“A 96-year-old Collegiate Gothic building on the DePaul University campus is being considered Thursday for preliminary landmark status. The city’s landmarks commission will decide whether to grant the designation to Cortelyou Commons, 2324 N. Fremont St., a dining hall and event space completed in 1930.

“The city seeks landmark status for the building two months after the aldermen gave DePaul permission raze to four 1890s rowhouses and a 1925 apartment house to build a $60 million basketball and athletics center on the 2300 block of North Sheffield Avenue. A beautiful quintet if there ever was one, the buildings are listed as contributing structures to the Sheffield Avenue National Register Historic District.

“Cortelyou Commons, located about three blocks east of the Sheffield Avenue site, is not under threat of demolition. But DePaul area residents and preservationists who were concerned about the loss of the buildings pushed to get the commons landmarked.

“Preservation Chicago Executive Director Ward Miller said landmark designation for Cortelyou Commons would be ‘wonderful,’ but he added ‘the loss of the five historic structures will further diminish the character of Sheffield Avenue.’

“Designed by Dwight G. Wallace and built as a dining hall for its original owner, McCormick Theological Seminary, Cortelyou Commons resembles a slice of Oxford — or the University of Chicago — transplanted to Lincoln Park.

“The two-and-a-half story limestone building is a robust-looking structure complete with buttresses, detailed oriel windows and abundant stone tracery. Collegiate Gothic was a popular architectural style for colleges and universities worldwide from the late 1800s to almost 1940. A revivalist offshoot of Gothic architecture, the designs could convey substance and tradition. The commons’ cornerstone was lain in 1929.

“The commons is the only surviving building from a 1920s master plan created when the McCormick seminary campus was DePaul’s eastern neighbor. The aim was to create ‘a unified and dignified campus,’ the report said.

“But the plan went bust and only the commons and the Hayes-Healy Athletics Center, 940 W. Belden Ave., were built. The athletics center was demolished in 2005 for the CTA’s Fullerton Station expansion.

“And the Department of Planning said the city plans to seek preliminary landmark status this year for an additional DePaul building, Peter Byrne Hall, 2219 N. Kenmore Ave., built in 1907.” (Bey, Chicago Sun-Times, 2/5/26)

“The university did agree to support any city effort to landmark several historic buildings on campus, including Cortelyou Commons, a reception hall built in 1929 at 2324 N. Fremont St., and Peter V. Byrne Hall at 2219 N. Kenmore Ave. Cuvalo said the city could start that process early next year.

“The project was first introduced in spring 2022, and many neighbors balked at the plan. The development would mean the demolition of ‘four historic three-flat buildings along Sheffield Avenue,’ according to a letter by the Sheffield Neighborhood Association. The group submitted its letter to the city Tuesday to oppose the project. The buildings are in the Sheffield National Historic District.

“‘It is a continuation of the deterioration of the historic street wall that has stood since the 1890s,’ the letter said. ‘DePaul University is one of, if not Sheffield Neighborhood Association’s, closest friends and community partners. Yet, we always must speak truth to friends and the majority of the community is against the location of their proposed project.’

“Preservation Chicago is also opposed to the practice facility. The buildings, at the northwest corner of Sheffield and Belden avenues, were part of the organization’s 2024 ‘Chicago 7’ list of endangered buildings. (Miller, Chicago Sun-Times, 11/20/25)

Preservation Chicago fully supports the Chicago Landmark Designation of Cortelyou Commons and gave public testimony at the Commission on Chicago Landmarks hearing.

Preservation Chicago understands the need for DePaul University to expand its programs and footprint on an as-needed basis. Preservation Chicago believes this athletic center should be relocated to the nearby, underdeveloped surface parking lot a block away at Sheffield and Fullerton. This would be an ideal site for the proposed athletic building as it would not harm the architectural fabric of the community and would sit much closer to the CTA Red Line station for ease of access to games by students and visitors. Likewise, an expansion of the university’s facilities could also be accomplished by adding additional floors on top of the two existing athletic center buildings located across the street from the proposed site, possibly even extending over the adjacent parking garage structure.

Given DePaul’s history of demolition, we have been very concerned about other historic Lincoln Park properties near the campus that could one day be replaced by future university proposals. These include Cortelyou Commons (1930) designed by architect Dwight Wallace, St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church and Rectory (1897) by architect James Egan, the former DePaul Academy (1907), Sanctuary Hall (1883-1889), and several rowhouses at the southeast corner of Belden and Sheffield (1891) by Harold M. Hansen.

All of these historic buildings could be considered worthy of Chicago Landmark designation and should be bestowed with that honor to prevent demolition in the future. Preservation Chicago is confident that DePaul, the Lincoln Park community, and organizations like ours can all collectively craft a sensible vision for growth, while also respecting the university’s and surrounding neighborhood’s historic assets.

Read the full story at the Chicago Sun-Times, and Preservation Chicago’s Sheffield-Belden Group Chicago 7 Most Endangered

• City to seek landmark status for a neo-Gothic hall on the DePaul University campus, The move comes just two months after aldermen gave the school permission to raze five other buildings — all on the National Register — to make room for an athletics facility, Lee Bey, Chicago Sun-Times, 2/5/26
• Plan Commission approves DePaul’s controversial plan for Lincoln Park athletic facility, Brian Rogal, Chicago Tribune, 11/20/25
• Plan Commission approves long-awaited DePaul practice facility, Morgan Park redevelopment project; The approved projects have been in the works for years, with one like the Morgan Park Commons development dating back to 2018, Abby Miller, Chicago Sun-Times, 11/20/25
• DePaul Cleared To Build New Athletic Complex In Lincoln Park, Replacing Century-Old Homes; The facility, which will replace four 1890s rowhouses and a student apartment building, was redesigned multiple times to address preservation concerns and neighborhood feedback, Patrick Filbin, Block Club Chicago, 12/10/25
• DePaul Athletic Facility, Hundreds Of Apartments Across City OK’d By Council’s Zoning Committee; The City Council’s zoning committee advanced the Lincoln Park practice facility, the Morgan Park Commons project and numerous apartment buildings Tuesday, Quinn Myers, Block Club Chicago, 12/9/25
• Sheffield-Belden Group, a Preservation Chicago 2024 Chicago 7 Most Endangered Chapter33