rd”The city’s Commission on Chicago Landmarks granted a preliminary landmark recommendation for the Bryn Mawr Historic District during a hearing in April. The proposed landmark district spans Bryn Mawr Avenue from Broadway to Sheridan Road, including notable buildings like the Edgewater Beach Apartments, 5555 N. Sheridan Road, and Belle Shore Apartment Hotel, 5550 N. Kenmore Ave.

“Also included in the proposed district are three buildings along Bryn Mawr Avenue that developer Harlem Irving Companies wants to demolish to build a six-story, mixed-use apartment building with 95 apartments and about 6,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space.

“The commission approved demolition permits for 5614 N. Winthrop Ave. and 1106 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. — both deemed non-contributing due to extensive alteration — but preliminarily denied the demolition permit for 1114 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. The Department of Planning and Development maintains that the two-story brick building, built in 1909, has ‘excellent integrity in its features, and that the significant architectural features of Classical Revival style make it worthy of being designated as a contributing building.’

“The next step is for the landmarks commission to give its final recommendation on the demolition permit during its meeting July 9.” (Savedra, Block Club Chicago, 6/16/26)

“A three-block stretch of Edgewater’s Bryn Mawr Avenue, home to some of the most stylish Victorian era and Jazz Age residential buildings in the city, will take a likely step toward landmark status.

“The proposed three-block, 15-building district between Sheridan Road and Broadway would include some already individually landmarked structures, such as the eight-story cream and green Belle Shore Apartments, the Tudor-styled Manor House and the elegant princess painted in ‘sunset pink,’ the Edgewater Beach Apartments, at 5555 N. Sheridan Road.

“‘Constructed between 1897 and 1929, the proposed district’s 15 contributing buildings form a distinctive and remarkably intact group designed in a range of architectural styles,’ city staffers wrote in their report to the commission.

“A century after its creation, the thoroughfare is still a nice little strip with retail space at the bases of many of the street’s residential buildings, with the Bryn Mawr stop on the CTA’s Red Line right there. There’s a lot of talk lately about the 15-minute city, a recent urban planning idea that would put everything a resident would need — work, medical care, shopping and the like — within a quarter-hour walk, or transit journey, from home. Bryn Mawr Avenue — dense, walkable — had the beginnings of that back when people were barely out of horse-and-buggies. The more the city, business and philanthropic community can do to lift these places up, the better.

“A permanent landmark designation for Bryn Mawr, if approved by the City Council, would make buildings within the district eligible for property tax incentives that could help write-down renovation and restoration costs.” (Bey, Chicago Sun-Times, 5/7/26)

Preservation Chicago celebrated the preliminary landmark designation of the Bryn Mawr Historic District — on the National Register of Historic Places since 1995 — in our April 2026 newsletter, and we continue to support the district’s advancement to a final designation. The Commission’s process has been careful and appropriately calibrated: it correctly approved demolition permits for the two non-contributing buildings while protecting the one building that contributes to the district’s character.

Preservation Chicago has proposed a facade retention compromise that appears to be a reasonable and workable path forward. This approach could incorporate the historic Classical Revival facade of 1114 W. Bryn Mawr into the new construction, allowing the Landmark District to advance intact while permitting Harlem Irving Companies to build its new 95-unit development. This preservation-sensitive approach to development, honors the building façade’s contribution to the streetscape while allowing the new construction to proceed. There are many successful examples of this facade retention approach in Chicago.

Preservation Chicago encourages the Commission on Chicago Landmarks, Harlem Irving Companies, Edgewater Historical Society and community members, and Ald. Manaa-Hoppenworth (48th) to support this solution at the July 9 hearing. Housing and historic preservation are not in conflict here — both can be achieved.

Preservation Chicago worked closely for years with the Edgewater Historical Society, 48th Ward Ald. Manaa-Hoppenworth, and other stakeholders to make this Chicago Landmark District a reality. Special thanks to John Holden, LeRoy Blommaert, Thom Greene and Kathy Gemperly of the Edgewater Historical Society.

We’re thrilled that the Bryn Mawr Historic District is finally moving forward. We testified in support of the Bryn Mawr Historic District at the Commission on Chicago Landmarks hearings and will continue to advocate for the district until Final Landmark Designation is approved by Chicago City Council.

Read the full story at Block Club Chicago

• Bryn Mawr Historic District Landmarking Could Derail 100-Unit Apartment Project, Developer Says; Madison Savedra, Block Club Chicago, 6/16/26
• Bryn Mawr Historic District Gets Preliminary Landmark Designation; The district includes Bryn Mawr Avenue from Broadway to Sheridan Road and famed residences like the Edgewater Beach Apartments, Madison Savedra, Block Club Chicago, 4/3/2026
• City Moves To Landmark Edgewater’s Bryn Mawr Historic District; The district includes Bryn Mawr Avenue from Broadway to Sheridan Road and famed residences like the Edgewater Beach Apartments. An initial hearing is April 2 with the city’s landmarks commission, Madison Savedra, Block Club Chicago, 3/25/26
• Edgewater’s historic Bryn Mawr Avenue heads toward possible landmark status; Lee Bey, Chicago Sun-Times, 5/7/26
• WIN: Bryn Mawr Historic District Granted Preliminary Landmark Designation; Preservation Chicago, 4/2026
• Bryn Mawr Historic District; Wikipedia