90-Day Demolition Delay: 161 E. Erie St, River North
The Demolition Delay Ordinance, adopted by City Council in 2003, establishes a hold of up to 90 days in the issuance of any demolition permit for certain historic buildings in order that the Department of Planning and Development can explore options, as appropriate, to preserve the building, including but...
THREATENED: Demolition Looms for Ornate Terra Cotta Holiday Club Building (Chicago 7 2023)
"Plans for a seven-story apartment building with retail are moving forward at the site of Uptown’s Holiday Club."Catapult Real Estate Solutions is overhauling the northwest corner of Sheridan and Irving Park roads, 4006 N. Sheridan Road. The new building will have 91 apartments, 38 parking spaces and about 2,000...
THREATENED: Historic Chicago Avenue Bridge and Bridge House to be Demolished and Replaced
Built in 1914 by the Ketler-Elliot Erection Company of Chicago, the historic Chicago Avenue Bridge is scheduled for demolition and replacement with a new non-movable, concrete bridge. As part of this process as the historic Chicago Avenue Bridge was determined eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic...
THREATENED: Community Effort Ramps Up to Ensure Preservation-Sensitive Restoration of Long-Neglected Darrow Bridge
"Clarence Darrow Bridge, which overlooks the lagoon south of the Museum of Science and Industry, is one of the few remnants of the famous landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted’s original vision for Jackson Park. Now, as the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) embarks on a project to replace the...
THREATENED: After Years of Deferred Maintenance, City of Chicago Sues to Stop Unpermitted Repair Work at Portage Theater (Chicago 7 2012)
"The City of Chicago is now suing the owner of a historic, but neglected theater in the Northwest Side's Portage Park neighborhood. The lawsuit comes just months after the 103-year-old Portage Theater, 4050 N. Milwaukee Ave., was named one of the most endangered sites in the state of Illinois."The...
THREATENED: Ongoing Efforts to Save Strangers Home Missionary Baptist Church and All of Mankind Mural (Chicago 7 2024)
"Standing in a vacant lot that sits between the two housing projects he grew up in, Marques 'Merk' Elliston pointed down an alley toward Burling Street and was reminded of a childhood memory. Elliston and his lifelong friend, Cher’Don Reynolds, grew up in the Cabrini-Green public housing complex and...
THREATENED: Pullman’s Greenstone United Methodist Church Blocked From Receiving $1 Million Chicago Adopt-a-Landmark Grants
"With its unique green serpentine limestone exterior and 92-foot bell tower, Pullman’s Greenstone United Methodist Church is among the city’s oldest and most historic churches, having held down the corner of 112th and St. Lawrence since 1882."But the expense of properly preserving a 140-year-old building that’s listed on the...
THREATENED: Advocacy Efforts Ongoing to Save Frank Lloyd Wright’s Walser House in Austin from Deteriorating Condition and Foreclosure
"A house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in the Austin neighborhood is deteriorating while mired in a foreclosure mess and needs a rescuer, but the path to that is murky."Built in 1903, the J.J. Walser Jr. House on Central Avenue is in poor condition, as seen in the photos...
90-Day Demolition Delay: 2923-25 W. Jackson Blvd., East Garfield Park
#101043316
Date Received: 02/05/2024
Ward: 27th Ald. Walter Burnett Jr
Applicant: MBR Wrecking & Construction, Inc. C/O Joel Reifer
Owner: 5301 W. Ogden, LLC C/O James Spyropoulous
Permit Description: Wreck and removal of a one-story masonry building.
Status: Under Review
THREATENED: Iglesia Cristiana Unida Church Threatened with Demolition
"Initial details have been revealed for the residential development at 1055 W Diversey Parkway in Lincoln Park. Located just west of the intersection with N Sheffield Avenue on the northern edge of the neighborhood, the project will be replacing an existing church building. The proposal is being led by...
THREATENED: New Construction to Replace Former Holy Angels School at 545 E. Oakwood
"The Zoning Board of Appeals has approved a series of variations for the residential development planned at 545 E. Oakwood. With Eagle OZB II LP serving as the developer, the project site is located at the southeast corner of E. Oakwood Blvd and S. Vincennes Ave. Currently occupied by...
