Preservation Chicago has attended many public meetings to voice support neighborhood preservation partners, to discuss the benefits of historic preservation, and provide expertise regarding the landmarking process. The Mars factory community meetings have been well run and there is now strong, nearly universal support for a historic preservation to the 1929 building and other historically significant structures. We hope that a Chicago Landmark Designation will be pursued as well.

"The foreign investor that bought part of a vintage Loop office building in June has now acquired the rest of it, which it plans to turn into roughly 100 apartments as demand for downtown residential units soars.

"A high-net-worth European family advised by Swiss investment firm 4c AG paid $8.2 million last month for the upper half of the 14-story building at 79 W. Monroe St., according to sources familiar with the deal. The purchase from Chicago developer R2 came roughly four months after the same buyer paid $40.5 million for the lower half, which is almost fully leased to a school and a Walgreens location.

"R2 had marketed the roughly 80,000-square-foot block of space on floors eight through 14 in the building as an apartment conversion opportunity amid weak demand for downtown offices and record-high downtown apartment rents. Now the buyer plans to execute that vision, betting that the center of the Loop is poised to become more of a mixed-use neighborhood as effects of the COVID-19 pandemic fade.

"The project would be in line with a new initiative from Mayor Lori Lightfoot to incentivize the conversion of outmoded office buildings on and near LaSalle Street into apartments. City officials are dangling public subsidies to help finance such projects—and ensure they include affordable units—counting on redevelopments to help restore vibrancy in the heart of the central business district where many companies have decamped and where the rise of remote work has decimated daily foot traffic.

"R2 Principal Jason Trailov said the buyer has retained R2 as a third-party manager and adviser to help with the partial redevelopment of the Bell Federal Savings & Loan building, which is known for its Weather Bell sign hanging over the corner of Monroe and Clark streets that changes color as it predicts temperature changes. Timing of the project is unclear, but there are a series of small tenants in the space today that would need to move out or be relocated to begin work.

"R2's continued involvement in the property "demonstrates where we see this asset ultimately going, and fitting into what will hopefully be a more vibrant, 24-7 central business district," Trailov said." (Ecker, Crain's Chicago Business, 11/15/22)

The 14-story Rector Building/Chicago Trust Building/Chicago Title and Trust Building /Bell Federal Savings & Loan Building is located at 79 W. Monroe Street. The original Chicago skyscraper was sesigned by Jarvis Hunt in 1906. In 1924 Holabird & Roche designed a highly complementary and seamless addition to the south.

The Bell Federal Savings & Loan Building is well-known for its distinctive weather prediction clock. The “Weather Bell” was installed in the mid-1950s and changes colors based on the temperature. It even had its own 1950’s-era jingle:

When Weather Bell is emerald green

No change in temperature is foreseen.

When Weather Bell is glowing red

Warmer weather is ahead.

When Weather Bell is gleaming gold

A temperature drop is foretold

When Weather Bell is in agitation,

Prepare yourself for precipitation.

Architect Jarvis Hunt also designed the Lake Shore Athletic Club at 850 North Lake Shore Drive, the Chicago Tribune printing plant at 430 N. St. Clair, Peoples Trust & Savings Bank at 30 North Michigan, Saddle & Cycle Club, 900 North Michigan Avenue (demolished), and Lake-Michigan Building at 201 N. Michigan (demolished).

Originally, the building had an elaborate, multi-story masonry cornice. Preservation Chicago strongly encourages the developer to rebuild the lost cornice and other lost elements to return the building to it historic appearance. This beautifully crafted building by architect Jarvis Hunt with later additions by Holabird & Roche would qualify for a Designated Chicago Landmark. Preservation Chicago encourages the developer to pursue a Chicago Landmark Designation for this important Chicago building.

"The owner of a vintage 16-story office building on LaSalle Street is facing a $21 million foreclosure lawsuit, adding to a wave of distress on the historic-but-vacancy-ridden thoroughfare and teeing up a potential conversion of the property into a residential or other use.

"The lawsuit is one of many like it that have battered office landlords since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which fueled the rise of remote work and weakened demand for offices—particularly those in older Loop office buildings. Space-shedding has pushed downtown office vacancy to a record high, dwindling the bottom lines for many office building owners. Rising interest rates this year have made it even more difficult for landlords to sell or refinance their mortgages, forcing a number of them in the Loop to face foreclosure lawsuits or surrender their properties to their lenders without a fight.

"The financial pain has been severe along and near LaSalle Street, where Mayor Lori Lightfoot's administration is now hoping investors will buy outmoded office buildings at big discounts and convert them into residential uses. City planners are counting on such redevelopment to help bring much-needed foot traffic and vitality to the heart of the central business district.

"The William LeBaron Jenney-designed building was originally known as the Central YMCA Association Building when it opened in 1893. The building's largest tenant today is the Law Offices of Jeffery Leving, which has a lease for 15,642 square feet set to expire in July 2023, Bloomberg data shows.

