October 2018 Month-in-Review Newsletter
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THREATENED: Urgent Advocacy Efforts Are Underway to Save Superior Street Rowhouses from Looming Demolition
including Downzoning Request from Alderman Reilly, "On-The-Ground" Neighborhood Organizing, and a Petition Drive with over 3,000 Signatures!
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Save These Victorian Rowhouses from Demolition! Chango.org petition
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42, 44 & 46 East Superior Street Rowhouses, Photo Credit: Taylor Moore / Block Club Chicago
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42, 44 & 46 East Superior Street Rowhouses, Photo Credit: Taylor Moore / Block Club Chicago
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Etching from Andreas's History of Chicago showing the 4th Presbyterian Church that stood east of the rowhousess until 1914 when it was replaced by the extant Methodist Book Publishing House. The houses are visible in the image. Image Credit: History of Chicago; From the earliest period to the present time, by A.T. Andreas, 1885
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42, 44 & 46 East Superior Street Rowhouse Demolition Delay Notification , Photo Credit: City of Chicago
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Unless immediate steps are taken, these three 1880’s-era rowhouses will be demolished shortly after the 90-Day Demolition Delay hold expires on December 12, 2018. These authentic, beautiful, and charming historic Chicago rowhouses will be bulldozed to create a vacant lot. We are also highly concerned about the adjacent seven-story Art Deco limestone building and historic four-story red brick Giordano’s building!
In a little over a week, over 3,000 people have signed a petition to save the Superior Rowhouses from demolition!
Preservation Chicago applauds 42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly for his strong leadership and his proactive steps to protect these significant Chicago historic buildings against demolition. Alderman Reilly has taken the important preliminary steps to request that the City Council downzone the Superior Rowhouses properties.
"Downzoning is the only tool at his disposal 'in order to essentially get the developer's attention and ask them to voluntarily extend the demolition deadline so we can look at those properties with (the Commission on Chicago) Landmarks and the city to determine whether or not they need to be landmarked and preserved,' Reilly said. 'It's not intended to be a permanent zoning classification, but I needed to use this to slow them down a bit and have them come back to the table and give us some more time to look at those buildings." (Ecker, Crain's, 1/11/18)
Preservation Chicago is actively working "on-the-ground" with neighborhood organizations and other stakeholders to generate support for a Designated Chicago Landmark District. Preservation Chicago researchers are hard at work discovering and assembling as much historic material as possible about these and the few other similar surviving buildings in the neighborhood.
Preservation Chicago STRONGLY OPPOSES THE DEMOLITION of these three, architecturally significant, orange-rated rowhouses at 42, 44 and 46 East Superior dating from the 1870’s and 1880’s. The adjacent seven-story Art Deco limestone building and historic four-story red brick Giordano’s building are also endangered. The three 1880’s-era rowhouses at 42 E. Superior Street (George A. Tripp House), 44 E. Superior Street and 46 E. Superior Street (Hennessey Houses) were added to the 90-Day Demolition Delay List on September 12, 2018. The George A. Tripp House at 42 E. Superior Street has been the long-time home to Sunny Side Up Brunch and Coffee Shop.
Perhaps the developer’s strategy is that the urban blight created from a vacant lot will help ease the process to push through a future plan for a large parking garage and glass-box tower on the site. We have no specific knowledge in this instance, however there are many examples of other developers and owners who have strategically demolished significant historic buildings prior to requesting or receiving approval for new development or prior to listing properties for sale.
“These are all really wonderful buildings and they could make part of a landmark district,” said Ward Miller of Preservation Chicago. (Koziarz, 3/14/17)
“To ensure the protection of these buildings, Preservation Chicago is hoping that area residents will help push for the creation of a new landmark district. This is McCormickville. This is where the McCormick family lived before and after the Great Chicago Fire. And with the continued demolition of other shorter, older buildings in the area, there are only a handful of the original McCormickville buildings left. We need to value every inch of space where there are historic buildings that tell the story of the neighborhood.” Said Ward Miller (Curbed Chicago, 12/8/16)
"If these three orange-rated townhouses are demolished, much of the scale and character of the Near-North Side, Gold Coast and McCormickville District will be lost. These smaller buildings add a distinct character, quality, craftsmanship, history and elegance to the community, which is close to being completely lost to overdevelopment in the vicinity. In addition, these buildings also provide unique opportunities for small businesses and provide “an envelope” for all sorts of creative things to happen from within these historic structures. They really do encourage unique small businesses, and add a livability quality to the community. At one time, there were many such small elegant restaurants and shops housed in these types of buildings, from the Chicago River to Oak Street. As a matter of fact, it was often these beautifully crafted buildings that initially gave Oak Street its unusual character and success. Some of those buildings still exist, but they are becoming more and more rare. Once they’re gone, they’re gone forever.
" said Ward Miller.
"New York City also has groups of these types of buildings on several of its side streets on both the Upper East Side and the Upper West Side, some which comprise large Landmark Districts and they give that city a certain quality as well. Collectively, we often don’t appreciate those kinds of buildings in Chicago and their reuse of fine quality former residences in that same way or on that same scale as other cities like New York and Boston, and that’s tragic too!"
The twin houses at 44-46 E. Superior were built sometime between 1871 and 1876 as a pair of attached single-family homes. The residents of 44 E. Superior were Richard Hennessey (1845-1920) and his brothers. Richard was a building contractor along with his brother Patrick Martin Hennessey with the firm of Hennessey Bros. His brother Peter J. was a distiller and Thomas Hennessey was soda water manufacturer.
The other half of the building at 46 E. Superior was occupied by the family of Michael W. Kerwin (1835-unknown) who owned a liquor business. It appears likely that the Hennessey brothers played a role in building the double house, if not fully designing it. The Hennessey Brothers did work during the early 1900s with several notable architects, so it is possible that the double house was designed by a notable architect. It is likely that the Hennessey's owned and built the building. The house at 42 E. Superior was likely built around 1880-1885 for George A. Tripp and his family. The architect for this house has not yet been identified.
Newly uncovered historic research indicates that two nearby residential buildings at the southwest corner of Superior and Rush Streets were designed by the notable Chicago architect Henry Ives Cobb. Henry Ives Cobb was a principal of the firm Cobb & Frost which is better known for designing numerous important Chicago landmark buildings including the Chicago Athletic Association, the Newberry Library, the Chicago Historical Society Building (Excalibur), the Chicago Varnish Company Building (Harry Caray’s Restaurant), the old Chicago Federal Building, the Ransom-Cable House, the Potter Palmer “Castle”, and many of the historic building on the University of Chicago campus.
716 N. Rush Street was Cobb's own personal residence and 720 N. Rush was the home of William Blair, of the William Blair Financial Advisors and a relative of the McCormick family. These buildings could be combined with the Superior Street rowhouses as part of a new “McCormickville” Landmark District. 720 N. Rush Street is currently the site of Rosebud Restaurant. (Special thanks to Matt Wicklund for this historic research)
In April 2017, 42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly rejected a proposal by Symmetry Development to build a 60-story tower on the northeast corner of Superior Street and Wabash Avenue. Alderman Reilly opposed the development in part because of the widespread community opposition due to the traffic issues it would cause and issues of preservation. This victory was only temporary and the developer is moving forward with its plans to bulldoze and clear the site.
At the public meeting held by Alderman Reilly in March 2017 regarding the proposed development, Ward Miller’s passionate statement in support of preservation was met with an enthusiastic round of applause from the over 300 neighbors and residents in attendance.
Preservation Chicago strongly encourages the City of Chicago and Alderman Reilly to withhold releasing the Demolition Delay Hold or Demolition permit until AFTER the public approval process for the new development has been completed. There are many examples, the most notorious being Block 37, in which significant time passed between the demolition of the existing historic buildings and the new construction broke ground.
Preservation Chicago, along with many residents in several nearby high-rise buildings, are encouraging the preservation of these structures and the creation of a Chicago Landmark District of about dozen buildings in the area, most of which are orange-rated and have already been considered highly significant. A new “McCormickville” Landmark District comprised of the handful of remaining historic buildings (less than a dozen) would be a powerful tool to protect this neighborhood’s historic building fabric and strengthen the vibrancy of this community. Preservation Chicago had suggested the “McCormickville” Landmark District to be considered for designation in the past.
Preservation Chicago has been very concerned over the increasing frequency and recent losses of low-rise historic Near North Side buildings, in and around an area established by Cyrus McCormick’s family. As development pressure grows and as surface parking lots are being developed, developers have begun to actively targeting remaining clusters of intact, low-rise, historic buildings as development sites.
“We are at a tipping point,” said Miller, “where the community may become a high-rise canyon, deprived of sunlight, negatively impacting quality of life issues, which [ultimately] may impact the desirability of the community.” (von Buol, Loop North News, 10/24/18)
Additional Reading
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THREATENED: Jackson Park and Midway Plaisance Threatened. Obama Center Forced to Release Original U of C Alternate Proposals (Chicago 7 2017 and 2018)
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Studio Gang Architects Obama Presidential Library Proposal at South Shore Cultural Center, Image Credit: Obama Foundation
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Studio Gang Architects Obama Presidential Library Proposal at South Shore Cultural Center, Image Credit: Obama Foundation
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Studio Gang Architects Obama Presidential Library Proposal at South Shore Cultural Center, Image Credit: Obama Foundation
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Aerial view of proposed Obama Presidential Library at South Shore Cultural Center and its proximty to East 71st and South Exchange Street Commerical and Transit Corridors, Image Credit: Google Maps
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Adjaye Associates Obama Presidential Library Proposal at Washington Park, Image Credit: Obama Foundation
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Adjaye Associates Obama Presidential Library Proposal at Washington Park, Image Credit: Obama Foundation
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Adjaye Associates Obama Presidential Library Proposal at Washington Park, Image Credit: Obama Foundation
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Aerial view of proposed Obama Presidential Library at Washington Park. Due to central location, reinvevestment would be widely distibuted and would minimize displacement impacts on long-term residents. Image Credit: Google Maps
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Diller Scofidio + Renfro Obama Presidential Library Proposal at Jackson Park, Image Credit: Obama Foundation
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Diller Scofidio + Renfro Obama Presidential Library Proposal at Jackson Park, Image Credit: Obama Foundation
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Diller Scofidio + Renfro Obama Presidential Library Proposal at Jackson Park, Image Credit: Obama Foundation
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Diller Scofidio + Renfro Obama Presidential Library Proposal at Jackson Park, Aerial view of proposed Obama Presidential Library at Jackson Park. Due to geographic location, reinvevestment would be highly focused on the East Woodlawn causing significant gentrification and intense displacement impact on long-term residents. Image Credit: Obama Foundation
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A Chicago 7 Most Endangered in 2017 and again in 2018, Preservation Chicago has consistently advocated for the protection of Jackson Park, a world-class historic landscape designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux with contributions by Alfred Caldwell. Preservation Chicago does NOT oppose the Obama Presidential Center (OPC) being built in Chicago, but for many important and valid reasons, strongly prefers the 20-acre private facility to be constructed in a location other than historic Jackson Park.
The University of Chicago played a major role in the OPC process and was responsible for the initial proposals to locate the OPC on Chicago Park District lands including Jackson Park, Washington Park, or the South Shore Cultural Center. None of the University of Chicago proposals included an option to locate the OPC on land controlled or owned by the University of Chicago.
"Given this city’s rich and colorful history of graft, payola and insider dealing, Chicagoans are entitled to be enormously skeptical—and even maybe a tad bit cynical—when asked by our civic leaders to take certain things on faith," according to the Crain's Chicago Business Editorial Board on August 2, 2018. "But there’s another reason to wonder about the site selection: The University of Chicago-backed Jackson Park deal may not have been cut in the kind of smoke-filled backroom Chicago is notorious for, but it might as well have been. The public disclosures by the Emanuel administration, the Obama Foundation and the U of C have been about as transparent as cigar smoke." (Crain's Editorial Board, 8/2/18)
The University of Chicago and the Obama Foundation considered these proposals to be highly confidential and, despite many requests, had never shared them publicly. This all changed recently when as part of the ongoing federal lawsuit, the Judge John Robert Blakely indicated that he would open a discovery phase in which documents could be subpoenaed. The original proposals were released and made available to the public just prior to the court date. We still await the release of additional relevant documents.
Surprisingly, all three proposals are stronger that the current proposal. All three original proposals more closely address and more successfully advance the core OPC objectives and goals. In general, they tend to be much more sensitive and respectful of their urban context. The Washington Park and South Shore proposals would have contributed more to commercial renewal, created more jobs, and community vibrancy due to their proximity to existing commercial corridors. Additionally, the Washington Park and South Shore plans would have likely caused much less intense gentrification and resulted in much less disruptive displacement. The South Shore Cultural Center proposal by Studio Gang is the most compelling of the three, but for mysterious reasons, this proposal was withdrawn prior to the final selection as was the South Shore Cultural Center as a potential site for the OPC.
