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Preservation News
Editorials
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Old buildings a “burden” on
Chicago Public Schools
Letter to the Editor, Chicago Tribune
Jean A. Follett, Interim Executive Director
Your recent article on old school buildings in the Chicago Public School (CPS)
system once again seeks to blame the buildings for problems created by the
landlord. Most of these schools need basic maintenance: usually of their HVAC,
plumbing and electrical systems. New buildings will need this too, just not
right away.
Demolishing old buildings and building new spends excessive money now to push
these basic maintenance problems down the road. The fact is that most of the
schools built prior to 1960 have better materials, better quality construction
and can be made to be more energy efficient than new construction.
photo:
Lindblom Math & Science Academy, Chicago,
2006 preservation award
winner for rehabilitation. |
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How will Freeport respond to the City
Hall challenge?
Letter to the Editor, Freeport Journal Standard
Jean A. Follett, Interim Executive Director
There is no cost-free solution to the current City Hall dilemma. Whether it’s
renting in someone else’s building, rehabbing and moving to a different downtown
building or building a new building—all will cost substantial tax dollars. The
question is: what is the best long-term solution for Freeport?
Freeport’s City Hall is a building to be proud of. It has served as an anchor
for the downtown for over 100 years, both visually and economically. Renovations
will ensure that it continues to do so, with proper maintenance, for another
century.
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State Budget Axe Falls On Illinois
Historic Site
Letter to
the Editor
Jim Peters, President & CEO Landmarks Illinois
Close to half of the state’s historic
sites will close on October 1, the result of recent budget cuts by Illinois
Governor Rod Blagojevich’s administration this past week. Topping the list
was Frank Lloyd Wright’s Dana Thomas House in Springfield—one of the acclaimed
architect’s best known residential designs. The irony of this particular closing
was that millions of tax-payers’ money was put into this home during the late
80s for its acquisition, restoration and eventual opening to the public in 1990.
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Demolishing old buildings isn't
considered 'green'
July 24, 2008
There has been much attention recently regarding the filming of Planet Green's
new show "Wrecklamation," scheduled to premiere on Discovery Channel this fall.
The host, a Chicagoland native, finds homes that are slated for demolition,
talks the owners into letting her auction off all the interior pieces and parts,
and films the process, all the while claiming victory under the label of "green"
for having saved items from ultimately going into landfill. A beautiful Queen
Anne Victorian on Chicago Avenue in Naperville (a national epicenter for
"teardowns") was to be the first filmed by the show.
So what's wrong with this picture? Well, the fact that Planet Green has postured
a television show named "Wrecklamation" as being green should be the first
tipoff that maybe not everything is as it seems.
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No Wisdom in Razing Architectural
Resource
October 21,
2007
The house at 1028 S. Seventh St. was identified in a report titled,
“Architectural Resources of the Aristocracy Hill Neighborhood of Springfield
IL,” September 2003, prepared by architectural historians Floyd Mansberger and
Chris Stratton. It was an architectural survey commissioned by the Springfield
Historic Sites Commission. According to Mansberger, a respected Illinois
architectural historian, the Maisenbacher House is undoubtedly eligible for
listing in the National Register, as well as obtaining a local Springfield
landmark designation. He says it is “one of the finer examples of Italianate
houses in Springfield.”
Built in the mid-19th century, it is a rare existing example of this type of
housing. Many such homes have already been lost in the neighborhood, leaving
many holes and gaps in the Aristocracy Hill. There are plenty of other areas for
parking already owned by the clinic. If the argument has been that it’s good to
have the clinic near the downtown, then there is no wisdom in demolishing
downtown buildings that can provide amenities to its employees and other
downtown workers — all of which help contribute to building a vibrant business
district.
David Bahlman
President, Landmarks Illinois
Published in the Sunday, October 21, 2007 State Journal-Register Letters to
the Editor.
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Landmarking or Landmocking?
Eroding the Concept of Authenticity
March 2007
Excerpt from Landmarks Illinois and Nation Trust for Historic Preservation March
2007 Op-Ed letter on the Farwell Building: A decade ago, a developer erected a
series of fake building facades in Chicago’s River North area to disguise an
otherwise banal retail block known as Al Capone’s “Old Chicago.” The theme
project didn’t last very long.
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President’s Message
David Bahlman, president Landmarks Illinois
January 2007
As Landmarks Illinois begins a new year of activity to protect the architectural
and historic legacies of this state, we look back at the wide range of
approaches that have been used to further our mission. Sometimes it has been
simply educating others on the basic preservation tools and incentives that
already exist. In other cases, it’s been working in a congenial and cooperative
manner with owners, architects and developers. Occasionally, it’s taking a very
strong stand against a project employing all means including legal and political
strategies to ensure the protection of an important resource.
It is no surprise that the cooperative and collaborative methodology works the
best. The staff and the board of Landmarks Illinois represent individuals with
consummate professional training and expertise, and it is when these talents
come together in consultation with receptive owners and developers that workable
solutions are often created.
The sense of satisfaction in being actively involved in a process that saves a
building or site is what keeps preservationists plugging away in the midst of
the continual losses. The negotiations and creative process that resulted in the
preservation of the DuPage and Pickford theatres, the Becker-Segal Estate, the
South Water Market, and the Berwyn Bank, stand as examples of how Landmarks
Illinois not only advocates for preservation, but works to find viable
solutions. (For more information on these issues, go to
Current News.)
Countless hours and dollars are contributed by Landmarks Illinois board members,
working in concert with the staff, to produce professional studies, reports, and
plans that demonstrate to municipalities, individuals and organizations that
there are alternatives to demolition.
Being engaged in devising solutions has become a requisite for any preservation
organization that wants to claim legitimacy. I am pleased to say that Landmarks
Illinois is well-positioned to face another year that promises many successes.
I would like to thank the staff, our members, our board and other donors for
their continued support, which has enabled these preservation efforts.
Photos top to bottom: Berwyn National Bank building c. 1920s,
Becker-Segal Estate, Highland Park, DuPage Theater rally 2005.
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Look at the Facts:
It’s Time to
Save Cook County Hospital
December 2005
LPCI’s Letter to the Editor (Chicago
Journal): Your story about how much it has cost taxpayers to maintain the vacant
Cook County Hospital (Dec. 8) was somewhat misleading.
Photo: Cook County Hospital, Chicago
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