"The building is rated 'orange' by the Chicago Historic Resources Survey, a city report completed in 1995 to analyze the historic and architectural importance of all buildings in the city constructed before 1940. The orange rating is for properties that are not landmarked but "possess some architectural feature or historical association that made them potentially significant in the context of the surrounding community," according to the survey. That makes them likely candidates to receive tax credits or other public subsidies earmarked for historic properties if a developer would restore them as part of a renovation or conversion to a new use. Other historic, distressed properties nearby include the former Bank of America offices at 135 S. LaSalle St., the majority of an office tower at 105 W. Adams St. and a block of offices above the JW Marriott Chicago hotel at 208 S. LaSalle St.

19.

"Incentives could come into play at 19 S. LaSalle through the city's new 'LaSalle Reimagined' initiative, which is dangling tax-increment financing and other public subsidy sweeteners to get developers to convert old LaSalle office buildings into apartments with affordable units.

"The 19 S. LaSalle property is separated by a pedestrian alley from the building at 29 S. LaSalle St., the only former office building on the corridor to be converted into apartments. That building, now dubbed Millennium on LaSalle, includes 216 units and debuted last year." (Ecker, Crain's Chicago Business, 11/2/22)

"From its creation in 1923, the Belden-Stratford apartment building in Chicago’s Lincoln Park community was designed for an elite crowd. Over the years, its status slipped. But now, courtesy of a top-to-bottom renovation backed by billionaire Joe Mansueto, it soon will have a new introduction in high society.

"Mansueto’s investment firm, Mansueto Office, acquired it in late 2018, paying $106 million. The renovation began in earnest last year, and the plan is to have new tenants arrive beginning in January. Rents start around $3,000 a month for a studio and go up to almost $8,000 for three bedrooms.

"The makeover gives the building 209 units, compared with up to 650 units it had in its hotel days. Ari Glass, head of real estate at Mansueto Office, said the work restores the original distinction of a beaux-arts design that mimicked the palaces of France’s Louis XIV. The architect was Meyer Fridstein, whose other works include Chicago’s Congress Theater and Shoreland Hotel, now a rental building in Hyde Park.

"The restoration also brings in amenities for today’s tastes. A ballroom has been converted into a fitness center. Residents will get a wine-tasting space, a lounge with billiards and a rooftop sundeck. An on-call Tesla rental service is due when you need wheels to show off.

"Glass declined to disclose how much Mansueto, founder and executive chairman of investment research firm Morningstar, is paying for the work. On that point, Krikhaar added, 'It’s more than most developers would spend on a project like this because of his love for this building.' Glass said Mansueto lived in the building during the 1980s; he’s still in the neighborhood, in a well-known modern mansion, but he likes the old styles, too.

"Mansueto owns the Wrigley Building, which he carefully restored, and the Waldorf Astoria Chicago. He also owns the Chicago Fire and a speculative industrial site that’s trying to bring jobs to West Humboldt Park. He was an investor in the Chicago Sun-Times, and the newspaper receives funding from the Mansueto Foundation.

"He provided this statement about the Belden-Stratford: 'As a former resident, my desire to invest in this property came from my personal love of this city, neighborhood and preserving great architecture. So returning The Belden to its former glory was an easy decision — especially as the building approaches its 100th anniversary. It’s wonderful to preserve an iconic building for many generations to come.'" (Roeder, Crain's Chicago Business, 11/7/22)

Preservation Chicago had worked for years with preservation partners to generate support for a Lincoln Park West Chicago Landmark District to protect the Belden-Stratford and other historic buildings from Lincoln Park's intense development pressure. We are thrilled that the buyer of the Belden-Stratford so deeply values the building's history and we applaud Joe Mansueto for his commitment to beautifully restoring this important Chicago building. Additionally, we encourage ownership to pursue a Chicago Landmark designation to fully recognize, celebrate and protect the Belden-Stratford for decades to come.

"Longtime owners of the iconic Flat Iron Arts Building in the center of Wicker Park have sold the property to a pair of local real estate developers.

"The Flat Iron Arts Building, 1579 N. Milwaukee Ave., has for decades been home to artist studios, performance spaces, cultural organizations and many other local businesses with an artistic bent.

"Since 1993, the Flat Iron has been owned and managed by Berger Realty Group, which also operates the Fine Arts Building, 410 S. Michigan Ave., and other properties in Chicago. But the company recently sold the Flat Iron Arts Building, according to a notice sent to tenants this week.

"'Berger Realty Group has decided to transition the ownership of the building. Let me be clear: this was no easy or quick decision, and as such, we took our time finding the right people to take over the building and to continue the legacy!' a message signed by owner Erica Berger reads.

"My father bought the Flat Iron Arts Building over 30 years ago with a vision of encouraging established as well as aspiring Chicago artists. I’m glad that as we step away to focus on other projects, we were able to identify a Chicago-based firm with owners who are engaged in the city and in the arts. We believe their experience, coupled with their appreciation and understanding of the building and the neighborhood, will be fruitful and beneficial for the community in the decades to come,' she wrote in an email.