Studio Gang’s South Shore Cultural Center Plan is a remarkable effort that creates a glassy pavilion on the shores of Lake Michigan. It both respected the historic South Shore Cultural Center building designed by architects Marshall and Fox in 1905 and sought to maximize the amazing frontage along Lake Michigan. Its proximity to the historic building suggests that OPC programming would occur in both buildings. Located at the apex of the major commercial corridor of 71st and South Exchange, the OPC would quickly catalyze new shops, restaurants, and other activity in the many vacant buildings of this once grand commercial and transit corridor. Additionally, the prospect of a water taxi direct to and from Navy Pier to the new proposed OPC boat landing suggests that the architect Jeanne Gang envisioned the OPC as a tourist destination.
The Washington Park proposal was located along Garfield Boulevard and adjacent to a Green Line “L” Station. It was located largely across the street from Washington Park, and is the proposal that is most respectful to the historic Olmsted-designed park. Those buildings in the park were mostly at or below grade to minimize visual appearance. All the proposed buildings were to be constructed of natural materials like wood to gracefully blend with the nature surroundings.
The weakest of the three options was the Jackson Park proposal as its location is isolated from an existing commercial corridor and the most distant from an existing rail station. The proposal was essentially a series of attractions located along the perimeter of Jackson Park intended to fill what is perceived as vacant space, rather than to advance a larger vision. What is notable in the original Jackson Park proposal is that the main building has a low-slung design that seeks to minimize its visual appearance. The building is a curvy pavilion with extensive sloping green roofs and naturalistic bands of tapered windows. It is modest in tone and deferential to the Beaux Arts Palace of Fine Arts (now the Museum of Science and Industry) from the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893.
The modest approach of the initial proposals has been completely rejected and reversed by the current project architects Tod Williams and Billie Tsien. “In the architects’ view, their design is a proper expression of the center’s mission: To train a new generation of citizen leaders; to be a beacon for the South Side and the world; and to symbolize hope and ascension. It is also, they said, a fitting monument to the country’s first African American president.” (Kamin, Chicago Tribune, 1/13/18)
The current proposal includes a massive, 235 foot-tall, stone monolith. Equivalent to a 23-story high-rise, the current proposal has been widely criticized. The earlier slightly shorter design was referred to by Blair Kamin as “an expanded version of a truncated obelisk. It's too heavy, too funereal, too Pharaonic, too pyramid-like." (Kamin, Chicago Tribune, 5/4/17) Others have jokingly nicknamed it "Yertle the Turtle” tower. The architects responded to this criticism by making it taller!
Even though senior administrators at the University of Chicago have been the strongest advocate for locating the OPC in Jackson Park and even though the University of Chicago is the organization that potentially has the most to gain by its construction there, the “University of Chicago faculty have also weighed in on the public land debate several times. In January, nearly 250 professors signed a letter calling for the Center to be built in a location other than Jackson Park. They argued that preserving public land in city spaces should be an imperative and that building the Center would compromise the vision of the park’s original architect, Frederick Law Olmstead.” (Albaharna, Chicago Maroon, 9/21/18)
"The letter also expressed support for a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA): a legally binding document that would hold the Foundation accountable to the communities bordering the park. CBA advocates are concerned that the presence of the Center would raise rent prices in the area, driving low-income residents out of the neighborhood. The Obama Community Benefits Agreement Coalition is a group of seven South Side activist organizations, including a group of University students. They demand that the Center employ local citizens and supports residents in danger of displacement. The Coalition also outlines two dozen “development principles”: goals to improve everything from education to nearby public transportation." (Albaharna, Chicago Maroon, 9/21/18)
In early August 2018, the City of Chicago and Chicago Park District began cutting down mature trees in Jackson Park until they were forced to halt following a powerful Chicago Sun-Times editorial. Despite claims that the demolition was unrelated to the planned OPC, it was self-evident that the bulldozing of the groves of trees, lawns, ball fields, and track was the first phase in clearing space for the planned OPC. The timing of the demolition and the destruction of these public assets occurred prior to City Council approval, prior to the outcome of the federal review, and in the midst of an ongoing Federal lawsuit. The Chicago Sun-Times Editorial Board found the work to be highly contradictory to the Obama Foundation CEO’s pledge that ‘until the foundation has the permits, “there will be no trees removed or cut down” as promised to the Chicago Sun-Times Editorial Board on January 12, 2018. (Sweet, Chicago Sun-Times, 1/12/18)
Ironically, a week prior to the tree-cutting work in Jackson Park, the Obama Foundation announced the groundbreaking date for the Obama Presidential Center would be pushed back to 2019 and only after the conclusion of the federal review process.
The Obama Presidential Center has enjoyed strong political support from the Mayor’s office and has sailed through a series of Chicago City Council votes and City Council sub-committee votes. On October 31, 2018, the Chicago City Council passed a proposed Obama Presidential Center Ordinance. There was minimal dissent or questioning from City Council members, but many statements-- including by the Mayor--celebrating this “wonderful” accomplishment. These political statements largely avoided many of the unresolved unpleasant topics such as the onerous burden on taxpayers, the widespread displacement of local residents, the significant loss of public parkland, and the traffic problems resulting from road closures and realignments. The closure and removal of South Cornell Drive in the Jackson Park will result in expansion and widening of South Lake Shore Drive and Stony Island Avenue into the park resulting in the loss of parkland and massive tree cutting.
On September 20, 2018, the Chicago City Council passed an ordinance that approved the 99-year lease of 19.3 acres in Jackson Park for a total of $10. Jackson Park Watch co-founder Margaret Schmid said, “The idea of leasing invaluable, irreplaceable public parkland to a private entity for $10 for 99 years is astounding in this era when public lands and natural resources are under attack in so many places. Besides, Chicago’s finances are extremely precarious.” (Sweet, Chicago Sun-Times, 9/18/18)
Additionally, as part of this lease deal, the City agreed to reimburse the foundation for environmental testing of the development site. These testing costs were capped at $75k. However, in the final language of the approved Ordinance, the taxpayers of the City of Chicago and State of Illinois are now fully responsible and liable for ALL costs related to any environmental remediation costs required or resulting from the construction of the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park. This language includes no cap for the total cost. Estimated remediation costs are not yet available, but it can be expected that the final remediation costs for this “blank check” will likely be enormous.
The City of Chicago and State of Illinois have also agreed to cover the cost of $172 million in discretionary road changes in Jackson Park. The oft-repeated argument is that the ultimate cost burden will be borne by taxpayers - both state and federal. Additionally, any precious federal funds brought to Chicago should be used first for desperately needed road work and crumbling infrastructure elsewhere in city.
Ironically, in August 2018, the Chicago Tribune reported that according to the Obama Foundation’s first annual report, that it raised nearly $233 million in 2017 mostly from private donors. The amount of Foundation’s fundraising in 2018 remains unknown. In light of the incredible amount of fundraising dollars the Obama Foundation has generated, it is hard to understand why a budget-strapped city and state would be required to provide such a “sweetheart” lease deal for incredibly valuable public lands, and then to willingly subsidize a private entity with hundreds of millions of additional dollars.
Another important development is the ongoing federal lawsuit by a better government and parks advocacy group to block the Obama Presidential Center. On May 14, 2018, the nonprofit Protect Our Parks, Inc. filed a federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court. In the complaint, they accuse the organizers for the Obama Presidential Center of pulling an “institutional bait and switch” by shifting away from an “official presidential library" overseen and paid for by the U.S. federal government and the
National Archives and Record Administration (NARA).
“Although that original purpose of an official Presidential Library no longer exists,” reads the complaint, “the defendants continue to forge ahead to advance a totally different private nongovernmental project on public parkland.”
Furthermore, the suit claims that the Chicago Park District and the City of Chicago don’t have the authority to transfer public parkland, that public land is “prohibited by law” from being turned over to a private entity for private use, and that such a deal violates Chicago Park District code.
Additionally, the complaint argues that the City of Chicago and Chicago Park District’s intention to lease the land in perpetuity for a nominal amount is a violation of state law and represents “a shell game" to “legitimize an illegal land grab.”
As reported in the Chicago Sun-times, the arguments presented for the proposed Obama Presidential Center didn’t satisfy Ward Miller; executive director of Preservation Chicago who argued that it does not belong in “historic Jackson Park, known the world over” for its Frederick Law Olmsted landscape design that “so beautifully connects” Jackson Park to the Midway Plaisance and Washington Park.
“Make no bones about it. The proposed plans…will backhoe and destroy almost 20 acres of this legacy park land,” Miller said, warning of the dangerous precedent.
“This green, leafy site will now be compromised…with three very large buildings, all on a concrete plaza, and a tall museum building which is over 200 feet tall. … No other presidential library is of this scale and magnitude.”
Miller urged the Obama Foundation and President Obama to consider “another nearby site in the heart of the community” rather than “sort of an extension of the University of Chicago into Jackson Park.” (Speilman, Chicago Sun-Times, 5/22/18)
Additional Reading
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THREATENED: Aon Building Facade Alterations Proposed
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Aon Building/Standard Oil Building of Indiana/Amoco Building, by architect Edward Durell Stone with Perkins and Will in 1973, 200 East Randolph Street. Photo Credit: Eric Allix Rogers
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Proposed Changes to Top Floor Facade and Skydeck Exterior Elevator on Aon Center's NW Corner. Rendering Credit: 601W
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Proposed Skydeck and "Sky Summit" ride on Aon Center. Rendering Credit: 601W
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Proposed welcome pavilion near the Aon Center's southeast corner. Rendering Credit: 601W
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Aon Building Typical Floorplan with 40 Existing Internal Elevators, Image Credit: 601W
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Harry Bertoia Sculpture “Sonambient” as originally installed at Standard Oil Building Plaza. Photo Credit: Harry Bertoia Foundation
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Harry Bertoia Sculpture “Sonambient” as originally installed at Standard Oil Building Plaza. Photo Credit: Harry Bertoia Foundation
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The Aon Building owners are proposing alterations to the topmost floors of the historic building located at 200 East Randolph Street
while also adding an observation deck, exterior elevator, and a gondola-like ride. Originally known as the Standard Oil Building of Indiana and later the Amoco Building, it was designed by architect Edward Durell Stone with Perkins and Will and holds an important place in the Chicago skyline. When it was completed in 1973, it was the tallest building in Chicago and the fourth-tallest in the world.
The proposed highly visible exterior elevator addition will protrude from the side of the building and project above the roofline, thus changing the iconic look and feel of this building and impacting the overall shape of this remarkable structure. The plan also calls for the removal of exterior steel columns and granite cladding above the 82nd floor to open up the space for an observation deck, forever changing its iconic appearance. The addition of a two-story exterior elevator, and a gondola-like ride that would sit atop of the building, will introduce an “amusement-park ride” component to one of Chicago’s most significant buildings.
Architect Edward Durell Stone's vast work is well respected by art and architectural historians alike around the world and in numerous publications and the Standard Oil Building / Aon Center is perhaps the best building of his career. Stone designed notable buildings around the world, including the MoMA in New York City, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C., and high-profile projects in Panama, Peru, and India. The City of Chicago is considered to be one of the great "architectural capitals" of American 19th and 20th Century building design, and we need to make every effort to preserve great works of architecture. With every insensitive remodeling, the original design intent of these buildings are compromised and diminished, resulting in a negative impact to the overall building’s design integrity.
The proposal for an exterior passenger elevator mounted to one of the corners of the building will
negatively and adversely impact the design of Chicago’s third tallest building, (following Willis Tower and Trump Tower). It could be a significant enough exterior change to prevent the building from ever being considered for a Chicago Landmark Designation, or ever being considered for national recognition.
To allow such design changes to the exterior of the building could become an embarrassment for Chicago.
Furthermore, if this plan were to proceed, there is a significant risk that other iconic, super-tall Chicago landmark buildings would follow this precedent and seek to install similar “amusement park ride-style” exterior elevators to boost their observation deck business, such as the Handcock Building and Sears Tower/Willis Tower.
Preservation Chicago encourages one or more of the existing interior elevator banks be used for the purposes of a public observation deck. There are currently 40 interior elevators. Even if four elevators were dedicated to serving observation deck visitors, it would still leave 36 elevators for tenant use. In any event, the ultimate design should respect and not visually impact the character and architecture of this world-renowned building.
