Preservation Chicago has mounted a Rapid Response advocacy effort to save Elim/Reformation Lutheran Church from demolition together with community partners.
The current objective is to facilitate a transfer of ownership to a preservation-oriented community nonprofit organization with the capacity to stabilize, restore and reactivate this important neighborhood asset.
Additionally, we are pursuing a Chicago Landmark Designation. We are also encouraging the the Department of Buildings and Building Court to delay any demolition order until the current process is able to play out.
Vacant for a number of years and suffering from deferred maintenance, Elim/Reformation Lutheran Church is at risk of demolition to avoid the cost of repair by its owner, the ELCA-Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. Elim/Reformation Lutheran Church was designed by architect, Solon S. Beman in 1888 and is located at 11310 S. Forest Avenue in Roseland.
Together with our community partners and Landmarks Illinois, we attended the Building/Demolition Court at the Daley Center on November 6, 2024. There was unanimous opposition to demolition from the eight of us who appeared at court. At our request, the judge has issued a “Stop Work Order” on the building and site, which includes prep work for demolition, as well as a Court Order to halt the City of Chicago and the Department of Buildings from issuing a Demolition Permit. A new court date is scheduled for December 18th, 2024 at 9:30am in courtroom 1103, Daley Center, 50 W. Washington Street.
Preservation Chicago is researching and writing a “Preliminary Landmark Recommendation” report for the building and it’s our hope this will be considered for a Preliminary Designation. The building was missed by the Chicago Historic Resources Survey-CHRS, so is not subject to the 90 Day Demolition Delay Hold. Time is of the essence.
We have requested a Chicago Landmark Designation of the building, and have asked the Commission on Chicago Landmarks to consider during their next Commission on Chicago Landmarks meeting.
The significance of the Elim/Reformation church links to the legacy of architect, Solon S. Beman, Chicago industrialist George Pullman, “Pullman Lands,” the Swedish-American Community of craftsmen and everyday workers at Pullman, Also, to the Pullman Strike and Labor History, in addition to the legacy of community organizer and later U.S. President, Barack Obama.
Realizing these important histories, Preservation Chicago and many neighborhood partners in the Roseland/Pullman Community believe that this church building should be recognized and protected against demolition by a Chicago Landmark Designation.
The Roseland Community has suffered from disinvestment over the past 50 years. Historic preservation is a proven strategy to create economic development and community stabilization. We have been in close contact with many members of the Roseland/Pullman community and there is strong opposition to the demolition of Elim/Reformation Church and the creation of another vacant lot.
We hope that decision makers at the City’s Department of Planning and Development, Historic Preservation Division, and the Commission on Chicago Landmarks, will be open to considering Elim/Reformation Church, with a “Beman to Barack History,” as a Designated Chicago Landmark.
“As a historical Roseland church faces possible demolition, neighbors and preservationists are pushing for landmark designation from the city.
“Reformation Lutheran Church, 11310 S. Forest Ave. on the city’s Far South Side, was designed by famed Pullman architect Solon S. Beman in the late 1880s. Long home to a thriving Black congregation, it was the location of former President Barack Obama’s South Side office when he worked as a community organizer.
“In 2018, a water boiler failure flooded the church’s basement and forced its closure. It has sat vacant since.
“Now, as the church and adjoining school building continue to deteriorate, a judge has given the city’s Commission on Chicago Landmarks until Dec. 18 to determine definitively whether or not it is eligible for a landmark distinction.
“Judge Debra Seaton issued a stop work order on Nov. 6 for all prep and demolition work at the church, weeks after neighbors noticed construction crews at the church and began talking about it on social media. Neighbors, local historical preservationists, Reformation Lutheran congregation members and others appeared in court Nov. 20 to advocate for the church’s preservation.
“‘There’s so much incredible history here that we are of the opinion, at Preservation Chicago and the community organizations that we’re working with and our sister organizations, that it does fit landmarks criteria,’ said Ward Miller, executive director of Preservation Chicago. ‘Now the question is [whether] the building is truly dangerous and hazardous in a way that may harm people walking by on the sidewalk, and that’s a question we’re trying to determine with some pro bono assistance from some architects and engineers.’ (McDonald, Block Club Chicago, 12/6/24)
Read the full story at Block Club Chicago
- Historical Roseland Church Where Obama Once Worked Set To Be Demolished. Can Neighbors Save It? A Cook County judge has issued a stop work order for Reformation Lutheran Church as the city’s Commission on Chicago Landmarks determines whether the nearly 140-year-old church building is eligible for landmark distinction, Maia McDonald, Block Club Chicago, 12/6/24
- Can Roseland Church achieve landmark status? Bob Sirott, WGN Radio 780, 12/11/24