"The building’s new owners are Savas Er, principal of North American Real Estate, and real estate investor Buzz Ruttenberg, who has long been a supporter of the arts in the Chicago.

"Reached by phone Wednesday, Er said he and Ruttenberg plan to keep the building’s artist studios in place. Their main focus will be expanding retail options in the building, he said, including in the vacant storefront at the corner of Milwaukee and North avenues.

"'It’s one of the greatest corners in the city and it’s one of the greatest buildings in the city,' Er said. 'At this point, we’re not looking to make any drastic moves. We would love to settle and see how the building is working right now. And if there is any space to upgrade, we will upgrade it.'

"The Flat Iron Building has long been an epicenter of arts and culture in Wicker Park. Local tour guide Gordon Meyer said when he first moved to the neighborhood in 2005, he was amazed by the 'labyrinth' of studios and art spaces in the building.

"Over the years, the building has been “ground zero for the artistic renaissance of this neighborhood. [Like] back in the ’70s when it was turned into below-market art studios, expressly so artists can move in,' Meyer said. 'And then now, all these years later, it’s kind of the last vestige … of an artistic center in the community.'

"'There used to be a lot more studios and galleries and things around. But as property rates improved, I don’t think there are as many of those as there used to be, but the Flat Iron has hung on,' Meyer said." (Myers, Block Club Chicago, 11/3/22)

"Residents of Chicago’s South Side overwhelmingly voted to oppose the removal of thousands of trees because of construction around the Obama Presidential Center and a proposed golf course project.

"The nonbinding referendum was added to the ballot in seven precincts through the efforts of Save Jackson Park, a group that advocates for the park and South Shore Cultural Center Park. This group is fighting for the city to stop removing trees for the sake of development and instead preserve existing ones due to ongoing public health concerns for the city’s tree canopy.

"'At what point do we start respecting that we need trees to breathe, especially in Chicago?' said Jeannette Hoyt, founder of the group. Hoyt said the group wanted to put tree preservation in the hands of voters to 'give residents a voice.'

"Residents were posed this question on Tuesday’s ballot: 'Shall the city of Chicago and the Chicago Park District stop cutting down trees in Jackson Park and preserve the trees in South Shore Cultural Center Park?'

"Results show that about 80% of respondents in each precinct answered yes.

"Construction of the Obama Center in Jackson Park involved the removal of more than 300 trees on site and in the future, more than 350 throughout the park for traffic flow, according to documents from the Chicago Department of Transportation.

"Tiger Woods’ company, TGR Design, has also proposed the restoration of the two parks’ golf courses by combining them into one 18-hole PGA-worthy course. According to documents of the design, this development could involve removal of 2,100 trees from the parks.

"Construction for the Obama Center began in 2021 and most on-site trees have been cleared. To manage traffic, CDOT has also proposed removing trees to widen certain roads around the park, including Stony Island Avenue.

"'The thing that makes Jackson Park golf course so extraordinarily gorgeous is that the trees are interspersed throughout, as like you’re walking through an urban parkland,' Hoyt said.

"Hoyt received documents about the TGR Design proposal in March via a Freedom of Information Act request to the Chicago Park District. One page outlining the site’s ecology states that the existing Jackson Park golf course is characterized by mature canopy trees. More than 500 heritage trees can be found on the course and the nearby park at the South Shore Cultural Center, according to the document. A heritage tree is a large tree often considered irreplaceable because of its age and ability to filter air, shade homes and provide habitat.

"A table in the document shows that on the Jackson Park golf course, around half of the heritage trees are slated for removal, and at the South Shore site, 110 out of 163 identified heritage trees would be removed. (Ellis, Chicago Tribune, 11/13/22)

"Several U.S. officials on October 21 visited the Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ where leaders and historians gathered to share the historic significance of the church that held the funeral of Emmett Till.

"The meeting came as the church marks its 100th Anniversary in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood.

"A Chicago landmark, the church is currently undergoing renovations as Senator Dick Durbin and U.S. Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland seek to designate it as a National Historic Monument. The designation would offer the church federal support from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the National Park Service for its role in the Civil Rights Movement.

"In addition to Durbin, Congressmen Bobby Rush and Danny K. Davis also attended the event.

"During her visit, Haaland said she met some of Till’s relatives and church officials. She also talked about the Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ’s rich history.

"'These walls have borne witness to say much. That’s the meaning of community and I see it here in abundance,' Haaland said. 'I’m here because this church is a key part of our nation’s history.'

"As part of the designation process, U.S. officials visited the church to gather input from residents about the church’s pivotal role after Till was murdered in 1955.

"Maurice Cox, Chicago’s first Black Commissioner of Planning and Development, pointed out other Chicago landmarks in the Black community that are tied to Till’s life and death. He mentioned the original building of the Chicago Defender in Bronzeville and the Johnson Publishing Company building on Michigan Avenue. Both publications were the first to publish photos of Till’s mutilated face. He also mentioned Till’s home in Woodlawn that became a Chicago landmark in 2021.