In 1974, The Standard Oil Company, working with architect Edward Durell Stone on its new building, which at the time was the tallest building in Chicago, commissioned sculptor Harry Bertoia to design a kinetic piece of abstract art, which was placed around a central reflecting pool in the building’s plaza. “Sonambient” was comprised of eleven sets of copper and brass rods ranging in height from four to 16feet. The rods flexed and moved with the wind creating musical sounds. “Sonambient” was influenced by nature and represented wheat fields swaying in the breeze.
The grand-scale of Bertoia’s “Sonambient” sound sculpture on the plaza of the Standard Oil/Aon Building with its soaring brass rods was lost when the plaza was redesigned in 1994 and most of the sculpture hauled off to storage. As part of any approved plan, we would like to encourage a restoration of the building’s significant plaza features. In particular, the Harry Bertoia Sculpture “Sonambient” should be restored and reinstalled in its entirety in this once elegant plaza. Five pieces of the sculpture were sold at auction in 2013 and some were
acquired by the Harry Bertoia Foundation. This new round of plaza alterations jeopardizes the few elements of the sculpture that remain.
Preservation Chicago would like to see Bertoia’s “Sonambient” sound sculpture reassembled and reinstalled on the plaza. Alternatively, this sculpture should be
reassembled and donated to The Art Institute of Chicago so that this important Chicago sculpture can once again be available to the public.
Additional Reading
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THREATENED: Fulton Market Block Endangered
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Loft Buildings Targeted for Demolition at 810 W. Fulton Market, adjacent to the Fulton Market District Gateway Sign, Photo Credit: Ward Miller
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Loft Building Targeted for Demolition at 810 W. Fulton Market, Photo Credit: Google Street View
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Loft Building Targeted for Demolition at 300 N. Green Street, Photo Credit: Maurico Pena / Block Club Chicago
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The historic integrity and character of the Fulton Market District gateway is threatened by an 18-story glass-and-steel office building proposed for the entire block bounded by Fulton, Halsted, Wayman, and Green streets. This property is immediately to the north of the neighborhood’s distinctive gateway signage near the corner of Halsted and Fulton. The block consists of a collection of industrial buildings, including Isaacson & Stein Fish Company and Mid nightclub. The current development plan proposes to demolish all of the existing buildings.
The development proposal by New York developer Thor Equities envisions an approximately 400,000 square foot, 18 story glass-and-steel office building to be designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM). To proceed, a significant upzoning from C2-5 to DX-7 will be required to accommodate the large new building. Thor would need to win support for the project upzoning from neighborhood groups and 27th Ward Alderman Walter Burnett. Thor is scheduled to meet with neighborhood community groups including West Central Association sometime in November and Neighbors of the West Loop on November 13th to seek their support. Alderman Burnett is reserving judgment on the proposal until after the plan is presented at public meetings and community groups.
Carla Agostinelli, executive director of the West Loop Community Organization told Block Club Chicago, “It’s great to see Fulton Street developed because we want to see economic development … but the infrastructure cannot support what is currently on the street, let alone a developer proposing a 19-story building that will bring in thousands of more people to an already congested area.” (Pena, Block Club Chicago, 10/10/18)
Erin Bowler, a longtime resident of 720 W. Fulton Building stated that “maintaining the historic character [of the Fulton Market District] benefits not just us and the neighborhood, but the whole city and the district itself."
Preservation Chicago strongly encourages Thor Equities and SOM to save the historic loft building facades of 810 W. Fulton Market and 300 N. Green Street and incorporate them into the base of any proposed new construction projects. These four-story, red brick, loft buildings are highly characteristic of the Fulton Market District and would provide the appropriate scale and material for the streetscape. It’s even more important that these building facades be reused because they serve as the gateway buildings to the entire Fulton Market District.
Additionally, taking steps to reuse, restore and incorporate the historic facades will demonstrate a genuine interest on the part of the developer in the existing character of the neighborhood and generate goodwill in advance of the neighborhood community meetings. Especially considering how many other properties Thor Equities owns in the Fulton Market District, generating and maintaining goodwill with the community groups should be a priority.
Furthermore, Thor Equites has specific experience with façade adaptive reuse as their project under construction a couple blocks away at 905 West Fulton Market. In this case, the facades were in much worse condition than those at 810 W. Fulton Market, yet they are being successfully incorporated into the new development and provide a sense of character and authenticity to the new construction. Preservation Chicago strongly urges the Thor Equities and SOM to pursue this direction.
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Loft Building Historic Facades to be Saved and Integrated into New Development at 230 N. Peoria Street DURING Construction, another Thor Equities Development, Photo Credit: Google Street View
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Loft Building Historic Facades to be Saved and Integrated into New Development at 230 N. Peoria Street PRIOR to Construction, another Thor Equities Development, Photo Credit: Google Street View
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THREATENED: Inappropriate Modifications Threaten Lawrence Avenue Sears Store (Chicago 7 2016)
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Current Proposal for Lawrence Avenue Sears Store. Rendering Credit: Springbank Capital Advisors
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Lawrence Avenue Sears Store Historic Photo Taken Shortly After Construction, Photo Credit: "Sears, Roebuck and the Remaking of the Department Store, 1924-42"
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Original Proposal for Lawrence Avenue Sears Store. Rendering Credit: Springbank Capital Advisors
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Rejected Proposal for Lawrence Avenue Sears Store. Rendering Credit: Springbank Capital Advisors
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Façade treatments proposed by developer will compromise the historic integrity of the shuttered Sears Store at 1900 W. Lawrence. A 2016 Preservation Chicago 7 Most Endangered Building, the shuttered Sears Store at 1900 W. Lawrence Avenue was the first Sears, Roebuck & Company retail store to be built from the ground up as a commercial department store. It is an outstanding building with great prospects for a preservation-sensitive redevelopment.
The building was purchased from Sears Holdings and is being redeveloped by Springbank Capital Advisors. The proposed $40 million redevelopment plan includes an adaptive reuse of the existing structure and plans to deliver 59 apartments, 42 parking places, and 20,000 square feet of ground floor commercial space.
Development plans are moving faster now that according to Springbank CEO David Trandel, “for-profit college DeVry University has leased most of the retail space, and plans a vocational school in about 17,500 square feet on the ground floor” (Ori, Chicago Tribune, 10/9/18)
The Lawrence Avenue Sears store was built in 1925. At that time, it was on the cutting edge of department store design including massive plate glass windows to maximize natural sunlight. Sears called this new generation of neighborhood department stores its "daylight" stores, according to Professor Richard Longstreth, in his article "Sears, Roebuck and the Remaking of the Department Store, 1924-42".
Preservation Chicago’s primary concern is with regard to the façade treatment. The original building façade had large and expansive windows and we would strongly support the reinstallation of windows of a similar size to the original design. Additionally, we oppose changing the original exterior colors.
Preservation Chicago hopes that the developer will reconsider some façade treatment elements. Earlier renderings indicated a solution that was more sensitive to the building’s original design with deeper setbacks and fewer additional floors. The developer has responded to some community concerns voiced at public meetings to address parking and traffic flow considerations. 47th Ward Alderman Ameya Pawar announced his support for the requested zoning change in September 2017.
Urban apartment dwellers are drawn to historic properties that celebrate the building’s history. Instead of trying to make the façade something it isn’t, Preservation Chicago hopes the developer will embrace the building’s strong, elegant appearance. Ironically, the original conceptual rendering proposed by the Springbank did a much better job at recognizing and celebrating the building’s historic elements.
Additional Reading
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WIN: Hotel Julian’s Adaptive Reuse Successfully Mixes Old and New
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Hotel Julian/Atlantic Bank Building by Benjamin Marshall, 168 North Michigan Avenue. Rendering Credit: Oxford Capital Group
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Hotel Julian/Atlantic Bank Building by Benjamin Marshall, 168 North Michigan Avenue. Before and After, Photo Credit : WMA Engineering
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Hotel Julian/Atlantic Bank Buildingby Benjamin Marshall, 168 North Michigan Avenue. Photo Credit Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune
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The Atlantic Bank Building was built as a 12-story terra cotta office building and has been successfully converted to boutique hotel called Hotel Julian. Named for the patron saint of travelers, the 218-room Hotel Julian underwent a comprehensive $75 million-plus renovation which included a five-story addition. Despite its location at 168 N. Michigan Avenue and design by notable Chicago architect Benjamin Marshall in 1912, the Atlantic Bank Building was never designated a Chicago landmark.
The Atlantic Bank Building was designed by Benjamin Marshall and his firm architectural firm Marshall & Fox. They designed many important Chicago landmark buildings including The Drake, The Blackstone, The Blackstone Theater/ Merle Reskin Theatre, the Edgewater Beach Hotel & Apartments, South Shore Country Club, the Sheridan Trust and Savings Bank Building in Uptown, and several prominent Chicago apartment buildings on Lake Shore Drive.
The Atlantic Bank Building had been largely vacant for over a decade prior to the renovation and the exterior creamy-white terra-cotta façade was in severely deteriorated condition. As part of the renovation, the Chicago-based Oxford Capital Group and London-based Quandrum Global developer team replaced over a third of the terra cotta. Additionally, the project architects Hirsch/MPG desire for a seamless and accurate terra cotta restoration included a search of the Benjamin Marshall archives at the University of Texas for original design drawings.
Preservation Chicago applauds Oxford CEO John Rutledge and the development team for their commitment for pursing excellence and insuring a top-tier restoration for an important Chicago building, by an important Chicago architect, on one Chicago’s most important streets.
“It’s a Benjamin Marshall building, so it has great architectural prominence. When we bought the building it had been sitting empty and it had been exposed to the Chicago weather, so it was definitely in bad shape. We had to do some structural reinforcements and augment the foundation, and the terra cotta facade was completely falling apart.” said John Rutledge (Ori, Chicago Tribune, 8/3/18) Its not easy to design a modern addition to a historic building, but the Hirsch architecture team, including principals Howard Hirsch and David Genc and associate Matthew Starman, were successful in their solution.
According to Chicago Tribune Architecture Critic Blair Kamin, “Instead of the obvious — pile terra cotta atop terra cotta — the architects came up with a solution inspired by the chamfered piers. They placed a faceted glass wall, which resembles the pleats of a dress, atop the original building. Then they extended the glass downward and into the facade’s window openings. The idea was to weave a thread of continuity between top and bottom, old and new.”
“Unfortunately, the treatment is so subtle that it will be imperceptible to most passers-by. They’re liable to think that architects put a glass top on an old building and called it a day. But look closely and you’ll see how the new glass quietly echoes the old terra-cotta skin through its vertical proportions, sculptural presence and jewellike play of light. Here, the present brings new vitality to the past without overwhelming it.” (Kamin, Chicago Tribune, 10/10/18)
Oxford Capital Group and John Rutledge represent a new generation of developers who continue to recognizing the inherent value of Chicago’s historic buildings and are leading their redevelopment. The growing recognition within the Chicago real estate community of the inherent ability of historic buildings to drive greater profits has been confirmed by the success of the London House Hotel in the London Guarantee Building, the Chicago Athletic Association Hotel in the Chicago Athletic Association Building, Chicago Motor Club Hampton Inn, St. Jane Hotel in the Carbide and Carbon Building , The Alise Chicago in the Reliance Building, the Ace Hotel, and the Kimpton Hotel Gray in the New York Life Building.
Additional Reading
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WIN: The Commercial National Bank Building at 125 S. Clark Street Sold After Comprehensive Renovation
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Commercial National Bank Building, by D.H. Burnham & Company, 125 N. Clark Street, Photo Credit: Blue Star Properties
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Commercial National Bank Building, by D.H. Burnham & Company, 125 N. Clark Street, Postcard Credit: Chuckman Collection
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Commercial National Bank Building prior to exterior cleaning, 125 N. Clark Street, Photo Credit: Eric Allix Rogers
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The Commercial National Bank Building designed by D.H. Burnham and Company and located at 125 S. Clark Street has been comprehensively renovated by Chicago-based Blue Star Properties and Wolcott Group with architect Aric Lasher of Chicago-based HBRA. They purchased the former Chicago Public Schools headquarters in 2014 for $28 million and invested $91 million to restore and lease up this 18-story commercial office building. Prior to CPS, it long served as the headquarters for Commonwealth Edison.
Most noticeably, the building received a much-needed exterior cleaning which altered the color from a mottled grey to a gleaming white. As reported in Crain’s, the building is now 88% leased with notable new tenants including WeWork, Shure, SpotHero, and Revival Food Hall. Also reported in Crain’s, the building has been sold to the German real estate investor group Commerz Real for approximately $200 million.
Located on the ground floor across 24,000 square foot space, Revival Food Hall has emerged as a vibrant new loop food destination. The name is homage to the Classical Revival style of architecture that Daniel Burnham embraced in so many of his great building commissions. According to Craig Golden, founder of Blue Star Properties, the design was intended to embrace the history of the building, not hide it. "Take, for example, the flooring of the food hall" Golden says. "It's three different types of marble, some concrete, some terrazzo. You really see all the different periods. It’s a bit of a road map of the history of the building."
