“A deteriorating century-old comfort station in Jackson Park will undergo a multimillion-dollar restoration as early as next spring, the Chicago Park District announced Monday at a Jackson Park Advisory Council meeting.
“Heather Gleason, planning and development director for the Park District, told the council at the Jackson Park Fieldhouse, 6401 S. Stony Island Ave., that the Burnham Building off Marquette Drive has secured federal funding through a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant. The project is awaiting final environmental clearance before construction can begin.
“‘We definitely care about it,’ Gleason said of the building, which has fallen into considerable disrepair while the Park District sought funding over the past few years. ‘We are fully intending to put it back the way it was.’
“Designed by the famed architectural firm D.H. Burnham & Co. and completed in 1912, the Burnham Building originally had a Spanish-tile roof and a ‘center-open loggia’ that ‘allowed beautifully framed views of Lake Michigan.’ Neglected over time, the roof caved in and some of the loggia’s columns collapsed.
“Gleason said the project will restore the building to its original design, which was discovered through historical research, and include complete bathroom renovations and edge protection along Marquette Drive, where cars have previously crashed into the structure.
Preservation Chicago has long been concerned about the deteriorating condition of the Daniel Burnham designed pavilion in Jackson Park. We first drew attention to its extremely neglected condition in 2017 when it was a Chicago 7 Most Endangered. We continued to advocate for its restoration and stabilization every since. Every year that has passed, the condition has future deteriorated.
We are cautiously optimistic that the new leadership at the Chicago Park District has prioritized the restoration of this long-neglected important public park pavilion designed by one of Chicago’s greatest architects.
Read the full story at Hyde Park Herald
- Jackson Park’s historic Burnham Building to undergo multimillion-dollar restoration; Max Blaisdell, Hyde Park Herald, 11/10/25
- Jackson Park’s Burnham Building To Be Restored With Help From $500,000 Federal Grant; The dilapidated 113-year-old building, designed by famed architect Daniel Burnham’s firm, will be restored as a public restroom. The project will take about a year to complete, Maxwell Evans, Block Club Chicago, 11/17/25
- Chicago Park District Centennial Plan Input Form
- 120-year-old Jackson Park pavilion sits as a park district ruin; The historic structure, designed by D.H. Burnham & Company, must be restored, Lee Bey, Chicago Sun-Times, 4/30/25
- Decaying Jackson Park comfort station deserves better — as does the whole park; The open-air pavilion was a wreck long before a driver lost control of her Jeep last Monday and ran into it. The Chicago Park District has neglected the building for years, Chicago Sun-Times Editorial Board, 3/5/21