"'All the Till sites in Chicago and Mississippi matter because they are physical reminders of the people and events that changed the course of history,' Cox said.

"'There is no other place in the United States that bears witness to how the galvanization of the Civil Rights Movement impacted not only the United States but the world,' said Sherry Williams, founder and president of the Bronzeville Historical Society. 'I encourage madame secretary to bring a message of love and encouragement to our president to designate Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ a national monument.'

Ward Miller was invited to speak at the event and shared Preservation Chicago's decades long effort to recognize, honor and protect the memory of Emmett Till and Mamie Till Mobley through Chicago Landmark Designations. Preservation Chicago played an important role in the landmark designation of Roberts Temple in 2006.

More recently, Preservation Chicago played an essential role in coordinating all the stakeholders and ensuring that Emmett Till & Mamie Till-Mobley Home finally became a Designated Chicago Landmark in 2021.

We continue to advocate to designate the McCosh Elementary/Emmett Till Academy public school as a Designated Chicago Landmark and hope that stakeholders will move forward with an Emmett Till Memorial Path connecting his home and school.

"Englewood residents and community organizers have been pushing for years to get the 63rd Street and Racine Avenue Green Line station reopened — and it’s easy to see why.

"The station was once a convenient midway point between the line’s Ashland Avenue and Halsted Street stops, which are a mile apart. But the Racine station was shuttered in 1994 as part of the massive Green Line rebuild.

"But now, residents and organizers are circulating a petition aimed at gathering enough signatures to make the station’s reopening a non-binding referendum question on the Feb. 28 municipal elections ballot.

"The effort isn’t getting any support from the CTA, though. The agency cites declining ridership at the station 30 years ago and a $100 million price tag to reopen and modernize the stop.

"But public transit investment is either an important factor in rebuilding disinvested communities — that’s part of the justification for the planned $3.6 billion Red Line extension — or it isn’t. The CTA can’t have it both ways.

"Rather than just dismiss reopening the stop, the CTA should instead work with the city’s Planning Department to figure out a redevelopment plan for Racine Avenue that factors in the reopened station.

"The Racine stop opened in 1907, with its Greek Revival entrance — which is still there — leading to elevated tracks.

"Under the current grassroots effort to reopen the stop, called 'Green Light the Green Line,' the renewed station would again fulfill the role it played in better days as a neighborhood hub.

Fraise, 62, who grew up two blocks from the stop, said the station, during its heyday, had a concession stand that sold snacks, comic books and other items. She said the station was part of an economic ecosystem nearby that included grocers, a record store and other shops.

"'While it was open, it actually contributed to the economy,” Fraise said. “It kind of held the neighborhood up.'" (Chicago Sun-Times Editorial Board, 11/29/22)

"The Englewood branch of the South Side Rapid Transit began construction in 1903. It opened in segments, beginning November 3, 1905 with a shuttle from the main line at 58th Street to State Street. By December 10 it was extended to Wentworth and Princeton (actually 61st Street) on January 11, 1906. The next segment to Harvard Street opened November 3 (the victim of a 226-day iron workers' strike). Parnell and Halsted to the opened just in time for last minute Christmas shopping on December 24. On February 25, 1907, the branch was extended to Center Street (now Racine Avenue), opening the station there. The rest of the line was opened to its terminal at Loomis Blvd on July 13, 1907.

"The facility at Racine consists of a grade-level station house on the west side of the street, with stairs from the rear of the building leading to dual side boarding platforms at the elevated track level. The station was constructed in 1905-06, designed by architect Earl Nielson, engineered by Charles Weston of the South Side Elevated Railroad Company staff and built by the American Bridge Company of New York.

"The 40' by 40' station house is constructed of brick with copper and wood trim, stone sills and limestone column bases executed in the Greek Revival style. The most prominent feature of the front elevation is the triangular pediment above the front windows and doorway, which along with the articulated cornice, triglyphs and pilasters made the building resemble a Doric temple. The front elevation has a center doorway for entry flanked by windows on each side. The building is flanked on each end by a side hallway, which leads from the front elevation to the rear, bypassing the interior fare control area. These could be used for auxiliary exiting or entry during pay-on-train periods. At the end of the station's service life, they were used for exiting only, regulated by high-barrier rotogates.

"The interior was built with wooden floors and plaster walls and ceiling. Window and door frames are wooden. A vestibule was located at the front doorway. The rear doorways leading to the platforms are located in the northwest corner of the interior, while a restroom and porter's closet are located in the southwest corner. An ornate wooden ticket agent's booth was located in the middle of the north half of the interior.