Instead of attempting a new aesthetic, Golden and Lasher smoothed the style mélange into a modern-feeling space that incorporates every part of the site's history— what he calls a "historic remix." "Obviously this type of space didn't exist at that time, but Lasher tried to do what he thought Burnham would have done if it had," Golden explains. "It’s really our idea of the modern version of a Burnham building. (Keller, Architectural Digest, 10/26/16)
The Commercial National Bank Building was designated as a Chicago Landmark in 2016. The Classical Revival style Commercial National Bank Building, located at the northeast comer of Clark Street and Adams Street, is the oldest surviving high-rise commercial bank building in the Loop designed by D. H. Burnham & Company.
The Commercial National Bank Building was also among the first of Burnham & Company's designs to tie the tripartite commercial high-rise to the iconic temple-style bank building to create a new form of bank building in Chicago. Firm architect Ernest Graham used engaged Corinthian columns to mark the second-floor banking hall, recalling the colonnades of traditional bank buildings, while retaining the relatively unadorned center shaft and ornamented cornice typical of high-rise commercial buildings of the period. This marriage of forms would characterize nearly two dozen downtown bank buildings designed in Chicago and other US cities by Burnham and its successor firm, Graham, Anderson, Probst and White, throughout the 1910s and 1920s. (Commercial National Bank Building Final Landmark Designation Report, April 7, 2016)
Preservation Chicago was part of many hearings and testimonies to support this project and applauds Craig Golden, Blue Star Properties, Wolcott Group and architect HBRA for their success at beautifully restoring and activating an important Chicago Landmark building.
Cornices played a highly important role in the visual appearance of Chicago School Skyscrapers and other buildings of the later 19
th
and early 20
th
centuries. Unfortunately, many important historic buildings across Chicago have been lost their cornices over the decades due to neglect and modernization efforts. Preservation Chicago urges the City of Chicago to strongly encourage the developers of historic buildings to include as part of the scope of their redevelopment plans the replacement or restoration of cornices that is closely modeled on the original design.
Additional Reading
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WIN: Marshall Field’s Lofts Ready to Lease
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Fields Lofts, 4000 W. Diversey Avenue. Photo Credit: Darris Lee Harris / Hubbard Street Group
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Fields Lofts, 4000 W. Diversey Avenue. Photo Credit: Hubbard Street Group
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Pre-leasing is getting underway for the residential adaptive reuse of the six concrete and red brick buildings of the 1.5 million square foot Marshall Field’s warehouse complex located on 22 acres at 4000 W. Diversey Avenue and Pulaski Road in Logan Square. Renamed “Field’s Lofts”, the developer is Hubbard Street Group with architect Hirsch MPG Associates and Harken Interiors. Built for the Olson Rug Company in 1928, this site was later occupied by Marshall Field’s, until it was shuttered by Macy’s in 2008, and ultimately sold for redevelopment in 2014.
The residential development on the easternmost portion of the complex will contain mostly studio and one-bedroom units with two-bedroom apartments at the corners “but probably 20 to 30 percent more affordable”, said John McLinden, managing partner of developer Hubbard Street Group. (Koziarz, Curbed Chicago, 10/4/18)
McLinden told Curbed Chicago. “The product is also very different. These are loft-style units with 14 to 17-foot ceilings, original concrete columns, and large-scale industrial windows. It’s not just another white box in the sky.”
Kickpoint Ventures is managing the commercial portion of the redevelopment and has recently announced that Crate & Barrel’s Chicago office will move into 117,000 square feet. Other tenants include Cermak Fresh Market grocery store, Cubesmart self-storage, a home design showroom for Studio41.
This is also the historic site of the much beloved and missed Olson Rug Park and Waterfall built in 1935. This park featured an elaborate illuminated rock garden and 35-foot waterfall, which made it a popular Chicago attraction. The site was sold to Marshall Fields in 1965 and the waterfall and park were dismantled in 1970.
Preservation Chicago had numerous meetings with former 31st Ward Alderman Ray Suarez when Macy’s announced they were closing the facility to encourage possible Chicago Landmark Designation and to consider an adaptive reuse of the site for residential and affordable housing within these immense fireproof buildings.
Preservation Chicago applauds John McLinden of Hubbard Street Group, architect Hirsch MPG Associates, Harken Interiors and Kickpoint Ventures for their success at restoring and activating these great Chicago warehouse buildings.
Additional Reading
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WIN: City of Chicago Landmarks Commission Honors Chicago’s Best Preservation Projects of 2018
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City of Chicago Landmarks Commission Honors Chicago’s Best Preservation Projects of 2018
On October 23, 2018, the Commission on Chicago Landmarks honored 11 unique rehabilitation projects with the Preservation Excellence Awards, including the Loop’s Commercial National Bank Building, Uptown’s former Graeme Stewart Public School, and the Near West Side’s First Baptist Congregational Church.
“The Preservation Excellence Awards honor some of the best rehabilitation efforts in the country, and the private property owners who diligently work to celebrate the history and heritage of Chicago,” said David L. Reifman, commissioner of the Department of Planning and Development, which provides staff support to the Landmarks Commission.
The honorees were chosen by the Commission's Permit Review Committee, which considered several dozen projects involving landmark structures and landmark District buildings that were completed over the past year. The honorees include property owners, architects, design professionals and historic preservation specialists and advocates.
The awards, now in their 19th year, were presented at the site of one of this year’s winners, the London House Hotel, the primary tenant of the landmark London Guarantee Building at Michigan and Wacker.
Additionally, the Commission honored an individual and an organization. The Preservation Advocacy Award was presented to Save Our Street – Save Our Story, a grassroots group of neighbors and preservationists who banded together to designate the West Burton Place District in Old Town. The block-long residential enclave between Wells and LaSalle streets is comprised of many late 19th and early 20th century buildings that were designed as studios for artists of the time.
And, the John Baird Award for Stewardship was given to Geoffrey Baer, a seven-time Emmy-winning public television writer, producer and program host who has been a fixture on WTTW for nearly three decades. A docent for the Chicago Architecture Foundation since 1987, Baer appears weekly on WTTW’s flagship nightly news program “Chicago Tonight,” answering viewers’ questions about Chicago architecture and history in a segment called “Ask Geoffrey.” The award is named in honor of John Baird, a long-time member of the Landmarks Commission who passed away in 2013.
Other honored projects include the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Blossom House in the Kenwood District, the American Book Company Building near McCormick Place, and the South Loop’s Plymouth Building. Information on each recipient is available below.
(from City of Chicago.org)
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London House Hotel / London Guarantee Building, 360 N. Michigan Avenue by Architect Alfred S. Alschuler, Photo Credit: Eric Allix Rogers
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The London Guarantee Building, 360 N. Michigan Avenue
Designated Chicago Landmark: April 16, 1996
Adaptive Reuse and Addition
Recipient: Oxford Capital Group, LLC.
Located at 360 North Michigan Avenue, the London Guarantee Building is one of Chicago’s best examples of the Beaux Arts Classical Revival style. Oxford Capital purchased the building with the intention of converting it from obsolete office space to mixed use hotel/retail. Utilizing the Class L Property Tax Incentive and the 20% Federal Historic Tax Credit, interior and exterior alterations accommodated new programming. Exterior work included masonry repairs and cleaning on all elevations, historic window repair, replication of missing ornamental metalwork, and a new, one-story addition and roof deck. Interior work included a full interior build-out of hotel rooms, meeting spaces, and ballrooms. In addition to the renovations to the London Guarantee Building, the owner constructed a new, 21-story addition in the adjacent surface parking lot adding 78,000 square feet to the property.
Preservation Chicago strongly supported the redevelopment and restoration over many phases with numerous testimonies and letters of support.
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Commercial National Bank Building, 125 N. Clark Street, by D.H. Burnham & Company, Photo Credit: Blue Star Properties
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The Commercial National Bank Building, 125 S. Clark Street
Designated Chicago Landmark: June 22, 2016
Rehabilitation
Recipient: Blue Star Properties
Located prominently at the northeast corner of Clark and Adams Streets in the Loop, the Commercial National Bank Building is twenty stories tall and was completed in 1907 by the noted Chicago-based architecture firm of D.H. Burnham & Co. Blue Star Properties acquired the vacant property in 2014 and, utilizing the Class L Property Tax Incentive, embarked on an extensive exterior and interior rehabilitation. Exterior work included much-needed cleaning of the facades and repair of original terra cotta. All non-original infill on the south elevation was replaced with GFRC units matching original profiles including highly detailed, classically-inspired decorative reliefs on the upper floors. The cornice, storefronts, and entries were repaired. Historic cast iron window surrounds on floors 2-4 and 17-19 were repaired and repainted.
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The Plymouth Building, 417 S. Dearborn Street, by architect Simeon Eisendrath. Historic Photo Credit: Chicago History Museum
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The Plymouth Building, 417 S. Dearborn Street
Designated Chicago Landmark: Nov. 16, 2016
Adaptive Reuse
Recipient: LG Development Group
Designed by Simeon B. Eisendrath and completed in 1899, the Plymouth Building at 417 S. Dearborn St. combines fine detailing and craftsmanship that exemplifies the revolution in high-rise design that occurred in Chicago in the last two decades of the 19th century. The building’s early steel-frame construction and Collegiate Gothic ornament added in 1945 conveys an evolutionary history that reflects its various roles within the city’s central business district. The developer purchased the property and undertook an extensive rehabilitation for a new residential use. In addition to exterior and interior renovations, including installation of new aluminum-clad windows and repair to the ornamental historic storefronts, a one-story rooftop addition and roof deck were constructed. The building owner applied for a 20% Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credit.
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The American Book Company Building, 330 E. Cermak Avenue, Photo Credit City of Chicago
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The American Book Company Building, 330 E. Cermak Avenue (Chicago 7 2008)
Designated Chicago Landmark: July 29, 2009
Adaptive Reuse
Recipient: Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority
The American Book Company Building was built in 1912 and was designed by Nelson Max Dunning, a prominent architect in the Midwest. The building had been vacant for many years until the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA) undertook an extensive exterior and interior rehabilitation project. The restored ABC Building is part of and connected to the $350 million Marriott Marquis Chicago Hotel, which has 1,205 keys and offers state-of-the art amenities and impressive skyline and lakefront views. The ABC Building has meeting rooms for the hotel, office spaces on the upper floors, and commercial retail spaces on the first floor. The rehabilitation project included masonry repairs and cleaning, window and door replacement, and restoration of the historic lobby finishes, including the vaulted ceiling, the marble stair and balustrade, and the tiled walls.
Preservation Chicago strongly supported the redevelopment and restoration of this building over many testimonies and letters of support.
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The former Graeme Stewart Public School, 4525 N. Kenmore Avenue, Photo Credit: Morningside Equities Group
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The former Graeme Stewart Public School, 4525 N. Kenmore Avenue (Chicago 7 2014)
Designated Chicago Landmark: Nov. 16, 2016
Adaptive Reuse
Recipient: Morningside Equities Group
The former Graeme Stewart Public School Building was built in 1906 with a compatible addition added to the south in 1940. The building exhibits a wide horizontal composition that is characteristic of the Prairie School movement with Renaissance Revival stylistic details. The developer transformed the decommissioned CPS building into residential units, including amenities such as roof decks, balconies, and terraces. Work to rejuvenate the building included a new roof, masonry cleaning and repair, and a fully restored cornice. New compatible windows and doors were inserted on primary and secondary elevations to accommodate new rental units and provide accessibility. Portions of the rear of the building were converted into parking. This project serves as an excellent example of how civic architecture can be reused in a community.
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First Congregational Baptist Church / Union Park Congregational Church, by architect Gurdon P. Randall in 1869. Photo Credit: Eric Allix Rogers
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First Baptist Congregational Church, 1613 W. Washington Street
Designated Chicago Landmark: Jan. 21, 1982
Rehabilitation
Recipient: First Baptist Congregational Church
Although it survived the Great Chicago Fire, a small, narrow finial at the First Baptist Church of Chicago was toppled in the blizzard of 2011 and was destroyed. The church explored options to replicate the steeple and proposed a new lightweight version constructed of Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic (FRP) to recreate the stone coursing, color and texture. In 2017 the new spire was lifted into place and fixed to the historic church, restoring the roofline to its original form. Today, the church remains a cornerstone in its community, and a valuable example of the appropriate use of substitute material on a historic property.
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George W. Blossom House, 4858 S. Kenwood Avenue, by Frank Lloyd Wright while he was employed by Adler & Sullivan in 1892. Photo Credit: Eric Allix Rogers
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Blossom House, 4858 S. Kenwood Avenue (Kenwood District)
Designated Chicago Landmark District: June 29, 1979
Rehabilitation
Recipient: Arthur & Elisa Reliford Jr.
