Preservation Chicago’s 21st Birthday Happy Hour gathering was a joyful celebration of 21 years on the preservation front lines. It was held on Friday, October 21, 2022 at the Sky Ride Tap, 105 W. Van Buren St.
Carl Damianides, proud owner of the Sky Ride Tap for over 50 years greeted us warmly and with plentiful cool refreshments from the bar.
Rocco Armocida of Sbarro’s Union Station (formerly at the Thompson Center) fame graciously provided a car-full of delicious pizza, pastas and salads.
The Sky Ride Tap is a Chicago Legacy Business which has served thirsty Chicagoans for over 50 years. Through the decades, the Sky Ride Tap has anchored The Yukon/Bock Building designed by Holabird & Roche in 1897, and which is believed to be Chicago’s oldest ‘taxpayer building’ in the Loop. This block is one of the few survivors from a colorful and checkered bygone era when this district was known as ‘Little Cheyenne’ and ‘Old Chinatown.’
Little Cheyenne and Old Chinatown were a Preservation Chicago 2016 Chicago 7 Most Endangered. But the Yukon/Bock Building and the Sky Ride Tap are still standing and so we’re thrilled to be able celebrate Preservation Chicago’s Old-School 21st Birthday at this wonderfully authentic Chicago Legacy Business.
Preservation Chicago’s Old-School 21st Birthday Happy Hour
Friday, October 21, 2022
5:30 to 7:30
The Sky Ride Tap, 105 W. Van Buren St.
Little Cheyenne/Old Chinatown, a 2016 Chicago 7 Most Endangered