"From the back of the station house, a stairway leads up to a mezzanine level, then splits into two stairways to each of the station's dual side platforms. The platforms are typical of those on the Englewood branch, with wood decking on a steel structure. The canopies are supported from the back of the platform, with steel arched supports and latticework along the back and a hipped corrugated metal roof. The original pipe railings were later replaced with simple angle iron. The original shepherd's crook light fixtures with incandescent bulbs were also later replaced with box-shaped sodium vapor lights." (Chicago-L.org)

"Carlos Nelson used to drive past the 'lifeless' building at 839 W. 79th St. almost every day for years.

"Home to a drab public aid office in the 1970s, city officials bricked over the 18-by-18-foot windows on the ground floor and boarded up the second and third floor windows when the office closed. The nearly 100-year-old terra cotta building sat vacant for decades — but Nelson saw potential for revival.

"After seven years of work, Nelson looked on Friday as Auburn Gresham’s four-story Healthy Lifestyle Hub w24.elcomed dozens of neighbors with a Hollywood red carpet, live music and healthy food.

"Community leaders and local officials cut the ribbon in October but Friday’s extravaganza was for neighbors to roam the halls for the first time, said Nelson, executive director at the Greater Auburn Gresham Development Corporation.

"A 'dark and dismal' sight in Auburn Gresham is now a beacon of light offering medical care, nutritious food, community space and other services steps away from neighbors’ homes, Nelson said.

"'I used to see this building and the boarded-up windows, and it hurt to think of what others thought about our people,' Nelson said. 'When I visualized the Healthy Hub, I wanted to be able to bring life into this building. We wanted to light up 79th Street, literally and figuratively. Today is a day of excitement.'

"The Healthy Lifestyle is proof if you give a neighborhood the proper resources, 'we can make great things happen,' Nelson said.

"The South Side development corporation received $4 million from Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s Invest South/West program in 2020 to create the lifestyle hub. Months later, the project won the first ever Pritzker Traubert Foundation’s $10 million Chicago Prize to bring the vision closer to reality.

"Now, the healthy living center will encourage others to see the greatness that thrives in the neighborhood, Nelson said.

"'The Healthy Lifestyle Hub lets neighbors know that Auburn Gresham is a place where they need to grow their roots, reinvest and raise their families,' Nelson said. 'I want people to tell their kids and grandkids about this so people can look at Auburn Gresham, see a beautiful brick bungalow community, and say, ‘Alright, let’s invest here. Let’s grow our families and build wealth here.'" (Reed, Block Club Chicago, 11/15/22)

"Buildings by Modernist master Mies van der Rohe have reached an age where they may require rehabilitation. Recent examples include alterations to the 1972 Martin Luther King Jr. Library in Washington, D.C., by Mecanoo and to the 1968 Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin by David Chipperfield. Both projects involved painstaking restoration. In Chicago, for the $70 million makeover of three dormitories, which form a quadrangle at the northeast corner of the Mies-designed campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), architect Dirk Denison took a different approach.

"When we think of Mies, we usually think of elegantly detailed curtain walls with refined vertical proportions. But these nine-story, 72,000-square-foot dorms, originally completed between 1953 and 1955, are more modest. Alternating horizontal bands of buff-colored brick and aluminum-sash windows fill their exposed concrete frames. Former Chicago Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin calls them 'workhorses,' in contrast to 'masterworks' such as Crown Hall, the much-revered 1956 steel-and-glass landmark, which is home to IIT’s College of Architecture and was faithfully restored by Krueck Sexton Partners and Harboe Architects in 2005.

Does a workhorse deserve the same deferential preservation as a masterwork? That depends on several factors, including how badly the buildings have deteriorated. Deferred maintenance had rendered these unhabitable. Water penetrated roofs, basements, and brick knee walls, which had no weep holes to let it out; radiant heating in concrete floors was beyond repair; and windows, badly corroded, single-glazed, and thermally unbroken, rendered interiors defenseless against Chicago’s weather extremes. As a result, the dorms sat vacant for 10 years.

Then, there was the renovation budget: approximately $300 per square foot and a condensed schematics-through-construction schedule that ranged from 15 to 18 months for each building.

"'A reliable preservation motto,' says architectural historian Michelangelo Sabatino, who, like Denison, teaches at IIT, 'is repair, don’t replace.' But Denison and project architect Justin DeGroff, working in a design-build partnership with Gilbane Building Company and guided by the Commission on Chicago Landmarks, determined that little beyond the painted concrete frames and brick-clad elevator cores could be salvaged. 'We recognized,' says Denison, 'that we needed to go beyond preservation into what we’ve been calling ‘heritage renovation.’ Our first and most crucial decision was to set a constraint: we would maintain the exterior appearance in line with Mies’s design intent.'

"Denison completely rebuilt the exterior envelope. He replaced the outer wythe of brick, matching the color as closely as possible while adding insulation and moisture management behind. New windows look much like the originals, but with insulating glass and thermally broken aluminum frames in a clear anodized finish. On the ground level, floor-to-ceiling glass enclosures now have double glazing. To accommodate its additional thickness, the architects had to beef up the storefront-style framing, but they diminished its visual impact, ironically, by adding a signature Mies detail that had not been there: the re-entrant corner." (Gauer, Architectural Record, 11/14/22)

"Harper Theater’s ownership is changing hands, and the theater will temporarily close on Nov. 30 for months of renovations and other proprietary changes, before reopening early next year.