The Blossom House was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1892 in the Colonial Revival architectural style. It is one of the last houses Wright designed in a historical revival style before becoming a pioneer of the Prairie style characterized by elongated proportions and broad horizontal lines. This evolution is reflected in the carriage house designed by Wright in 1907. New owners undertook a major restoration project to address the deferred exterior maintenance and condition issues for both structures and to update the interior kitchen and bathrooms. Deteriorated siding and trim were replaced to match existing, original art-glass windows, many of them badly warped and bowing, were carefully restored. The deteriorated front and side porches were repaired and reconstructed to match the original design, and the brick base was repaired with salvaged brick. A one-story addition was built on the rear elevation. At the carriage house, deteriorated framing, roofing, and sheathing were replaced to match original profiles and the brick was repointed.
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437 W. Arlington Avenue. Photo Credit: Google Street View
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437 W. Arlington Avenue (Arlington and Roslyn Place District)
Designated Chicago Landmark District: Nov. 15, 1989
Restoration
Recipient: Jonathan and Ela Lewis
Windows are a key feature of 437 West Arlington. When owners Jonathan and Ela Lewis realized they had fallen into disrepair, they committed to restoring the unique curved windows. Broken and partially rotted sashes allowed gaps at the edges of the curved glass and previous improper preparation of surfaces had allowed paint to crack and surfaces to be uneven. As many original elements as possible were retained and restored and when necessary, replaced in kind. Original ornamental iron grilles at the basement level were repaired, scraped, and repainted. The owner then went above and beyond by installing curved, clear-glass, wooden storm windows to further improve energy efficiency. As a finishing touch, the front door was refinished to give this beautiful greystone new life.
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920 E. 42nd Place, Photo Credit: Google Street View
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920 E. 42nd Place (Oakland District)
Designated Chicago Landmark District:
March 25, 1991
Rehabilitation
Recipient: Lauren & Michael Williams
920 E. 42nd Place, along with its five neighboring row houses, was among the last historic residences built in the Oakland District. The vacant limestone row house had fallen into disrepair before the current owners purchased the property and began an extensive rehabilitation project. The historic copper bay was in poor condition and was replicated to match the historic details. The limestone stairs were repaired and a new railing system was fabricated based on remnants of the historic cast iron railing. Many historic interior features were also repaired and retained. This project also qualified for the Property Tax Assessment Freeze Program.
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10353 S. Seely Avenue, Photo Credit: City of Chicago
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10353 S. Seely Ave. (Longwood Drive District)
Designated Chicago Landmark District:
Nov. 13, 1981
Rehabilitation
Recipient: Nick & Ashley LoMaglio
After an extended effort on behalf of the Commission to save this home from demolition, this 1916 Craftsman-style building in the Longwood Drive District was sold to new owners who saw its potential for rehabilitation. Original drawings were used to restore the open, wrap-around front porch which had been altered and enclosed. New windows and wood cladding were installed to match the historic configuration. A substantial rear addition was also added to the property.
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1032 N. Honore Avenue, Photo Credit: City of Chicago
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1032 N. Honore Avenue (East Village District)
Designated Chicago Landmark District: Jan. 11, 2006
Rehabilitation
Recipient: Kristi & Robert Stephens
The 1891 home at 1032 N. Honore is a classic example of a Chicago 2-flat and characteristic of East Village architecture. The owner extensively rehabilitated the property while converting it into a single-family home. Work included a new rear addition, a rooftop addition, and installation of historically compatible windows and doors. A new fiberglass cornice was designed to be compatible with the historic character of the building and to replace non-historic alterations of the parapet. Many multiple-unit historic buildings are converted into single family homes, however this dramatic transformation serves as a great example of how it can be appropriately done.
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Preservation Advocacy Award
Recipient: Save Our Story – Save Our Street
After demolition threatened a building on their street, a group of neighbors and preservationists banded together to stop the encroaching development and to further protect their neighborhood by procuring designation for the West Burton Place District. This district is a compact residential enclave in Old Town comprised of late-19th century urban dwellings mixed with “handmade houses” designed as studios for artists from the 1920s through 1940s. Although designating this neighborhood had long been a goal of some residents, the movement didn’t take off until they were notified of a new development and a demolition application for 159 W. Burton Place. Every member of this group played a unique role in ensuring the neighborhood’s architecture would survive; from writing the landmarking proposal, to gathering community support for the designation process and without their tireless effort, this unique residential district could have been altered and lost forever. The district met 5 of the 6 designation criteria mandated by the Chicago Landmarks Ordinance and was officially designated on June 22, 2016.
Preservation Chicago and our sister organizations strongly supported this effort with many numerous testimonies before various commission and with letters of support.
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Geoffrey Baer, Photo Credit: WTTW Chicago
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The John Baird Award
Recipient: Geoffrey Baer
The John Baird Award honors outstanding individuals and groups that further historic preservation in Chicago. Geoffrey Baer is a seven-time Emmy-winning Public Television writer, producer and program host. He has been a fixture on Chicago’s PBS station WTTW for 29 years. His work includes more than 20 feature-length “television tours” of the city and suburbs, a culinary special called The Foods of Chicago that was nominated for a coveted James Beard Award, and specials including Chicago Time Machine and the quiz show Where in Chicago. He also appears weekly on WTTW’s flagship nightly news program Chicago Tonight, answering viewers’ questions about Chicago architecture and history in a segment called Ask Geoffrey.
Nationally he hosts the PBS primetime series 10 that Changed America about game changing buildings, homes, parks, town, monuments and engineering wonders across the country. He traveled to Cuba just days after the death of Fidel Castro to host the PBS primetime special Weekend in Havana. His other national public television specials include documentaries about acclaimed architects Robert A. M. Stern and Michael Graves and Saved from the Wrecking Ball, a documentary about the rescue of Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House.
He has been a docent for the Chicago Architecture Foundation since 1987, and has served on the boards of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Architecture and Design Society and Chicago’s acclaimed Lookingglass Theatre Company.
In addition to his Emmy awards, Geoffrey has been honored by the Society of Architectural Historians, the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Chicago Headline Club. He has a master’s degree in theatre from Northwestern University and a BS in radio-TV-film from Miami University in Ohio.
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WIN: "Jet-Age" Chicago Skyway Canopy Restored
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Chicago Skyway Toll Plaza following restoration. Photo Credit: Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune
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The Chicago Skyway Toll Bridge was built in 1958 to connect the Indiana Toll Road to the Dan Ryan Expressway. Its mid-century modern toll plaza canopy served as an iconic gateway. The “jet-age” design was defined by a steel canopy, neon signage, and stainless steel toll booths. However, following decades of retrofits to accommodate a seemingly endless cycle of new and then obsolete technology, the structure's original design was largely obscured.
This $7 million, privately financed restoration and modernization project removed the obsolete additions and restored the original toll plaza canopy design. The original neon letters that spell out “Chicago Skyway Toll Bridge” have been restored and upgraded to LED. The canopy roof incorporates a photovoltaic panel array which can provide 100 percent of the energy required to run the toll plaza.
“It’s a great combination of preserving our past but ultra-modernizing the electronics. It was a real challenge to take that structure and put in the new technologies that we have,” said Kirk Dillard, chairman of the Skyway Concession Company to the Chicago Tribune. Mayor Richard M. Daley leased the Skyway in 2005 and it is now controlled by three Canadian pension funds and operated by the local Skyway Concession Company. (Kamin, Chicago Tribune, 10/26/18)
Preservation Chicago applauds the owners and project team for recognizing the inherent value of this stylized "jet-age" mid-century modern toll canopy. By combining the best of the past and the best current innovation, we are able to create wonderful built assets for the future. It is an excellent model and one that we encourage other decision-makers responsible for infrastructure to adopt.
Additional Reading
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THREATENED: Timber Frame Lincoln Park Butcher Shop from 1892 Being Sold as Land!
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Historic butcher's shop at 1800 N. Hudson Avenue circa 1892 threated with sale and demolition. Photo Credit: Redfin
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Historic butcher's shop at 1800 N. Hudson Avenue circa 1892 threated with sale and demolition. Photo Credit: Redfin
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“
Extremely rare opportunity to purchase one of East Lincoln Park's last developable corner lots
. Quiet location with bright southern exposure along the length of the lot. RM-5 zoning allows for a 4 story building with 7000+ sf. Reduced south setback allows for additional width vs a mid-block lot. Brand new alley with permeable pavers just completed. Currently a 4 unit building with a 3 car garage generating $6,620 / month income. BROKER OWNED.”
A Brief History of The Schmidt Metzgerei, 1800 N. Hudson Avenue in Old Town
With special thanks to Diane Gonzalez for her research and writing
“Homemade sausages and smoked meats are our specialty” read an
advertisement for Schmidt’s Metzgerei in the Old Town Art Fair program from 1958. Schmidt’s Metzgerei is the circa 1892 butcher's shop built in the classic German "fachwerk" style with timber framing butcher shop at 1800 N. Hudson Avenue at the intersection with Menomonee and old Ogden Avenue. The "Schmidt's Mitzgerri" sign is still visible on the building's facade. This relic of Chicago's German history has survived for over 120 years today, but is threatened with sale and demolition.
Long-term owner William Schmidt was born above the store in 1915. His father Bill Schmidt Sr. had emigrated from Germany six years earlier. Bill Sr. was sponsored by an uncle who was already working as a Chicago butcher. Bill Jr. followed in the footsteps of his great-uncle and father. Bill Jr. married Florence Vogt, and their daughter Marilyn Vrbancic revealed details of life above the shop and next door in 1802 Hudson which the Schmidt’s also owned. Behind the shop was the sausage kitchen where Uncle Frank Reiss, a Crilly Court resident, was in charge. Its smokehouse survives today in the northwest corner of what became a garage.
In 1968, Schmidt hosted a party in front of the shop where he had just installed today’s Bavarian façade complete with stucco and half timbers. Everyone was invited for beer and sandwiches. Entertainment included German music and Westphalian stallions harnessed out front.
Another celebration occurred in October 1970 two years after Marilyn married. Her dad wished that he’d been able to invite his Irish and German neighbors to her wedding. Belatedly he offered beer, root beer, and baloney on rye while Irish step dancers, Bavarian musicians, and those Westphalian stallions entertained. The Tribune estimated over 1000 attended!
In 1977 Bill Jr. retired and closed the metzgerei. The sawdust was swept from the floor, and the huge refrigerator with its three glass windows was donated to the Chicago History Museum. The shop became a contractor’s office; since 1997 it has housed Triangle resident Terry Sullivan’s law office. But memories of sausage and sawdust along with the generous, Germanic Schmidt spirit survive in its walls forever.
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LOSS: “Spotlight on Demolition”
Chicago Avenue Bridge, River North
1554 W. 21st Street, Pilsen
450 W. Belmont, Lake View
2727 E. 76th Street, South Shore
4713 N. Damen, Ravenswood
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Chicago Avenue Bridge, by Ketler-Elliot in 1914, Demolition began November 1, 2018
Photo Credit: Eric Allix Rogers
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La France Laundry, 2143 E. 75th Street, Demolished October 2018
Photo Credit: Eric Allix Rogers
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1554 W. 21st Street, Pilsen, Demolished in 2012.
After six years, a new 4-flat was permitted to replace the blighted vacant lot.
Photo Credit: Chicago Cityscape on Twitter @ChiBuildings
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450 W. Belmont, Lake View Demolished. Will be replaced by 16-story tower
Photo Credit: Google Street View
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2727 E. 76th Street, South Shore, Demolished October 2018
Photo Credit: Cook County Assessor
Set for Chicago Fire Filming in 2015
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4713 N. Damen, Ravenswood, Demolished October 2018
Photo Credit: Chicago Cityscape on Twitter @ChiBuildings
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LOST CHICAGO...BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
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Tacoma Building
by Holabird & Roche
Built 1888, Demolished 1929
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The Tacoma Building by Holabird & Roche in 1888. Demolished in 1929.
