“Ben Weese was an architect and historic preservationist who was part of the ‘Chicago Seven’ architectural group, an informal coterie of Chicago architects who banded together to reject the rigid approach toward modernism espoused by Ludwig Mies van Der Rohe.
“Weese served on the Commission on Chicago Landmarks and worked with his architect brother, Harry, and others in the field to form what now is the Chicago Architecture Foundation. The organization began with the sole purpose of saving the Richardsonian Romanesque-style Glessner House on the Near South Side.
“‘What I admired most about Ben was the passion he put into everything he did,’ said William Tyre, the executive director and curator of the Glessner House. ‘Whether it was fighting to save important architecture, designing quality low-income housing, engaging in social causes or hugging a tree, he gave 110% of himself, because he believed in these pursuits and how they would positively impact the larger community.’
“He and photographer Richard Nickel were among those who formed what then was known as the Chicago School of Architecture Foundation to try to preserve the three-story, 35-room Glessner House at 1800 S. Prairie Ave., which dates to 1886. About 30 individuals came together to form the foundation and paid $35,000 in 1966 for the house.
“‘It was not an easy sell to his fellow architects. Many understood the importance of the house, but didn’t think the effort could be successful with its location … and the enormous funds that would be needed for its maintenance,’ Tyre said. ‘Ben made a very convincing argument that converted skeptics into supporters.’
“Also in the 1970s, Weese joined with architects Stanley Tigerman, Laurence Booth, Thomas Beeby, Stuart Cohen, James Ingo Freed and James Nagle to form the ‘Chicago Seven,’ a group that later grew to 11 and which broke from what Gapp once called ‘the Miesian orthodoxy of Chicago-style architecture.’ The group drew international attention in 1976 with its “Chicago Architects’ exhibit honoring the wide variety of design philosophies developed in Chicago.
“The group then began dreaming up other intellectual exercises, such as contests and exhibitions, all aimed at a more inclusive perspective of Chicago’s architectural history. The group’s work helped lead to the rise of postmodern architecture in Chicago.
“In 1977, Weese left his brother’s firm after 20 years to form his own firm with his wife, architect Cynthia Weese, which now is known as Weese Langley Weese.
“The firm worked on the conversion of the Webster Hotel near the Lincoln Park Zoo into rental apartments, renovations of the LaSalle Towers building at 1211 N. LaSalle St. in Old Town and the design of the 30-story Chestnut Place apartment building, 8 W. Chestnut St. Weese won awards for his Goose Lake Prairie State Park Interpretive Center in Morris, Illinois.
“‘In the case of Ben, his architecture was completely of a piece with his sense of commitment to community and to a high sense of morality,’ said UIC architecture professor emeritus Robert Bruegmann. ‘His architecture tends to be simple, solid, understated. It always conveys a fitness of purpose and attention to context and the needs of its users.’
“For more than a decade starting in the 1990s, Weese served on the Commission on Chicago Landmarks.” (Goldsborough, Chicago Tribune, 5/20/24)
Read the full obituary at Chicago Tribune
- Ben Weese, architect and preservationist who helped save Glessner House, dies at 94, Bob Goldsborough, Chicago Tribune, 5/20/24
- Ben Weese, preservationist and rebel architect, dies at 94, Mr. Weese helped save the Glessner House and found the Chicago Architecture Center, Mitch Dudek, Chicago Sun-Times, 5/17/24
- OBITUARY: BENJAMIN WEESE (1929-2024), Catharine Weese, Society of Architectural Historians, 5/13/24
- The Family Homes of Harry Weese, Rachel Freundt, Architecture and History of Chicagoland, 12/7/23