"Tony Fox, who has been in charge of the theater at 5238 S. Harper Ave. for the past 10 years, said he’s retiring from show business. 'It was the honor of a lifetime, but I’m getting out of the movie theater business,' he said.

"Even before the pandemic, smaller movie theaters across the country struggled with declining ticket sales; for owners like Fox, COVID-19 shutdowns and an insufficient consumer rebound were the nails in the coffin.

"Fox said that it became more difficult to negotiate with studios in 2019, after the Trump administration’s Department of Justice moved to roll back antitrust case law regulating film distribution. The eventual repeal of The Paramount Decree of 1948, which placed bans on things like 'block booking' (selling multiple films in a package to force theaters to play less-desirable movies), was a blow to small, independent theaters.

"The theater space itself is owned by the University of Chicago, which then leases out the property. During the U. of C.’s Harper Court development in the 2000s, the university searched for a proprietor to reopen the theater, which had been boarded up since 2002.

"Fox, who owned (and still operates) the New 400 Theater in Rogers Park, said he was first approached by the U. of C. back in 2009 and signed the lease in 2012.

"The prairie-style building was designed by Chicago architect Horatio Wilson in 1915 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Upon taking over the space, Fox was tasked with reengineering it for the 21st century.

"Changes included improving audience sight-lines — 90% of which were obstructed — and converting the theater from projecting reels of 35mm film to digital. Over the last 10 years, Fox said, Harper Theater has sold over a million tickets and donated $30,000 primarily to local charities.

"The U. of C.’s office of Commercial Real Estate Operations finalized plans with their new vendor, Main Street Theatres, on Tuesday, Nov. 10. A small movie theater chain based in Omaha, Neb., Main Street Theatres operates five movie theaters across Nebraska, Iowa and Wisconsin.

"According to Michael Barstow, Main Street Theatres’ executive vice president and a Chicago resident, the company will move into Harper Theater on Dec. 1 to begin renovations and other upgrades throughout the building.

"The movie theater will retain its four screens and the layout will remain the same. It will also keep the name Harper Theater and all the corresponding signage and marquee out front.

"The company, which is family-owned, was drawn to Harper Theater because 'they have experience on college campuses and being very much neighborhood feeders… immediately it felt familiar,' Barstow said." (Pharo, Hyde Park Herald, 11/10/22)

"A Walgreens official surprised Wicker Park neighbors this week by saying a flagship location inside a renovated bank in the heart of the neighborhood is closing — but company representatives are now saying that’s up in the air.

"A Walgreens spokesperson said no decision has been made to close its centerpiece store in the former Noel State Bank, 1601 N. Milwaukee Ave. Company representatives told neighbors it was closing at a community meeting Wednesday.

"Walgreens took over the former bank a decade ago, undertaking extensive renovations as it transformed it into a pharmacy and drugstore.

The branch became known for its ornate interior and repurposed bank features, including the “Vitamin Vault,” which stores rows of vitamins in the former vault in the building’s basement.

"Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st) said Walgreens reached out to him Thursday and confirmed no decision has been made.

"The Noel State Bank building was constructed in 1919 and was home to various banks throughout the 20th century, according to a 2007 report from the Commission on Chicago Landmarks.

"'Designed by Gardner C. Coughlen in a dignified Classical Revival-style, the design of the bank expresses an image of permanence and security. The exterior is clad entirely in ornamental terra cotta. Large windows are divided by engaged pilasters topped with Corinthian capitals, and a prominent cornice wraps around the rounded corners of the building,' the report reads.

"Walgreens opened the store in 2012 after two years of building restorations.

"The drugstore location has become a fixture on TikTok and in other media for its unique features, with some calling it a 'hidden gem,' even though it’s located in the middle of Wicker Park." (Myers, Block Club Chicago, 10/7/22)

"Sweetgreen is opening a restaurant this week in Lincoln Park.

"The Sweetgreen opens Tuesday at Lincoln Common, 2361 N. Lincoln Ave., Suite A1-110.

"The 2,769-square-foot space is a former 1930s boiler house that was rehabilitated and renovated to keep its industrial-era elements, such as exposed brick, beams and piping, according to Sweetgreen.

"The dining area features a double-height ceiling, handmade tiles and custom millwork, company leaders said. It has room for 26 diners. (Wittich, Block Club Chicago, 10/31/22)

Children's Memorial Hospital campus was a Preservation Chicago 7 Most Endangered in 2011 and 2016. After a long and complicated advocacy effort, most the of campus buildings were lost. However, Preservation Chicago and preservation partners were able to save the Children's Memorial Hospital Laundry Building and Boiler House along with two commercial structures. We're pleased to see this interesting historic building restored and reactivated.