THREATENED: Historic Terra Cotta Facade Might Be Incorporated Into New Construction
"A plan to replace the deteriorating Marcello’s Father & Son restaurant building could bring condos and a new retail spot to Milwaukee Avenue."Halcyon Development Company and Design Group is proposing to redevelop the former restaurant building and an adjacent lot at 2479 N. Milwaukee Ave. into a four-story building...
THREATENED: Engineering Study Confirms Promontory Point Limestone Needs Repair, Not Replacement (Chicago 7 2022)
"For years, members of the Promontory Park Conservancy have been locked in a battle with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over the fate of the Point’s historic limestone stair-step revetment on Lake Michigan."The Corps has claimed the existing structures no longer protect against storms, flooding and erosion, and...
THREATENED: Chicago 7 Nomination Amplifies Effort to Save All of Mankind Murals (Chicago 7 2024)
"Former Cabrini-Green residents, and lifelong friends, Marques “MeRk” Elliston and Dr. Cher’Don Reynolds, are spearheading a mission to revitalize, reclaim, and preserve the building most recently known as the Stranger’s Home Missionary Baptist Church."The vision for the hopefully soon-to-be Cabrini Art House is to change the vacant building into...
THREATENED: Loyola University Plans Demolition of 1234 W. Loyola Ave. for Vacant Lot
"If you stand in front of the flatiron-style building at 1226-1234 W. Loyola—home to 30 apartments and a trio of businesses on the ground floor—you’re surrounded by vacant lots. Across the street from that building is a vast, unpaved expanse used for parking by Loyola University that’s chained off...
THREATENED: Despite Chicago Landmark Designation, La Luce Building Suffers from Neglect
"In early June 2021, the city’s landmarks commission announced one of the big wins of the year for Chicago’s historical buildings. A four-story, Queen Anne-style building on Lake Street near Ogden — a charmer from 1892 with a copper turret on the corner and a three-story copper window bay...
THREATENED: Community Pushes Back Against DePaul’s Plans to Demolish Sheffield-Belden Group (Chicago 7 2024)
"DePaul University is moving forward with efforts to demolish century-old homes to make way for a new sports facility, but it has added to its plans to appease preservation-minded neighbors."While its plan calls for razing four 19th-century rowhouses, DePaul is now committing to preserving three other historical buildings on...
THREATENED: Parishioners Pack Three Services on Final Day Before Our Lady of Lourdes Church is Closed (Chicago 7 2019 & 2021)
"Our Lady of Lourdes Church will soon close, and it could be demolished."But not if Preservation Chicago and other organizations succeed in saving the 125-year-old church and its parishioners' efforts."Our Lady of Lourdes Church has been serving the neighborhoods of Andersonville, Ravenswood, and Uptown for 125 years, but now...
THREATENED: Strong Community Opposition Delays Ogden-Keeler Industrial Buildings Demolition Zoning Hearing (Chicago 7 2024)
"North Lawndale residents are pushing back on a plan to demolish a dozen historic manufacturing buildings and replace them with a logistics operation they fear will send large diesel trucks rumbling through their streets, shaking their homes and polluting the air."Real estate developer IDI Logistics owns and plans to...
THREATENED: The Complicated Saga of the Century and Consumers Buildings (Chicago 7 2011, 2013, 2022, 2023, 2024)
"Chicago’s State Street houses a number of America’s earliest and most historic skyscrapers. These skyscrapers, recognized as the 'Chicago School' of architecture, represent the creativity of engineers and architects working in steel frame construction to both maximize light through distinctive window patterns, and to draw the public into the...
THREATENED: “Monument With a Standing Beast” by artist Jean DuBuffet Dismantled and Removed From Thompson Center Plaza (Chicago 7 2017)
"When Rolf Achilles, an art historian and a lecturer at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago, walked by the Loop’s James R. Thompson Center Thursday, he said he felt a profound sadness. Blue fencing surrounded the building’s courtyard as construction crews prepared to remove the iconic Chicago...
