- Community, History, Place and Equity, Tuesday November 12
- Chicago 7 Bus Tour, Sat., October 5 (sold out)
- Benefits for All: Historic Preservation and Affordable Housing, Tuesday October 29 (Watch the Video Online)
Community, History, Place and Equity – November 12
In some of Chicago’s historically disinvested communities, the preservation of historic places and the history of community that surrounds them have not been equitable. Preservation Chicago initiated a Neighborhood Outreach Program in 2019 to contribute to the turning of the tide. Driven by community members and facilitated by Preservation Chicago, we work collaboratively to identify historic assets in targeted community areas and develop strategies to preserve the more vulnerable of those buildings.
As the preservation community advocates for the City of Chicago to commit resources for an updated Chicago Historic Resource Survey, Preservation Chicago has embarked with community residents on parcel surveys in targeted areas defined by the community. Current CHRS data will be imported into the web-based system, and new information can be exported and shared with the City of Chicago.
The program strategies are to:
- Raise awareness of preservation as a strategy to strengthen healthy communities
- Develop strategies to protect the most vulnerable historic assets
- Develop network of community-based preservation and community development advocates
- Advance policies to expand tools for preservation
- Increase capacity of neighborhood preservation partners
- Connect people to resources
Stories will be collected and shared to remind people of the glory of these places and their importance to connect people to their history. Work in the Bronzeville and Roseland neighborhoods is well underway. We have begun the same outreach South Chicago. While the program will expand to neighborhoods across Chicago, the program’s first two years will focus predominantly on neighborhoods with historic resources that are sometimes overlooked and at great risk of being lost. Greater focus needs to be invested in implementing and developing tools and resources to protect and honor all of Chicago’s historic assets. Historic preservation is an effective tool to contribute to healthier communities with stable housing, pride of place and buildings that tell the story of the community.
The format of this event will be a panel presentation and discussion, including:
- Mary Lu Seidel, Director of Community Engagement for Preservation Chicago
- Bernard Loyd, Preservation Bronzeville representative
- Andrea Reed, Preservation Roseland representative
- A third community representative
- An alderman or city representative
Ms. Seidel will give a brief program overview. Each of the community representatives will share the story of their work done to date. Then we will open up questions from the moderator (Ms. Seidel) and the audience.
Location: National Public Housing Museum
Date: November 12, 2019
Time: 5:30 to 7 p.m.
Preservation Chicago protects and revitalizes Chicago’s irreplaceable architecture, neighborhoods and urban green spaces through direct advocacy, education and technical assistance.
Highly Successful, Sold Out Preservation Chicago’s Chicago 7 Most Endangered Coach Tour – October 5
Tour hosted by Ward Miller of Preservation Chicago, and Jacob Kaplan of Forgotten Chicago
• Air conditioned coach
• Limited seats available
• Saturday, October 5
• 10 am to 3 pm
1. Jackson Park, Midway Plaisance and South Shore Cultural Center
2. Laramie State Bank in Austin
3. Loretto Academy/Institute of the Blessed Virgin in Woodlawn
4. Justice Hammer/Lu & Jorja Palmer Mansion in Bronzeville
5. Second Church of Christ, Scientist in Lincoln Park
6. James R. Thompson Center/State of Illinois Building in the Loop
7. Roman Catholic Churches throughout Chicago
Learn why these Chicago buildings and sites are endangered and why they would be a significant loss to the city and community if they are not protected or landmarked. Some of the stops this year will include:
Does historic preservation contribute to the reduction of affordable housing in communities? Does it promote affordable housing? Anecdotally, there are stories that support a “yes” answer to both questions. A more important question is: What can the historic preservation movement do to support the growth of affordable housing and ensure that existing affordable housing in an area is better retained? What tools do we have now to accomplish those goals, and what new tools do we need?
Preservation Chicago moderated a panel discussion including:
- 25th Ward Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez
- Peter Holsten, Holsten Development
- Win Curran, Associate Professor at DePaul University who studies affordable housing and gentrification
- Alyssa Frystak, author of report “Small But Mighty: Combating the Affordable Housing Crisis Through Small-Scale Historic Rehabilitation”