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Tacoma Building
Architect: Holabird & Roche
Location: Northeast corner La Salle and Madison streets
Built: 1888
Demolished: 1929
The Tacoma Building is a remarkable steel structure at the northeast corner of La Salle and Madison streets, with frontages of 101 feet on Madison and 80 on La Salle. Its 13 stories are 165 feet high, and it has 4 stores and 156 suites of offices. Its 5 passenger elevators are under the charge of a chief, and carry 8,000 persons daily. It was erected in 1888, at a cost of $500,000, and is occupied by lawyers, real estate operators, and insurance agencies. It was the first building to discard heavy outer walls, and has a place in our chapter on “Notable High Buildings.” (Rand McNally’s Bird’s Eye Views of Chicago, 1893, pg. 142)
“These great Olympian buildings strike me as having beauty of a very high order, the British painter John Lavery told Harriet Monroe in 1911, after looking at Chicago’s skyscrapers. “There has been nothing on earth like it since Egypt built the pyramids. One of the earliest of the Olympians was the Tacoma, on the northeast corner of La Salle and Madison streets, completed in 1889. Its architects, Holabird and Roche, were, along with Adler and Sullivan and Burham and Root, key to the development of the First Chicago School of Architecture. William Holabird, born in New York State in 1854, attended West Point and came to Chicago in 1875. His partner Martin Roche, grew up in Chicago and while still in his teens, entered the office of William Le Baron Jenney, where he met Holabird. The Tacoma was the first building constructed by using rivets, the first whose design openly revealed the steel structure beneath, the first to inch toward the concept of the all-glass wall. This Olympian was toppled in 1929. (Lost Chicago, David Lowe, pg. 142)
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Save Our Starship, Save the Thompson Center Petition
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Thompson Center, Photo Credit: Eric Allix Rogers
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Architect Helmut Jahn’s kaleidoscopic, controversial State of Illinois Center/James R. Thompson Center in Chicago shocked the world when it opened in 1985. It may not be long for this world.
Today this iconic building is a bit faded due to decades of deferred maintenance. Occupying an entire block in the heart of the Loop, the Thompson Center is currently threatened with sale and demolition by the state legislature and governor.
It is one of Chicago’s most iconic late 20th century post-modern buildings and it represented a radical departure from the design of conventional government office buildings of its time. Despite initial construction challenges, this singular architectural vision of an open, accessible, and inspiring civic building, defined by its iconic, soaring atrium remains intact.
We strongly encourage the City of Chicago and State of Illinois to move quickly to designate the Thompson Center/State of Illinois Building a Chicago Landmark. This would protect the building, plaza, and the public sculpture, “Monument with Standing Beast” by Jean Dubuffet.
Helmut Jahn is one of Chicago’s most famous contemporary architects, whose career began here with C. F. Murphy and whose work is now celebrated around the world from Chicago to Berlin to Shanghai.
This is a building for the people of Chicago, for the State of Illinois, for everyone see, to experience and be inspired by. Most importantly it is open to all.
Efforts to both protect its architectural vision and to activate the building should be implemented. A comprehensive redevelopment plan could correct the deferred maintenance. A tower-addition study by Helmut Jahn’s design firm has suggested that the existing building could accommodate new construction that would add square footage while remaining sensitive to the historic building, atrium, and public space.
The vast soaring atrium lends itself to highly collaborative potential uses. We encourage the State of Illinois to designate a portion of the building to be an incubator that would provide discounted rent to small arts organizations, nonprofits, tech start-ups, and other creative uses to help drive innovation in Chicago. By seeding these organizations at the Thompson 'Innovation' Center, they would help to activate the building and help to provide the vibrancy to the building that was always contemplated but never realized. Further, the building's public atrium should be embraced through live art and performances to be held throughout the year, but especially during the winter months.
We strongly encourage the City of Chicago move to officially recognize and protect the thrilling civic spaces and their visionary design, which continue Chicago’s legacy of bold, risk-taking architecture.
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Save the Clarendon Park Field House Petition
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Clarendon Park Field House, Historic Postcard Credit: Chuckman Collection
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The Clarendon Park Community Center will either begin an extensive renovation or will be demolished and replaced. The building hangs in the balance and a strong voice from the Clarendon Park community is essential to help decision makers to make a good decision.
As recently as 2015, demolition was widely considered to be the most likely outcome for the historic Clarendon Park Community Center building and it was included as a 2015 Preservation Chicago 7 Most Endangered Building. It was widely celebrated when in 2017 $6.1 million TIF funds were earmarked for the long-neglected Clarendon Park Community Center building with the expectation that the building would finally be renovated. Now there is concern that the Chicago Park District will choose to use these funds for a smaller, new construction building instead of restoring the historic building.
The historic Clarendon Park building was designed by city architect, C.W. Kallal in a Mediterranean Revival Style. This “Italian Resort Style” became the model for such other highly regarded lakefront landmark buildings as Marshall and Fox’s South Shore Country Club in 1916 (now South Shore Cultural Center) and the 63rd Street Bathing Pavilion in 1919. This style was defined by tall towers capped with hipped-roofs clad in clay tiles, large entry colonnades, porticos, loggias and open-air promenades.
Preservation Chicago urges the Chicago Park District to recognize the value of this important historic building and to commit to seeing it restored. Preservation Chicago applauds 46th Ward Alderman James Cappleman for his commitment to seeing the Clarendon Park Community Center protected from demolition and for helping to solidify the necessary renovation funds. The Clarendon Park neighbors and community
stakeholders continue to play an important role and deserve special recognition for their unwavering support for this building with special thanks to Katharine Boyda, Melanie Eckner, the Clarendon Park Advisory Council, Uptown United and Uptown Chicago Commission.
Preservation Chicago hopes to see this important building’s exterior restored to an appearance more similar to its original design. The distinctive tall towers fronting Clarendon Avenue and the smaller towers fronting the beach, along with the entry colonnade and the verandas and open-air loggias were beautiful and distinctive architecture elements that should never have been removed. Their reconstruction would elevate the Clarendon Park Community Center to its rightful place alongside the 63rd Street Bathing Pavilion and other important landmark lakefront buildings from this period.
Clarendon Park Petition
I ask you and the Chicago Park District to conduct a phased renovation of Clarendon Park's historic community center building in a way that fully reflects and supports the park's existing programming and people.
Home to Kuumba Lynx and Garfield-Clarendon Model Railroad Club and offering critical afterschool, athletic, and garden programming, Clarendon Park is the Uptown community's historic central park, serving thousands year-round.
Thank you for making sure that the community served by the park is reached, their voices heard, and their wishes respected.
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FEATURE ARTICLE:
Chicago's Cityfront Center. An Incredible Transformation? Not Really. The 'meh' blocks west of Navy Pier are a cautionary tale for Chicago's next round of megaprojects
by Blair Kamin, in the Chicago Tribune
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Chicago's Cityfront Center. An Incredible Transformation? Not Really. By Blair Kamin. Photo Credit: Lawrence Okrent/ Chicago Tribune
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Chicago's Cityfront Center. An Incredible Transformation? Not Really. By Blair Kamin. Photo Credit: Lawrence Okrent/ Chicago Tribune
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Chicago's Cityfront Center. An Incredible Transformation? Not Really. By Blair Kamin. Photo Credit: Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune
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By Blair Kamin
The Chicago Tribune
October 18, 2018
Viewed from the air, it’s a stunning transformation — in just 30 years, a gritty swath of cleared land and surface parking lots has become a glistening new part of Chicago.
But people experience cities on the ground, not in the air. Put the 60 acres between Navy Pier and Michigan Avenue under a microscope and what you see is a cityscape of great expectations and half-kept promises.
The deal was simple: The city would let developers build tall at Cityfront Center, Chicago’s largest real estate development of the 1980s. In exchange, there would be beautiful buildings, streets, parks, plazas and a riverwalk.
Yet the architecture, with rare exceptions, is mediocre. The public spaces were supposed to be vibrant and interconnected. Instead, they are unfinished, underachieving, largely disjointed and even, in one case, off-limits to the public.
Urban planning flops like these loom large as city officials review new megaplans from developers who pretty up their visions of skyscrapers with dazzling drawings of riverwalks, bike trails and other amenities teeming with smiling, attractive people.
For the 53-acre Lincoln Yards on the North Side, developer Sterling Bay wants to construct 12 million square feet of buildings, including towers as tall as 800 feet. It’s sweetening the deal by proposing amenities like an extension of The 606 bike and pedestrian trail east of the Kennedy Expressway.
At The 78, a 62-acre project on the Near South Side that Amazon is considering as an HQ2 site, developer Related Midwest has laid out plans for 13 million square feet, including skyscrapers up to 950 feet tall. Its sweeteners include a 100-foot-wide, half-mile-long riverwalk lined by restaurants and shops....
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Don't Miss
"Art Deco Chicago: Designing Modern America"
Book Release and Author Talk at the Newberry Library, November 29, 2018
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Art Deco Chicago: Designing Modern America
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Art Deco Chicago: Designing Modern America explores and celebrates Chicago’s pivotal role in the development of modern American design. From everyday icons like the Sunbeam toaster and Schwinn bicycle to familiar beacons of the city skyline like the Board of Trade and Palmolive Buildings, Chicago was a national and international leader in the design that came to be known as "Art Deco. Art Deco Chicago: Designing Modern America", to be published in Fall 2018, is the companion volume to the Chicago History Museum exhibition "Modern by Design: Chicago Streamlines America."
Meet the Author/Editor: Robert Bruegmann
Thursday, November 29, 2018
Author Talk at 6 pm, Book Signing at 7 pm
Ruggles Hall. Free and open to the public. Registration required.
"Art Deco. Art Deco Chicago: Designing Modern America" includes:
- 5 essays by distinguished scholars offering new interpretations of twentieth-century modernism and the Art Deco Era
- 101 iconic Art Deco designs with insightful commentary from scholars, curators, and collectors
- 300 images including vintage illustrations and historic and commissioned photographs
Robert Bruegmann, the volume’s editor, is a historian and critic of architecture, landscape, preservation, urban development, and the built environment. He is the Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Art History, Architecture, and Urban Planning at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He has written numerous books and articles, including the award-winning volume The Architects and the City: Holabird & Roche of Chicago, 1880-1918, the controversial Sprawl: A Compact History, and, most recently, The Architecture of Harry Weese. He is also a frequent lecturer, contributor to magazines and blogs, and guest on radio and television shows.
After his talk Bruegmann will sign copies of the book, which will be available for purchase. This event is cosponsored with the Newberry’s program in Chicago Studies. Your generosity is vital in keeping the library’s programs, exhibitions, and reading rooms free and accessible to everyone. Make a donation today.
The book Art Deco Chicago: Designing Modern America is funded in part by the Terra Foundation for the American Art as part of Art Design Chicago, an exploration of Chicago’s art and design legacy, an initiative of the Terra Foundation with presenting partner the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation. The publication of Art Deco Chicago is a major educational initiative of the Chicago Art Deco Society, a nonprofit organization. Proceeds from sales of Art Deco Chicago will be be used to support the ongoing public education, research, and preservation advocacy of this critical period of modern American design.
Cost and Registration Information
- Free and open to the public; registration required. Register online using this form by 3 pm Thursday, November 29.
- Doors open half an hour before the program begins, with first-come, first-served seating for registered attendees. If seats remain available, non-registered individuals will be permitted to enter about ten minutes before the event’s start.
- People with disabilities and other accessibility concerns can request to be seated first. To reserve an access-friendly space in the room, email publicprograms@newberry.org at least 48 hours before the event. Seats arranged in this way will be held until 10 minutes before the event starts.
The book is also available at the following Chicago area retailers: (Please shop local!)
- The Book Table: Oak Park, IL
- Museum of Contemporary Art: Chicago
- Seminary Co-op: Chicago
- Mayuba: Chicago
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Book Stall: Winnetka, IL
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Don't Miss
"Modern by Design: Chicago Streamlines America” at the Chicago History Museum,
Exhibit through December 2, 2019
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Art Deco Chicago: Designing Modern America Furniture sketch by Wolfgang Hoffmann for Howell, 1938. Image Credit: Chicago History Museum.
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"Modern by Design: Chicago Streamlines America" reveals how Chicago brought cutting-edge modern design to the American marketplace on a scale unmatched by any other city. The exhibition focuses on 1930s–50s, a critical period in American history. It presents issues of design and aesthetics within the larger social, economic and cultural context of the time and explores how the city’s hosting of the 1933-34 World’s Fair, its industries, advertising firms and mail order companies advanced modern design on local, regional and national levels. Innovative designs coupled with the might of Chicago’s manufacturing and distribution infrastructure led to mass production of affordable state-of-the-art products featuring a new urban-inspired aesthetic that furnished public and private spaces across the country.
The exhibition includes more than 200 objects, photographs and documents, many on view for the first time. The works of many celebrated designers, such as Alfonso Iannelli, Otis Shephard and Wolfgang Hoffmann will be featured.
"Modern by Design: Chicago Streamlines America" is curated by Olivia Mahoney, Senior Curator at the Chicago History Museum.
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Don't Miss
"Ando and Le Corbusier: Masters of Architecture"
at Wrightwood 659
Through December 15, 2018
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Wrightwood 659, A new Art Space in Lincoln Park Photo Credit: Jeff Goldberg / Esto
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Wrightwood 659, A new Art Space in Lincoln Park Photo Credit: Jeff Goldberg / Esto
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Wrightwood 659 is a new exhibition space conceived for the presentation of exhibitions of architecture and of socially engaged art. It is designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Tadao Ando, who has transformed a 1920s building with his signature concrete forms and poetic treatment of natural light.