THREATENED: New Construction to Replace Former Holy Angels School at 545 E. Oakwood
"The Zoning Board of Appeals has approved a series of variations for the residential development planned at 545 E. Oakwood. With Eagle OZB II LP serving as the developer, the project site is located at the southeast corner of E. Oakwood Blvd and S. Vincennes Ave. Currently occupied by...
THREATENED: Midway Plaisance Greenspace to be Counted as “Replacement” Greenspace (Chicago 7 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 & 2021)
"The Obama Foundation announced Wednesday a $4 million donation to the Chicago Park District, earmarked for construction of an inclusive, adaptable playground at the east end of Midway Plaisance, directly across from the Obama Presidential Center currently under construction in adjacent Jackson Park."The playground — a first of its...
THREATENED: Community Urges Protection of South Shore Nature Sanctuary (Chicago 7 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 & 2021)
"South of downtown Chicago—about 8.6 miles—is a vast, undeveloped area that sits along the Lake Michigan shoreline. There, benches and firepits and silence are all-encompassing. Local birders walk along a boardwalk, binoculars close to their faces, while others wander around the space’s lagoons. A mile further south is Rainbow...
THREATENED: Ann Sather and Belmont Army Buildings Targeted for Demolition
"The Lakeview building housing Belmont Army Vintage and Ann Sather could be redeveloped into 11 stories of apartments under a new proposal."Mavrek Development wants to redevelop the building at 925 W. Belmont Ave. into a 210-apartment building with ground-floor storefronts and a sleek, glass facade."The proposal includes 10,000 square...
THREATENED: Future Unclear for Monument With a Standing Beast After Removal From Thompson Center Plaza
"When Rolf Achilles, an art historian and a lecturer at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago, walked by the Loop’s James R. Thompson Center Thursday, he said he felt a profound sadness. Blue fencing surrounded the building’s courtyard as construction crews prepared to remove the iconic Chicago...
THREATENED: Engineering Study Confirms Promontory Point Limestone Needs Repair, Not Replacement (Chicago 7 2022)
"For years, members of the Promontory Park Conservancy have been locked in a battle with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over the fate of the Point’s historic limestone stair-step revetment on Lake Michigan."The Corps has claimed the existing structures no longer protect against storms, flooding and erosion, and...
THREATENED: Chicago 7 Nomination Amplifies Effort to Save All of Mankind Murals (Chicago 7 2024)
"Former Cabrini-Green residents, and lifelong friends, Marques “MeRk” Elliston and Dr. Cher’Don Reynolds, are spearheading a mission to revitalize, reclaim, and preserve the building most recently known as the Stranger’s Home Missionary Baptist Church."The vision for the hopefully soon-to-be Cabrini Art House is to change the vacant building into...
THREATENED: Loyola University Plans Demolition of 1234 W. Loyola Ave. for Vacant Lot
"If you stand in front of the flatiron-style building at 1226-1234 W. Loyola—home to 30 apartments and a trio of businesses on the ground floor—you’re surrounded by vacant lots. Across the street from that building is a vast, unpaved expanse used for parking by Loyola University that’s chained off...
THREATENED: Demolition Permit Released for Continental Can Company Building (Chicago 7 2020, 2021 & 2023)
"The Continental Can Co. building at 3815 S. Ashland Ave., Chicago, is due for demolition soon to make way for a new cold-storage warehouse from Karis: a $30 million project that would bring a much-needed food storage facility close to downtown, said Vice President Ken Verne at a presentation...
THREATENED: Ogden-Keeler Industrial Buildings Highly Endangered by Distribution Warehouse (Chicago 7 2024)
"The Chicago Plan Commission will vote Thursday on whether to approve the demolition of several century-old Southwest Side warehouses considered significant by historic preservationists, and replace them with a single, $44 million modern distribution facility."The properties, located between Pulaski Road and Keeler Avenue along West Ogden Avenue on the...
THREATENED: DePaul Pushes forward with Plans to Demolish Sheffield-Belden Group (Chicago 7 2024)
"DePaul University is moving forward with efforts to demolish century-old homes to make way for a new sports facility, but it has added to its plans to appease preservation-minded neighbors."While its plan calls for razing four 19th-century rowhouses, DePaul is now committing to preserving three other historical buildings on...
