Preservation Forward

2025 Preservation Forward

Landmarks Illinois will hold its 2025 Preservation Forward event on March 6, 2025, at The Old Post Office in Chicago. Each year, this annual fundraiser brings in critical support for Landmarks Illinois’ mission-driven work of helping people across the state save places. The evening will also honor this year’s 2025 Landmarks Illinois Influencers:

Chicago Women in Trades

Nonprofit trades training organization

Chris Enck

Architect & preservationist

Elizabeth & Ethan Finkelstein

Founders of Cheap Old Houses

 

Reservations:

$500
$40-$100 – After-party only
(Nonprofit and student pricing available. For questions regarding registration, email events@landmarks.org)

Register

Sponsorships

Click here to learn about Sponsorship opportunities for 2025 Preservation Forward. Or click below to sign up as a sponsor!

Purchase a sponsorship

2025 Landmarks Illinois Influencers

  • Chicago Women in Trades, Nonprofit trades training organization
  • Chris Enck, Architect & preservationist
  • Elizabeth & Ethan Finkelstein, Founders of Cheap Old Houses
Learn about our Influencers

2025 Raffle Prizes

Preservation Forward guests will have the opportunity to win one of five exciting prizes as part of our 2025 Raffle. Raffle tickets are $50 each and must be purchased before the main program at the event on March 6. Winners will be announced at the event.

  • Sommelier Dinner for 4 at RPM Seafood
  • Uptown Theatre Private Tour & Drinks at the Green Mill
  • Cheap Old Houses bundle, which includes meet & greet with founders Elizabeth & Ethan Finkelstein
  • Tickets to three concerts at iconic Chicago-area venues
  • The Ultimate Chicago Women’s Sports Package, including tickets to games for the Chicago Sky, Chicago Stars and the Windy City Rollers
Learn more & purchase raffle tickets

Discover The Old Post Office

A major draw of Preservation Forward is the event’s venue —The Old Post Office — which provides an impressive and stunning backdrop for the already exciting evening. Built in 1921 and expanded in 1934, the former post office is one of the largest and most visible buildings in Chicago’s Loop. After the United States Postal Service moved out in 1996, the post office long sat empty, unused and deteriorating. Landmarks Illinois included the building on its 1997 Most Endangered Historic Places in Illinois list and continued to advocate for its reuse for the next two decades. A massive rehabilitation of the structure beginning in 2018 has transformed the 13-story, 2.5-million-square-foot Art Deco building into an extraordinary event venue that also provides retail and office space.

The Old Post Office remains one of the city’s most spectacular buildings. Today it is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is a designated Chicago Landmark. Guests of Preservation Forward will have the opportunity to experience multiple spaces inside the historic site: from the fully restored lobby and grand hall featuring century-old original fixtures, white marble and gold glass mosaics, to the new food hall and second-floor Telegram Lounge. Click below to learn more about The Old Post Office and Landmarks Illinois’ sustained advocacy for the building.

Learn more about The Old Post Office

2025 PRESERVATION FORWARD AMBASSADORS

Preservation Forward Ambassadors play a pivotal role in the event’s success by offering strategic feedback, boosting fundraising efforts, driving attendance and creating a welcoming experience for all attendees.

  • Tracy Dillard, 2025 Preservation Forward Event Chair, Landmarks Illinois Board of Directors
  • Gary Anderson, Studio GWA, Landmarks Illinois Board of Directors
  • Joe Antunovich, Antunovich Associates, Landmarks Illinois Board of Directors
  • Derek Baum, Otto Baum Company, Skyline Council Member
  • Erika Block, Emeritus Board Member
  • Ron Clewer, Gorman & Company, Landmarks Illinois Board Vice Chair
  • Jean Follett, Landmarks Illinois Board of Directors
  • Alyssa Frystak, PlaceEconomics, Landmarks Illinois Board of Directors
  • Juliana Glassco, HistoriCorps, Skyline Council Member
  • Jackie Holsten, Holsten, 2024 Preservation Forward Influencer, Landmarks Illinois Board Chair
  • Will McFarland, DePaul University, Skyline Council Member
  • Amy Mills, 17th Street BBQ, 2023 Preservation Forward Influencer
  • Lauren Garvey Monroe, Blue Star Properties, Skyline Council Member
  • Emilio Padilla, JGMA, Landmarks Illinois Board Secretary
  • Sandra Rand, Landmarks Illinois Board of Directors
  • Jay Rowell, HIRE360, 2024 Preservation Forward Influencer
  • Heidi Ruehle, The Imagine Foundation, Resource Development Committee Member
  • Emily Sajdak, Partners for Sacred Places, Skyline Council Chair
  • Allison Toonen-Talamo, Simpson Gumpertz & Heger, Landmarks Illinois Board of Directors
  • Jack Tribbia, Berglund Construction, Emeritus Board Member
  • Krista Weir, HPA Architecture, RBIC Committee Member

LEARN MORE ABOUT PREVIOUS PRESERVATION FORWARD EVENTS!

More than 700 guests attended the 2024 Preservation Forward event on February 29, 2024, and helped raise $600,000 for Landmarks Illinois’ mission-driven work. The event featured a cocktail hour, a main program honoring the 2024 Landmarks Illinois Influencers, signature dishes from multiple food stations, networking and an after-party.

2024 PRESERVATION FORWARD

2023 PRESERVATION FORWARD

2022 PRESERVATION FORWARD

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