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

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

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

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

"The 2022 winners include:

Recipient: City of Chicago

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

Recipient: Phoenix Development Partners

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

Recipient: Lincoln Park Zoo

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

Recipient: Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church

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

Recipient: Vista Group Real Estate

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

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

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

Lisa DiChiera, Emeritus Advocacy Director of Landmarks Illinois

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

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

"When we first reported on Emily Nielsen in a 2016 'Women to Watch' column, the fate of her campaign, #SaveTheShrine, was a cliffhanger. The Shrine of Christ the King at 64th and Woodlawn was marked for immediate demolition. Emily along with her co-founder Gabriel Piemonte and about 20 other committed volunteers, backed by professional preservationists, raced the clock to raise $650,000 and obtain 2,250 names on an online petition. The Woodlawn neighborhood made it their project as well and many from diverse religious backgrounds, including those without church affiliation, committed to the cause.

"At the time Emily commented: 'We are delighted that the Archdiocese was able to come up with such an innovative solution to save the Shrine. It is now owned by the Institute of Christ the King, the international order of priests who have been serving the Shrine community since 2004. This is the only instance I know of where a diocese has divested itself of a historic church building, while transferring ownership to an entity which will continue to operate it as a place of Catholic worship. This is really a win-win-win for everyone: the faithful, the neighborhood, architecture lovers, and the Archdiocese.'

"The Shrine of Christ the King church, completed in 1928 as St. Clara Church and Landmarked as St. Gelasius in 2003, is a Chicago Landmark which has been damaged by fires in both 1976 and 2015. Reflecting the Renaissance Revival style with several Baroque elements, the church was designed by ecclesiastical architect Henry J. Schlacks, who later became the founding director of the Notre Dame School of Architecture.

"Over the past six years, more than $3 million has been raised to restore the Shrine, with funds coming from parishioners, preservationists and neighbors as well as the National Fund for Sacred Places. Nielsen, who serves as board president of Save the Shrine, led not only fundraising efforts but also the search for Save the Shrine’s Managing Director Jennifer Blackman.

"Nielsen addressed the National Trust soon after the victory, the youngest person to have been invited to speak to the organization. What had been a practically around-the-clock effort in 2016 became for all involved a success story. Not only were major preservation groups such as Preservation Chicago, Landmarks Illinois, and the Chicago Field Office of the National Trust critical to the success but also neighborhood groups in Hyde Park, Woodlawn, and Kenwood joined the effort.

"Once again, all is up for grabs. On July 31st, in accordance with an order from the Archdiocese of Chicago, a sign was posted on the Shrine’s chapel door stating, 'As of August 1st, the celebration of public Masses is suspended.'

"This announcement has implications not only for those who wish to partake in the Latin Mass, but also for Woodlawn area Catholics who now will have to go elsewhere for religious celebration. Suspension of the masses in Woodlawn relates to a recent papal decree limiting the traditional Latin Mass worldwide. St. John Cantius is the only remaining church celebrating this Mass in Chicago at this time.

"'There is a widespread feeling of betrayal among all the groups who have supported the Shrine’s restoration over the past six years,' Nielsen said. 'Members of the First Presbyterian Church next door, which has been so supportive since the start, joined the Shrine’s Canons and faithful in their final procession around the neighborhood on July 31st. The university students who have given so many volunteer hours to the restoration project, both the Media Communications students at Kennedy King College down 63rd St. from the Shrine, and the graduate students from the University of Chicago who have participated through the Harris School of Public Policy’s Harris Community Action program, they have stayed engaged with the Shrine and I see their shock and disbelief in their reactions on social media.'

"'The Shrine is a Chicago Landmark and we hope that this designation will be a strong protection,' she said. Nielsen and other members of the Save the Shrine team appeared before the Chicago Landmarks Commission in August and September to tell their story." (Carmack Bross, Classic Chicago Magazine, 10/29/22)

"Thirty years ago, Robin Lestina-Cikanek’s crowded, small kitchen placed second in an ugly kitchen contest.

"The longtime Portage Park resident is one of two neighborhood bungalow owners who received awards this month for home improvement work as part of the Driehaus Bungalow Awards. The competition, created in 2005 by the Chicago Bungalow Association, honors the creativity and preservation efforts of bungalow owners for projects large and small.

"The competition received a record 100 nominations this year and most entries came from Portage Park, according to a press release. Fourteen were selected throughout the Northwest and Southwest sides of the city.

"With help from a family friend, Lestina-Cikanek completely rehabbed her kitchen within the existing framework of the room, adding a large white island in the middle, more cabinets, a dishwasher, a large sink and more storage space.

"Lestina-Cikanek and her husband, Bill Cikanek, have lived in the home on the 4500 block of North McVicker Avenue for 42 years. It’s her husband’s childhood home and one that’s been in the family for a long time, so she wanted to preserve as much of its structure while making the kitchen more modern and functional, she said.