THREATENED: Final Days for 720 N. Wells and 207 W. Superior
"Preservationists are seeking an eleventh-hour reprieve for a historic 152-year-old River North building facing imminent demolition."The three-and-a-half story brick and cast-iron building at 720 N. Wells St., which rose from the ashes of the Great Chicago Fire with the seventh permit issued during the city’s rebuilding, is set to...
THREATENED: The Complicated Saga of the Century and Consumers Buildings (Chicago 7 2011, 2013, 2022, 2023, 2024)
"Chicago’s State Street houses a number of America’s earliest and most historic skyscrapers. These skyscrapers, recognized as the 'Chicago School' of architecture, represent the creativity of engineers and architects working in steel frame construction to both maximize light through distinctive window patterns, and to draw the public into the...
THREATENED: Swift-Morris Mansion, a 2024 Chicago 7 Most Endangered
Swift-Morris MansionAddress: 4500 S. Michigan AvenueArchitect: James R. Willett & Alfred Pashley (attributed)Date: 1892; c.1917 (coach house)Style: Richardsonian Romanesque / Queen AnneNeighborhood: BronzevilleOverviewA landmark of the Bronzeville community, the Swift-Morris Mansion at 4500 S. Michigan Avenue has stood as an echo of South Side’s turn of the century “Gold...
THREATENED: All of Mankind Mural / Stranger’s Home Missionary Baptist Church, a 2024 Chicago 7 Most Endangered
All of Mankind Mural/Stranger’s Home Missionary Baptist ChurchMuralsAddress: 617 W. Evergreen StreetArtist: William WalkerYear: 1971-1974
Style: Black Arts MovementChurchAddress: 617 W. EvergreenArchitect/Artist: John Neal Tilton
Year: 1901Style: Gothic RevivalOverview
Once surrounded by the towers of the Cabrini-Green Homes, the Stranger’s Home Missionary Baptist Church (formerly San Marcello Mission Church) was a center of...
THREATENED: Chicago Vocational School (CVS), a 2024 Chicago 7 Most Endangered
Chicago Vocational School (aka Chicago Vocational Career Academy)Address: 2100 E. 87th Street
Architect: John C. Christensen
Date: 1938-1941
Style: Art Deco/Art Moderne
Neighborhood: Avalon ParkOverview
Chicago Vocational School (today, Chicago Vocational Career Academy but most commonly known as CVS) is among the most notable examples of Art Deco/Art Moderne architecture in the city of...
THREATENED: Schulze Baking Company Building, a 2024 Chicago 7 Most Endangered
Schulze Baking Company Building
Address: 40 East Garfield Boulevard
Architect: John Ahlschlager & Son
Date: 1915
Style: Sullivanesque
Neighborhood: Washington ParkSchulze Baking Company Building
Address: 40 East Garfield Boulevard
Architect: John Ahlschlager & Son
Date: 1915
Style: Sullivanesque
Neighborhood: Washington ParkOverviewProminently located at the corner of East Garfield Boulevard and South Wabash Avenue, the Schulze Baking Company Plant has...
THREATENED: Ogden-Keeler Industrial Buildings, a 2024 Chicago 7 Most Endangered
Ogden-Keeler Industrial BuildingsWestern Felt Works
Address: 4115 W. Ogden
Year: 1916
Architect: R.C. Fletcher
Style: Prairie SchoolTurner Manufacturing Company
Address: 4147-4151 W. Ogden; 2309-2325 S. Keeler
Year: 1918 - 1921
Architect: Alfred S. Alschuler
Style: Prairie School and Classical RevivalOverviewThe Ogden Keeler Industrial Buildings are a collection of three historic manufacturing structures situated along West Ogden and...
THREATENED: Sheffield-Belden Group, a 2024 Chicago 7 Most Endangered
Sheffield-Belden GroupNW corner of Sheffield and Belden)Courtyard BuildingAddress: 1000-1012 W. Belden/2300-2302 N. SheffieldArchitects: Maher & McGrawDate: 1926Style: Renaissance RevivalFour Freestanding TownhousesAddress: 2308, 2310, 2314 and 2316 N. SheffieldArchitects: Attributed to John Morrell and othersDate: 1892, 1890,. 1890, and 1893Style: Romanesque RevivalNeighborhood: Lincoln ParkOverviewFor over 130 years, four freestanding brick...