In a city rich with art institutions and internationally known for its architecture, Wrightwood 659 is designed as a site for contemplative experiences of art and architecture, and as a place to engage with the pressing social issues of our time. Located at 659 W. Wrightwood Avenue, in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, it is a private, non-commercial initiative envisioned as an integral part of the cultural and civic fabric of Chicago, as well as a new kind of arts space and cultural resource.
Ando created the new gallery in an existing brick shell by removing the entire interior structure and inserting a new steel and reinforced-concrete skeleton. The building contains 35,000 square feet on four floors — with 18,000 square feet of exhibition space — and has the highest levels of museum- grade environmental and mechanical controls.
Wrightwood 659 will be open to the public in the spring and fall, presenting two exhibitions a year, generally alternating between socially engaged art and architecture. It aims to provoke consideration and activism on behalf of a more just society, while simultaneously providing an environment that enables quiet contemplation and thoughtful looking. Wrightwood 659 does not have a collection, and it is not intended to be a collecting organization. Admission is by online reservation only. Walk-ins are not allowed.
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Don't Miss
"Treasures From The White City: Chicago World’s Fair of 1893" at The Richard H. Driehaus Museum
Through January 6, 2019
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“Treasures from the White City: The Chicago World’s Fair of 1893” at the Richard H. Driehaus Museum. Photo Credit: Richard H. Driehaus Museum
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“Treasures from the White City: The Chicago World’s Fair of 1893” is on display at the Richard H. Driehaus Museum until January 6, 2019.
Treasures from the White City: The Chicago World’s Fair of 1893 includes objects drawn from the Museum’s permanent collection, as well as the collection of Richard H. Driehaus and features original works and memorabilia designed for and exhibited at the fair.
Pieces by Louis Comfort Tiffany created for his magnificent World’s Fair chapel, substantial silver selections designed by both Gorham Manufacturing Company and Tiffany & Company, and artifacts from the exposition such as tickets, maps and programs will be featured in the exhibition presented in celebration of the fair’s 125th anniversary.
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Don't Miss
"Pictures from an Exposition: Visualizing the 1893 World's Fair" at The Newberry Library
Through December 31, 2018
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“Pictures from an Exposition: Visualizing the 1893 World’s Fair," the first show in the Newberry Library's remodeled first floor, mines the research institution’s archives to display maps, postcards, artwork and other fair-related items. Photo Credit: Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune
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Chromolithograph poster showing the Ferris Wheel, which debuted at the 1893 World’s Fair, Pictures from an Exposition: Visualizing the 1893 World's Fair, Image Credit: The Newberry Library
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“Pictures from an Exposition: Visualizing the 1893 World’s Fair” is free and open to the public and will be on display at the Newberry Library through Dec. 31 at Trienens Galleries.
As the grandest international spectacle in a great age of spectacles, the World’s Columbian Exposition held in Chicago in 1893 captured the public’s imagination through a dazzling array of visual images, from photographs, paintings, and illustrated albums to souvenirs, guidebooks, magazine features, and popular histories. But the allure of the fair depended less on the aesthetics of single objects than upon its status as a total, unified work of art.
Featuring works of art and ephemera from the Newberry’s extensive collection of exposition materials, Pictures from an Exposition explores the fair’s tremendous power of attraction, both at the time of its presentation and through history into the present, for both those who attended and those who experienced it from afar. Opening during the exposition’s 125th anniversary year, the exhibition will pay special attention to the dynamic between fine art and popular imagery, the intertwining of aesthetic and economic imperatives, and the ways in which the exposition’s visual language reflected the important role that images played in late 19th century American history and culture.
Free, curator-led tours of the exhibition will be offered on Tuesday, December 11, 6 pm. The tour groups will gather in the lobby and then move into the galleries.
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Preservation Chicago Is Thrilled to Welcome Mary Lu Seidel as New Director of Community Engagement
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Mary Lu Seidel, Preservation Chicago's Director of Community Engagement
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Preservation Chicago Deepens Commitment to Neighborhood Preservation Advocacy
Preservation Chicago is thrilled to announce the hiring of Mary Lu Seidel, formerly with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, to lead and extend its community outreach initiatives throughout Chicago. As Director of Community Engagement, Seidel will be responsible for neighborhood-driven planning, advocacy and education to promote the preservation and reuse of cultural and historic assets in Chicago.
In addition to her tenure as Chicago Field Director at the National Trust where she managed preservation initiatives throughout the Midwest, Seidel brings nearly 30 years of community engagement and organizing experience to Preservation Chicago. She has extensive community building experience in the Chicago area market in economically and ethnically diverse areas. Her work has focused on advocacy, community engagement, strategic planning, community organizing, public policy and community redevelopment. She was born and raised in Chicago’s Belmont Cragin neighborhood, and she returns to her passion for advocacy and organizing in the city she loves.
"We are very excited to have Mary Lu Seidel join our staff,” said Ward Miller, Preservation Chicago's
Executive Director. "This newly created position will further expand Presentation Chicago's capacity. By increasing our preservation efforts and community outreach throughout many of Chicago's neighborhoods, we will be able to more widely cultivate healthy communities through the benefits of historic preservation.”
"I have long respected the great works that Preservation Chicago advocates for, and I look forward to being a part of this extraordinary team,” said Mary Lu Seidel. “This proactive and forward-thinking approach to preservation is exactly what Chicago and the preservation movement needs.”
"This expanded capacity will empower residents and stakeholders across Chicago to help them shape the future of their communities,” said Brad Suster, Preservation Chicago Board President. "We will help grow healthy communities by leveraging the value of historic fabric and character of Chicago's neighborhoods, buildings and historic districts.”
Preservation Chicago is committed to strengthening the vibrancy of Chicago’s economy and quality of life by championing our historic built environment. Since 2001, when Preservation Chicago started as a group of dedicated volunteers, the organization has been steadfast in its commitment to advocating for Chicago's irreplaceable historic architecture, neighborhoods and urban spaces through stakeholder advocacy and by empowering Chicagoans to help shape the future of their neighborhoods.
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IIT Architecture and National Museum of Gospel Music Concert
November 16, 2018 at 5:30 pm
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Proposed National Museum of Gospel Music, Rendering Credit: Wight Architects
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IIT ARCHITECTURE HOLIDAY GOSPEL CELEBRATION & THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF GOSPEL MUSIC
HOLIDAY GOSPEL CELEBRATION
November 16, 2018
5:30 p.m.
S. R. Crown Hall, Center Core
Please join us for an evening of conversation about the significance of historical preservation and the development of the National Museum of Gospel Music. Scheduled to open in 2020 on the site of Chicago and National landmark Pilgrim Baptist Church, the National Museum of Gospel Music will be a cultural treasure that will blend the past with the present. The evening's discussion will be followed by a live Gospel concert.
5:30 p.m. - Reception
6:00 p.m. - Welcome by Dean Michelangelo Sabatino and National Museum of Gospel Music Presentation
6:30 p.m. - Live Performance
Parking is free in Lots D-1, D-2 and D-5 are closest to S. R. Crown Hall
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Shiloh Baptist/5th Church of Christ Scientist Redevelopment Meeting
November 7, 2018 at 7 pm
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Shiloh Baptist/5th Church of Christ Scientist by Solon S. Beman in the Kenwood Landmark District, Photo Credit: Eric Allix Rogers
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Shiloh Baptist Church Development Update
Sponsored by 4th Ward Alderman Sophia King
Wednesday, November 7, 2018
7 p.m.
St. Paul & the Redeemer Church
4945 S. Dorchester Avenue
This is an opportunity for residents of Kenwood to hear the latest updates on the site of the former Shiloh Baptist Church. The developer will share details and renderings of the soon to begin construction.
Designed by Solon S. Beman in 1905, the Shiloh Baptist Church/5th Church of Christ Scientist is located at 4820 S. Dorchester Avenue in the Hyde Park – Kenwood Landmark District.
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Ward Miller's Speech at
The Logan Square Centennial Celebration October 14, 2018
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Illinois Centennial Monument of Logan Square Celebration Poster
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Illinois Centennial Monument of Logan Square Celebration Music Environmental Encroachment
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Illinois Centennial Monument of Logan Square Celebration Music Environmental Encroachment
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Illinois Centennial Monument of Logan Square Celebration Circus Arts
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Illinois Centennial Monument Celebration Speech
Address from Logan Square and the Illinois Centennial Monument, Chicago
by Ward Miller, October 14, 2018
It is with great honor that I stand here today, as a member of the community of Logan Square and on behalf of our organization, Preservation Chicago, along with several of our elected officials from the City of Chicago--Alderman Scott Waguespack, Alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa and all of you, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the dedication of the Illinois Centennial Monument. This is perhaps the beginning of the yearlong kick-off of the State of Illinois’ Bicentennial, celebrating two hundred years of contributions to “The Union” and The United States of America. In this local celebration, leading up to the actual anniversary day of December 3
rd, 1818, noted in the record books as the official date when Illinois was admitted as the 21
st State to the Union, we collectively look forward to the next century, while honoring the past.
This grand-scale Monument, which is a symbol of Illinois statehood and officially known as the Illinois Centennial Monument, has become the symbol of our neighborhood of Logan Square over the past one hundred years. It is located at the heart of both the commercial and residential center of the community and commands a highly visible location at the grand northwest terminus of the Chicago Boulevard System. It is indeed very special to both our community and the City of Chicago, and of course the State of Illinois.
Designed for this site in 1915, by the architect, Henry Bacon and “sculptured to life” by Evelyn Longman, with its bas-reliefs and toped with an American Eagle—“The Monument” as it is known to us in the community, predated the construction of the Lincoln Memorial, in Washington D.C., also designed by architect Henry Bacon. That famous landmark and monument was also designed by architect Henry Bacon and in tandem with artist and sculptor Daniel Chester French. Both of these monuments continue to be recognized for their fine quality design; craftsmanship, artistry and both are landmarks in their own right.
The large Doric column of the Illinois Centennial Monument, one of the most recognized features of the overall design, was constructed of marble, to the same proportions as the many rows of marble columns surrounding the Parthenon in Athens, Greece. That fine quality ancient structure, considered by some to be a most perfect proportioned building, with the most notable sculpture, also represented a much earlier democracy of the ancient world. Together with the column, topped with an American Bald Eagle, serves as a connection between two democracies, and two refined civilizations—one ancient and one contemporary —or modern day. This concept is even expressed and reflected in the bronze light standards, where the sculptural bases of mature acanthus leaves extend upward and sprout into bamboo stalks—or new growth, perhaps a subtle representation of the United States as the new Republic.
The Illinois Centennial Monument was commissioned and funded by the Benjamin Ferguson Monument Fund, administered by The Art Institute of Chicago. Ferguson, a wealthy Chicago industrialist, made his fortune and wealth in the lumber business, much like many other noteworthy Chicagoans of the nineteenth century. Upon his death in 1905, was created a special fund, said to be valued at one-million dollars, and was dedicated to the creation and maintenance of monuments, statues and sculptures for Chicago. His estate noted that these sculptures and statues were to be placed
“along the boulevards or in public places within the City of Chicago, Illinois commemorating worthy men or women of America or important events of American history.”
This resulted in many noteworthy commissions funded by the Ferguson Fund, including the “Fountain of the Great Lakes” in the courtyard of The Art Institute of Chicago and “The Fountain of Time”—on the Midway Plaisance, both by artist, Lorado Taft. The statue of the Republic in Jackson Park, by artist Daniel Chester French and the Mestrovic bowed “Indians” in Grant Park, to name several examples.
The historic public square, on which we stand today, later known as Logan Square, was originally conceived as part of a larger boulevard system idea in 1869. Construction of this system extended continuously through the city, as funds were available into the mid-to-late 1890s, when this particular parcel of land was created. This inner-city pastoral drive became known as “The Chicago Boulevard System”—extending some 29 miles and thought of as a passive carriage drive, envisioned to circle the City of Chicago and connect many of the larger urban parks with the Lakefront. Designed as a complete vision by Chicago architect, William LeBaron Jenney—the “Father of the Skyscraper,” it was later refined over time, with portions of the West Parks System plantings by the famous landscape architect, Jens Jensen. Upon its completion, this Chicago Boulevard System became a remarkable feature of a 19
th century industrial city.
This rectangular parcel of land near the Northwest terminus of this system was dedicated as Logan Square, named in honor of Civil War General and politician, John A. Logan (1826-1886), from Downstate Illinois—who marched with both Generals Sherman and Grant in many battles during the American Civil War. General Logan became a resident of Chicago, in the years following the War, and resided on Chicago’s near South Side, at 2119 S. Calumet, near the Prairie Avenue Historic District.
