The Barbara C. and Thomas E. Donnelley II Preservation Fund for Illinois was created in 2014 to provide monetary assistance to preserve or protect significant structures and sites in Illinois. Read more about the recipients of the grant program below.
The Barbara C. and Thomas E. Donnelley II Preservation Fund Grant Program Recipients
2021 Donnelley Fund Grant Recipients
House of Prayer
Central Park Theater, Chicago
GRANT AMOUNT: $1,500
The congregation will use the grant funding to complete a facility cost estimate for the Central Park Theater, a more than 100-year old former theater in Chicago’s Lawndale neighborhood listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Facility Cost Estimate will be based on the complete building assessment and restoration plan conducted on the building by Wiss, Janney, Elstner, Associates Inc.
The Central Park Theater is arguably one of the most historically important movie houses in the United States. The first Balaban & Katz movie palace in collaboration with the architectural firm of Rapp & Rapp, the Central Park was the model for those that came after. With nearly 1,800 seats, the Central Park opened in 1917 and remained a profitable theater for decades until becoming a church in 1971. Since acquiring the property, the House of Prayer has utilized the theater as a church sanctuary and a venue for special events. Although the congregation has done a noble job keeping the theater intact and maintaining most of its remarkable interior and exterior features, deferred maintenance issues have become overwhelming.
Landmarks Illinois included the theater on its 2015 Most Endangered Historic Places in Illinois. Landmarks Illinois previously awarded the congregation two Preservation Heritage Fund Grants to help with preservation efforts: A 2005 grant helped pay for the National Register nomination process and a structural assessment. And a 2017 grant went toward emergency electrical work. Landmarks Illinois’ Skyline Council hosted a volunteer cleanup of the property in 2018, and Landmarks Illinois Director of Advocacy Lisa DiChiera continues to work with the congregation.
2019 Donnelley Fund Grant Recipients
Save Piety Hill Coalition
Piety Hill Landmark District Designation, Rockford
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2018 Donnelley Fund Grant Recipients
Friends of Historic Second Church
Second Presbyterian Church, Chicago (pictured)
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2017 Donnelley Fund Grant Recipients
Chicago Parks Foundation:
Jens Jensen Formal Garden, Chicago
Evanston History Center:
Charles Gates Dawes House, Evanston
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2016 Donnelley Fund Grant Recipients
Pleasant Home Foundation:
Preservation in Person program, Oak Park
City of Princeton:
Downtown Feasibility Study (pictured)
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2015 Donnelley Fund Grant Recipients
Stockton American Legion Post No. 449:
Thompson Cemetery, Stockton
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2014 Donnelley Fund Grant Recipients
Pleasant Home Foundation:
HVAC Engineering Feasibility Study, Oak Park
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