THREATENED: The Century and Consumers Buildings, a 2024 Chicago 7 Most Endangered
Century & Consumers BuildingsThe Century BuildingAddress: 202 S. State StreetArchitects: Holabird and RocheDate: 1915The Consumers BuildingAddress: 220 S. State StreetArchitects: Jenney, Mundie & JensenDate: 1913Neighborhood: LoopStyle: Chicago School SkyscrapersOverviewTwo of State Street’s terra cotta-clad skyscrapers, known as the Century and Consumers Buildings, remain in danger of demolition, threatening the...
90-Day Demolition Delay: 2923-25 W. Jackson Blvd., East Garfield Park
#101043316
Date Received: 02/05/2024
Ward: 27th Ald. Walter Burnett Jr
Applicant: MBR Wrecking & Construction, Inc. C/O Joel Reifer
Owner: 5301 W. Ogden, LLC C/O James Spyropoulous
Permit Description: Wreck and removal of a one-story masonry building.
Status: Under Review
THREATENED: After 86 Years in Business, Palace Grill Damaged After Grease Fire
"A fire caused 'extensive' damage to a well-known restaurant on the Near West Side Thursday night."Firefighters responded just after 10 p.m. to a fire at Palace Grill, 1408 W. Madison St., Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said. The restaurant was closed at the time. No injuries were reported....
THREATENED: Neighbors Organize to Save Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church After May 19th Closure (Chicago 7 2021)
"Neighbors are working to protect Uptown’s historical Our Lady of Lourdes church and its unique grotto, which are slated to close for good in May."Our Lady of Lourdes Church, 4640 N. Ashland Ave., will close after hosting its last Mass May 19. Portions of the parish campus are already...
THREATENED: Midway Plaisance Greenspace to be Counted as “Replacement” Greenspace (Chicago 7 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 & 2021)
"The Obama Foundation announced Wednesday a $4 million donation to the Chicago Park District, earmarked for construction of an inclusive, adaptable playground at the east end of Midway Plaisance, directly across from the Obama Presidential Center currently under construction in adjacent Jackson Park."The playground — a first of its...
THREATENED: South Shore Community Urges Protection and Reinvestment in South Shore Nature Sanctuary (Chicago 7 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 & 2021)
"South of downtown Chicago—about 8.6 miles—is a vast, undeveloped area that sits along the Lake Michigan shoreline. There, benches and firepits and silence are all-encompassing. Local birders walk along a boardwalk, binoculars close to their faces, while others wander around the space’s lagoons. A mile further south is Rainbow...
THREATENED: Ann Sather and Belmont Army Buildings Targeted for Demolition
"The Lakeview building housing Belmont Army Vintage and Ann Sather could be redeveloped into 11 stories of apartments under a new proposal."Mavrek Development wants to redevelop the building at 925 W. Belmont Ave. into a 210-apartment building with ground-floor storefronts and a sleek, glass facade."The proposal includes 10,000 square...
THREATENED: Little Flower Church / St. Therese the Infant Jesus Church Condition Worsens During Extended Vacancy
"When an urban explorer stumbled across the old, boarded-up church at the corner of 80th and Wood streets, the signs of its neglect and decay piqued his curiosity. Hidden beyond the broken windows, crumbling drywall and flooded floors were intricate columns, vaulted ceilings and intact stained glass that included...
THREATENED: Loyola University Plans Demolition of 1234 W. Loyola Ave. for Vacant Lot
"Far North Side neighbors and local officials are circulating petitions and pushing for landmark status for a building to block Loyola University Chicago from tearing it down."Loyola bought the building at 1226-1234 W. Loyola Ave. in December. It houses three small businesses and 35 apartments. All of the tenants...
THREATENED: Developer Announces Plans to Demolish 720 N. Wells
Chic"Two historic structures are set to meet the wrecking ball at the southwest corner of N. Wells St and W. Superior St. Announced in Alderman Reilly’s newsletter to constituents, the demolition will begin in March and be completed in June. Planned by Topography Hospitality and KF Partners LLC, the...