“The Commission on Chicago Landmarks has approved a final landmark recommendation for the Erie Street Row, a set of three rowhouses at 161 E. Erie Street. Built around 1877 as residences for Chicagoans who achieved success in professional and commercial endeavors, the buildings are faced with Joliet limestone, one of the earliest building stones used in Chicago after the Great Fire when fireproof construction was in need.

“Meeting Criterion 1 for their heritage, the Erie Street Row was built around 1877 when the Near North Side was being rebuilt as a desirable residential neighborhood after it was devastated by the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. From the 1870s to the 1910s, the families of successful merchants and professionals lived in the Erie Street Row, reflecting the social fabric of the Near North Side.

“The development of North Michigan Avenue as a commercial boulevard in the 1920s transformed the Near North Side from a residential to commercial district. During this time the Erie Street Row was converted to offices for small creative businesses like advertising, publishing, architecture and commercial and fine arts.

“The Erie Street Row also meets Criterion 4 for exemplary architecture, as it is a visually distinctive group of row houses, a building type of importance to Chicago architectural history. Built around 1877, this set of row houses is a particularly early, surviving group. The row is distinctive for its fine use of the Italianate architectural style, a style of importance to Chicago architecture in the 1850s through early 1880s.

“The Erie Street Row exhibits fine detailing and craftsmanship in Joliet limestone, a historically significant building material in the context of Chicago architecture and the most popular building stone used for Chicago buildings from the 1830s until the 1880s.

“The Erie Street Row is also found to meet the Integrity Criterion as it retains good integrity from both its original construction in 1877 and alterations in 1920 that have significance in their own right. Granted, two of the westernmost rowhouses in the group were demolished in 1960, the three that remain continue to convey the building’s architectural and heritage values.” (Kugler, Urbanize Chicago, 6/12/25)

“‘It’s a very historic building that adds a lot of character to the neighborhood,” Deborah Gershbein, president of Streeterville Organization of Active Residents (SOAR), said of 161 E. Erie. ‘We really don’t want to have it torn down.’

“Located a block east of Michigan Avenue, 161 E. Erie is quite the charmer, with its light-colored stone face, intact cornice and pleasant horizontal ranks of windows. And the building is being used. Tenants include a hair salon, an art gallery, a yoga studio — and Johnson O’Connor, the organization that wants to wreck the building.

“Why would someone tear down such a little beauty? One possible clue is the building is surrounded by contemporary skyscrapers. The financial temptation to add one more tall, money-making building to the bunch might be too great.

“Preservation Chicago has been pushing since July 2024 to get landmark status for 161 E. Erie. Ward Miller, the organization’s executive director, said the structure was originally a residential building composed of three townhouses before it was turned into commercial space.

“Which is a testament to the creative and adaptive reuse of such historic structures,’ Miller said.

“Miller said 161 E. Erie and nearby surviving buildings of that vintage ‘provide a glimpse into another era. The buildings exude a refined yet beautiful design, employing fine quality materials and craftsmanship.’ (Bey, Chicago Sun-Times, 9/21/24)

Read the full story at Urbanize Chicago and Chicago Sun-Times

• Final landmark recommendation approved for Erie Street Row, The three rowhouses at 161 E. Erie were originally built in 1877, Lukas Kugler, Urbanize Chicago, 6/12/25
• COLUMN: Landmarks commission must protect endangered 150-year-old Streeterville building; The elegant building at 161 E. Erie St. was constructed when the neighborhood was rebuilt after the Great Chicago Fire; Lee Bey, Chicago Sun-Times, 9/21/24  
• Streeterville’s historic Erie Street Row heads toward landmark status; The building’s owners had sought a permit to demolish the 150-year-old structure, Lee Bey, Chicago Sun-Times, 6/12/25
• Streeterville building constructed after Chicago fire should not be torn down: architecture critic, Lee Bey, ABC7 Chicago, 9/23/24
• Preliminary landmark designation approved for Erie Street Row; The three rowhouses at 161 E. Erie were originally built in 1877, Lukas Kugler, Urbanize Chicago, 10/28/24
• Erie Street Row, 161 E. Erie St. Landmark Designation Report, June 9, 2025