March 2026 Newsletter

WIN: Statue of the Republic To Be Regilded After 33 Years of Deferred Maintenance (Chicago 7 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 & 2021)

"On just the right morning, when things are crisp and clear enough, the sun rises over the lake and lights up the gilded two-story...

THREATENED: Neighbors Make Impassioned Case To Save Beloved Morgan Shoal

"A few hundred feet off the shoreline of Kenwood and Hyde Park lives an underwater marvel few Chicagoans ever see: the remnants of a...

THREATENED: After Decades of Neglect, CDOT Announces Two-Year Delay for Restoration of Burnham and Root’s Darrow Bridge (Chicago 7 2025)

"Reconstruction of the Darrow Bridge has been pushed back to fall 2028, the Chicago Department of Transportation wrote in an April 6 email to...

THREATENED: Long-Term Owner Wants to Sell Midcentury Modern Pride Cleaners

"On Feb. 28, the last orders of crisply pressed dress shirts passed through the doors of 79th Street’s iconic Pride Cleaners. After nearly 70...

LOSS: Chicago Loses Another Iconic Neon Sign After Sale of Erie-LaSalle Body Shop (Neon Signs: Chicago 7 2015)

"Bob Gottfred can’t help but feel 'very blue' after selling his 92-year-old family business, Erie-LaSalle Body Shop, for what he would only call 'an...

LOSS: Another Vintage Neon Sign Lost: Foremost Liquors (Neon Signs: Chicago 7 2015)

"Chicago is losing another iconic neon sign."The sign for Uptown’s Foremost Liquors — with yellowed neon bulbs that lit up the historic Argyle Street...

THREATENED: Chicago Sign Museum Wants the City’s Hand-Made Signs Saved Before They’re Gone

"Whether painted, wood, bulb or neon, Chicago signs have a special place in the hearts of enthusiasts who aim to bring a new museum...

BUYER WANTED: Adolph J. Lichtstern Mansion / Former Black-Owned Hospital at 3736 S. Indiana Avenue Listed for Sale

"A Bronzeville mansion with a storied history is for sale for the first time in decades, and local preservationists want to ensure it remains...

WIN: Blair Mansion Will Become Astor Club Clubhouse After Comprehensive Renovation

"It will only be a matter of time until the building becomes a clubhouse and that time will arrive in a few months. The...

POTENTIAL WIN: Chicago Seeks to Reinvest in Madison Pulaski Commercial District (Chicago 7 2017)

"Madison Street on the city’s West Side has been rocked by some serious body blows over the last 60 or so years and it...