In about 1914, Logan Square was selected as a site for this new monument, honoring 100 years of Illinois’ contributions to the Union, and a grand monument to statehood. The Logan Square site selected was at that at the time the rival to so many other locations throughout Chicago and the State of Illinois. So, from the humble of beginnings of a Native American hunting trail and the establishment of Northwest Plank Road--now known as Milwaukee Avenue, and a somewhat remote farming community, established as of the towns of Jefferson and Maplewood—a prairie of sorts, settled by Martin Kimbell and his family, William Powell and Homer Pennock, and educators like John Stehman to modern day Logan Square, and the site of a marvelous and majestic monument honoring the State of Illinois. What a great achievement and destination place this site would become.
Let us not forget, that The Illinois Centennial Monument was created, built and dedicated during World War I---and with daily counts of young men lost to the tragedies of war, which is never a good option. The height of patriotism was perhaps never felt with such fervor or in such a way—at least not since the Civil War of the 1860s. Pictures of lost soldiers--heroes of our country, but really young boys—painfully graced the newspapers each day—counting losses, with many from Chicago.
It was in this realm and spirit that this Monument was constructed and celebrated. It was dedicated in a celebration, which commenced at the famous Auditorium Theater in Downtown Chicago, which still stands today. The grand theater and hotel of its age, by Dankmar Adler & Louis Sullivan, kicked off the celebration and with a spectacular program, followed by a grand parade of thousands, eventually reaching the community and the Illinois Centennial Monument at Logan Square. The Monument was dedicated by Governor Lowden, complete with marching bands, during what was perhaps the middle of the First World War in Europe—which really placed America’s might on the world’s stage. It is almost unimaginable what level of patriotism, enthusiasm, inspiration and yet concern for the future must have been present on that day –100 years ago in 1918.
On this day—and in these coming months and years—let us look upon this Monument with the proud achievement of 200 years of Illinois history and that of the great city of Chicago---and its great contributions to the world.
-- In Architecture
-- In the Arts
-- In City Planning
-- In Structural Engineering Achievements
-- In Labor History and both achievements, agreements and laws tied to Unions and the establishment of an 8-hour workday.
-- In Water Purity and Engineering Marvels for clean air and water, in part, like the reversal of the Chicago River and the construction of the Illinois Sanitary Canal.
-- In the Education of its Citizens and People
-- In Culinary Achievements, and celebrating the City’s diversity and also its wholeness—coming together.
-- In the richness of its cultures—throughout the city’s history, extending to present day- now and long into the future.
--And in Fairness and Equality for All
Let us rededicate the Monument with a commitment to making Illinois and Chicago a much better place ---I ask and we ask of you—All of you!
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Hundreds Visit The Shrine for "Hard Hat Tour" During Open House Chicago
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Shrine of Christ the King, 6401 S. Woodlawn Avenue, Photo Credit: Eric Allix Rogers
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Hundreds visited the Shrine of Christ the King during Open House Chicago on October 13 and 14 to see the new roof and witness the results of this extraordinary preservation effort. The Shrine and Preservation Chicago this hosted the event on Saturday the 13th and many Preservation Chicago board members and staff, parishioners and members of the non-profit organization Save the Shrine were onsite. The Shrine’s “Hard Hat Tour” was one of the most popular Open House Chicago sites in the neighborhoods!
After three years of being open to the elements, the Shrine of Christ the King (6401 S. Woodlawn Ave.) has a getting a roof! Over the spring and summer, new steel trusses, decking and insulation were installed and the outer layer of shingles will be added this fall.
The Shrine, built as St. Clara and landmarked as St. Gelasius, has been one of Preservation Chicago’s most consistent efforts and biggest wins over the past two decades. When the neo-Renaissance masterpiece of Chicago architect Henry Schlacks was first threatened with demolition in 2002, Preservation Chicago, along with our partner organization Landmarks Illinois, led the successful effort to designate the building as a Chicago Landmark in 2003. When the Shrine was once again threatened with demolition following the massive fire that destroyed its roof in 2015, Preservation Chicago again rallied to #SaveTheShrine, generating hundreds of thousands of dollars in pledges to secure the building and facilitating an unprecedented transfer of ownership from the Archdiocese of Chicago to an independent Catholic religious order, the Institute of Christ the King.
Preservation Chicago has continued to be a crucial partner in the Shrine’s restoration, including recently by supporting the Shrine’s successful candidacy for the National Fund for Sacred Places. In 2017, the Shrine was the only Chicago house of worship to be accepted into this competitive program, which includes a quarter million dollar grant to support the restoration. Ward Miller has been frequently quoted in the press on the Shrine project, most recently by the Sun-Times in March, when he called the Shrine “a fabulous structure that is so much a part of Woodlawn.”(Chicago Sun-Times, 3/23/18)
You can also #SeeTheShrine on the big screen this November, when Dr. Enid Wells’ film students at the Shrine’s neighbor Kennedy-King College, will once again include a short film on the restoration’s progress at their Arts Showcase on Tuesday, November 27th, from 2-3:30 at 6301 S. Halsted Street. The Shrine and Kennedy-King College were introduced thanks to Landmarks Illinois’ “People Saving Places” video series and the College has generously continued to give visibility to the project through film-making. This is a great chance to support young film-makers telling inspiring stories of preservation in their neighborhoods!
Additional Reading
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Preservation Chicago Hosts Beijing Delegation of Urban Planners
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Preservation Chicago hosts a delegation of Urban Planners from Beijing. Photo Credit: Preservation Chicago
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Preservation Chicago hosts a delegation of Urban Planner from Beijing. Photo Credit: Preservation Chicago
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Preservation Chicago was honored to host an international delegation of leading urban planners from Beijing. The spirited conversation with real-time transition covered a wide range of historic preservation related topics. The full day of activities included an overview lecture of the 2018 Chicago 7 Most Endangered, a walking tour of Ravenswood including a focus on the role of transit in supporting commercial, industrial and residential uses, a walking tour of the Uptown Square Historic District with a special interior tour of the extraordinary Uptown Broadway Building, and a driving tour of that included Chicago 7 highlights such as Thompson Center, Union Station and Jackson Park. All involved were fascinated to explore the many similarities and many differences between preservation and planning efforts in both Chicago and Beijing.
Preservation Chicago applauds “Choose Chicago”, Chicago’s tourism agency, for their efforts and success in championing Chicago’s important role locally, nationally, and internationally. We are thrilled to be able to do our part to showcase our magnificent city to an international audience!
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Don't Miss
Norwood Park Historical Society's
Annual Holiday House Tour
Saturday, Dec. 1, 2018
11 am to 4 pm
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Noble-Seymour-Crippen House, 5624 N. Newark Avenue. Photo Credit: ZAGALEJO on Flicker (Creative Commons)
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On Saturday, December 1, 2018, homeowners in Chicago’s Norwood Park neighborhood open their homes to guests. The Norwood Park Historical Society presents its annual Holiday House Tour, a self-guided tour held 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Proceeds from the event will benefit this non-profit organization.
The tour is sponsored by the Norwood Park Historical Society and supported by many local businesses. Advance tickets are available till Nov. 17, 2018. The cost is $20 for the Holiday House Tour, or $25 for the Holiday House Tour and lunch at the Holly Daze Café. Groups of 10 receive a 10% discount when buying tickets by Nov. 17. Use the code HOLLYDAZE for this discount. This is only applicable for groups of 10.
Starting Nov. 18, cost is $30 for the Holiday House Tour, or $35 for the Holiday House Tour and lunch at the Holly Daze Café.
The tour begins at the Norwood Park Senior Center, 5801 N. Natoma, Chicago IL 60631. The houses are selected to represent a cross-section of the neighborhood’s different architecture. Homes range from those built in the late 1800s to the 1900s, and showcase the many ways the homeowners have blended the past and present in their historic homes. There are 6 homes on the tour. Guests can walk, drive, or take the shuttle to each of the homes. The 6th home is the Noble-Seymour-Crippen House, which will be hosting Victoria’s Holiday Craft Boutique and Holly Daze Café.
An historic presentation is shown at the Norwood Park Senior Center prior to the tour, documenting the changes the Norwood Park neighborhood has seen over the past years. Visitors may ask questions of local historians, and pick up their tour book, which includes a map of the tour route.
The Norwood Park Historical Society, a not-for-profit organization, owns and is headquartered in the Noble-Seymour-Crippen House, the oldest surviving house in Chicago (built in 1833). The Society works with the community to preserve its rich history and architectural integrity and to make the dreams and experiences of our predecessors come to life. Visits are available on Saturdays, from noon to 4 p.m., or by appointment.
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Support the Packingtown Museum Kickstarter Campaign!
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Mural on the exterior of The Plant at
1400 W 46th Street. Photo Credit; Packingtown Museum at The Plant
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Packingtown Museum at The Plant
Inside a former meatpacking plant at 1400 W 46th Street, organizers are developing a museum dedicated to preserving the rich history of Chicago's Union Stock Yard.
Vision and Mission
The Packingtown Museum is dedicated to preserving, interpreting, and presenting the industrial history and cultural heritage of Chicago’s Union Stock Yard and surrounding neighborhoods. Through a combination of exhibits and educational programming, the museum strives to connect Chicago's industrial past to its future and inform contemporary conversations about labor, immigration, food production, community development, and the economy.
About The Plant
The Packingtown Museum is housed at The Plant, a former meatpacking facility that is being repurposed as a collaborative community of food businesses committed to material re-use and closed-loop systems. The Plant is owned and operated by Bubbly Dynamics, LLC, which directs the design and build-out of tenant spaces, common areas, and major projects to increase efficiencies of the building and site.
Established in 2002, Bubbly Dynamics is a social enterprise whose mission is to create replicable models for ecologically responsible and sustainable urban industrial development. Bubbly Dynamics’ first building, the Chicago Sustainable Manufacturing Center, was renovated based on these principles and has been home to tenants involved in a variety of light-industrial uses. Bubbly’s second project, The Plant, takes the concept further and is working to demonstrate the benefits of closing loops of waste, resources, and energy for food-producing businesses.
Background & Rationale
The very first draft of The Plant's floor plans included a space reserved for the Packingtown Museum. John Edel, founder of Bubbly Dynamics, LLC, recognized the need to tell the story of the South Side of Chicago’s role in the development of industrialization – of food, in particular – which is locally relevant and globally significant.
The story of the development of the Union Stock Yard, the people who worked in them, and the neighborhoods that grew up around it includes chapters on organized labor, the role of immigration in fueling the growth of city and economy, and the changing relationship between people, machines, and food. All of these historical themes are relevant to the political and social dynamics of Chicago and the United States today. Through a better understanding of and appreciation for this 150-year history, we can be more engaged and thoughtful participants in the present and future that is unfolding right in front of us at The Plant.
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Support Computers for Pullman Archives
GoFundMe Campaign!
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"Pullman Factory Worker with Finished Car", Photo Credit; The Pullman State Historic Site Collections.
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The Pullman State Historic Site has an ever-growing and important collection of archival materials (such as photographs and memorabilia) relating to the Pullman Company, the Pullman neighborhood, and the adjacent Roseland neighborhood. These archives range in date from the early 19th century to the present day. A number of dedicated volunteers (including professional archivists) work together to digitize and catalog this collection so that everyone can use it.
The Friends of the Pullman State Historic Site work with the Pullman State Historic Site and strongly support these initiatives among others. The Friends group needs your help in making more of these archives available. The archives are currently accessed through a homegrown and increasingly outdated system which no longer sufficiently serves our needs. In order to ensure ongoing public access to these important collections, we need to move to an industry standard digital asset management system.
You can review a mockup of the new, more accessible record format here:
Unfortunately, the current computer hardware available to us is all but obsolete. By adding additional workstations, more materials can be cataloged and made available in a timely manner. Altogether, the Friends seek to purchase between four and six desktop computers with monitors and imaging software at an estimated cost of $4,000 to $5,000.
We would like your help in making the dream of accessing Pullman archives available for everyone.
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If You Value Preservation In Chicago...
Please Support
Preservation Chicago
!
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Demolition of Chicago Machinery Building, 1217 West Washington Boulevard, designed by D.H. Burnham & Company in 1910, Photo Credit: Ward Miller
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Preservation Chicago is a small organization with a big impact. In a city the size of Chicago, every part of your support counts.
Please choose to support historic preservation in Chicago today!
- Spread the Word! Support preservation in Chicago by reading and reposting Facebook and Twitter posts!
- Be Heard! Support preservation in Chicago by attending community meetings and standing up to make your voice heard!
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