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Chicagoland Watch List Property Suffers Damaging Fire
Chicago
Sunday,
February 15, the Washburne Trade School suffered a
four-alarm fire, believed to have been accidentally
started by a homeless person taking refuge in the
building. The building is located in the Little Village
neighborhood at the corner of 31st Street and Kedzie
Avenue. Washburne was on Landmarks Illinois’ 2006-2007
Chicagoland Watch
List.
The Washburne Trade School is a Prairie-style structure
dating from 1909 (Nimmons & Fellows). A more
deteriorated 1935 Art Moderne addition was torn down two
years ago.
The local alderman and many in the community had wanted
the vacant complex torn down two years ago to create a
community park. After successful negotiations with the
City, the park was shifted to another location and local
advocates and community leaders had recently agreed to
pursue conversion of part of the Washburne site to a
smaller park and part of the building for affordable
housing. The recent fire may now make such a plan
difficult. The city’s Building Department and Chicago
Board of Education, which still owns the building, are
expected to have a structural assessment in the upcoming
weeks.
Last summer, the former Westinghouse High School (Bunte
Candy Factory, Schmidt, Garden & Martin, 1909, 2005-06
Chicagoland Watch
List) was also lost to demolition for
a new athletic field. If Washburne is demolished, it
would be two losses of Prairie School industrial
buildings in one year.
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