"The two-year project, which cost about $70,000, still keeps the style and integrity of the original 100-year-old bungalow, she said." (Parrella-Aureli, Block Club Chicago, 11/28/22)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"A white-pillared house on Sheridan Road in Edgewater, built in 1900 during the street's heyday as a long strand of upscale homes along the lake, will be demolished by its new owners.

"The brick house, on a little over a quarter of an acre at 5852 N. Sheridan Road, sold Thursday for $1.2 million. Jingjie Shen, the Time Realty agent who represented the buyers, said they plan to demolish it.

"The house was built in 1900 for George and Mary Eddy. George Eddy was an executive at R.M. Eddy Foundry, which had been in Chicago since at least 1851 and was located in what's now River North, at Kingsbury and Ohio streets. Later, their son Charles owned the house until he died in 1930.

"At the time the house was built, Sheridan Road ran along the lakefront, and developer John Cochran laid out wide sidewalks and other amenities to rival the draw of the north lakefront suburbs. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a few dozen large single-family homes were built there, many with lake views.

"Among the residents of the neighborhood were meatpacking king Oscar Mayer, Chicago Cubs owner Charles Weeghman and the heads of several industrial firms.

"The other single-family structures that remain on the strip include one that is now operated as a co-working space, one owned by Loyola University Chicago and two owned by the Chicago Park District and serving as public spaces in Berger Park" (Rodkin, Crain's Chicago Business, 10/31/22)

Preservation Chicago, Edgewater Historical Society and preservation partners have organized an advocacy effort to try to prevent the demolition of this historic home. We have reached out to the buyer to explore possible adaptive reuse or incorporating the historic building into new construction.

"When it opened in 1925, the Uptown Theatre was the largest freestanding theater of its time. Burst pipes and flooding forced the theater to close in 1981, and it has remained dormant for more than 40 years.

"For the last three decades, Bob Boin, a longtime volunteer, organ enthusiast and retired civil engineer, tried to revive it. Boin died Sept. 21 at 76. He devoted more than 30 years of his life to restoring the Uptown Theatre. Before that, he advocated for restoring the Music Box Theater in the early 1980s.

"Boin’s husband, John Nolf, said the music enthusiast made himself available 'day and night' for the Uptown Theatre’s restoration. He would visit the theater after every attempted break-in or electrical and water issue and was the 'first phone call' for the theater’s alarm company, fellow volunteers said.

"A piano player, Boin also taught himself to play the theater organ. He attended professional organist performances with Chicago Area Theater Organ Enthusiasts group, of which he later became a board member. While serving on the group’s board, Boin helped advocate for the Chicago Theater’s organ to achieve landmark status alongside the building. He also restored the organ console from the James M. Nederlander Theatre and, in 1990, joined a team to restore the carillon at the Waveland Clock Tower at the Lincoln Park Fieldhouse — receiving a mayor’s citation for the latter.

"Andy Pierce, a longtime volunteer with Friends of the Uptown Theatre, said Boin always conducted himself as a 'gentleman' when leading the volunteer group and liaising with city officials.

"'He was kind, he was patient, he was funny,' Pierce said. 'You wouldn’t hear anger from Bob. … You would still get a composed email from, and if you’re a public official or someone in preservation or theater, you would get a letter from Bob. That’s how he did his advocacy.'

"Pierce said Boin ultimately tended for the Uptown longer than the theater’s original owners and builders.

"Launched several years ago, a petition by Friends of Uptown Theatre is still accepting signatures toward its goal of 15,000 names. More than 13,000 people have signed it, pushing city leaders to invest in restoring and reopening the Uptown Theatre.

"'Bob contributed a great deal,' Nolf said. 'I think it’s important to let other people know of one person’s passion and the work that they perform behind the scenes.' (Pandey, Block Club Chicago, 11/14/22)

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

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

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

Address: 2240 N. Burling Street, Lincoln Park

#100994354

Date Received: 11/18/2022

Ward: 43rd Ald. Timmy Knudsen

Applicant: Evergreen Solutions, LLC C/O Ewelina Chojniak

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

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

#100998280

Date Received: December 5, 2022

Ward: 32nd Ward Ald. Scott Waguespack

Applicant: Bridges Excavating Inc. C/O Monique Ranuro

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

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

#100950268

Date Received: December 6, 2022

Ward: 2nd Ald. Brian Hopkins

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

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

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

#100986304

Date Received: 09/09/2022

Ward: 2nd Ald. Brian Hopkins

Applicant: Precision Excavation, LLC

Owner: Todd and Kara Dziedzic

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

#100960059

Date Received: 07/05/2022

Ward: 39th Ward Ald. Samantha Nugent

Applicant: Hanna Architects, Inc.

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

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

#100970938

Date Received: 05/17/2022

Ward: 47th Ald. Matt Martin

Applicant: Demox, Inc. C/O Vitalii Grygorashchujk

Owner: Jerald and Pamela Kreis

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

#100946230

Date Received: 12/3/2021

Ward: 40th Ald. Andre Vasquez

Applicant: Alpine Demolition Services, LLC

Owner: Doris Eneamokwu

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

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

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

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

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