POTENTIAL WIN: Milshire Hotel Neon Sign Safe for Now After Auction Cancelled

“The Milshire Hotel’s neon sign is no longer for sale after the building’s owner bowed to community pressure and reversed his plans, agreeing instead to work with neighbors on a plan to keep the historical sign in Logan Square.

“Well-known property investor Mark Fishman listed the 15-foot-tall sign on Live Auctioneers at the end of May with a starting bid of $5,000, rattling community leaders who feared the sign would be “shipped out” of Logan Square when the Milshire Hotel is redeveloped.

“The sign is believed to be at least 80 years old, and is a Milwaukee Avenue staple. Local leaders with the neighborhood group Logan Square Preservation launched an online fundraiser May 29 to buy the sign and preserve it.

“But not long after Block Club highlighted the fundraiser, Fishman’s real estate company, M. Fishman Co., changed course and took the listing down, according to Logan Square Preservation’s president Andrew Schneider.

“Now, Fishman’s company is pledging to work with Logan Square Preservation to make sure the sign stays in the neighborhood. M. Fishman Co. officials didn’t return messages seeking comment.

“They saw our campaign, and indicated to us that Mr. Fishman was concerned that the sign would end up sold to somebody and removed from the neighborhood,” Schneider said. “He felt that was not a desirable outcome and that, no matter what, the sign should remain in the neighborhood. I think that’s the correct impulse, and that’s something we appreciate and applaud.”(Bloom, Block Club Chicago, 6/8/22)

“The sign was installed sometime in the 1930s or 1940s. It was one of many similar signs on Milwaukee Avenue at the time, but few remain today, Logan Square Preservation’s president Andrew Schneider said.

“‘We only have a few survivors left,’ Schneider said. ‘To see one of them removed when I don’t know that it’s strictly necessary, it’s a tremendous disappointment and a huge loss. If we can do something to prevent that loss, I think we should.’

“‘When you take something out of its context, it becomes a piece of collected ephemera in someone’s private collection,” Schneider said. ‘When that happens, our city’s streetscape is impoverished … the city, as a whole, loses.’ (Bloom, Block Club Chicago, 6/1/22)

Read the full story at Block Club Chicago

Milshire Hotel Sign Will Stay In Logan Square After Owner Cancels Auction, Property investor Mark Fishman reversed his plans to sell the historical neon sign after community pushback. Now, he’s working with community leaders to make sure it stays in Logan Square, Mina Bloom, Block Club Chicago, 6/8/22

Mark Fishman Is Selling Logan Square’s Iconic Milshire Hotel Sign. What’s Next For The Building?

Preservationists are rushing to save the neon sign, believed to be about 80 years old, after it listed on Live Auctioneers with a starting bid of $5,000, Mina Bloom, Block Club Chicago, 6/1/22

GoFundMe Effort to Save the Milshire Hotel Neon Sign, Logan Square Preservation, 5/29/22