Preservation Snapshots is one of Landmarks Illinois’ longest running educational programs. Since 2001, the series has provided nearly 200 lectures on diverse preservation-related topics to our members and the public. Guest speakers have included architects, historians, preservation professionals, planners, authors and architectural historians. Landmarks Illinois has partnered with venues such as Chicago Cultural Center, the Auditorium Theatre and AIA Chicago to bring over 8,000 attendees the opportunity to learn about Illinois’ remarkable past and the community benefits of historic preservation and adaptive reuse, and to be inspired to take action in their own communities.
Preservation Snapshots Lectures
Preservation Snapshots: The Boss and the Bulldozer Producer Stacy Robinson
Thursday, September 19, 2024
12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
“No city in the nation has an urban renewal program more advanced than ours.”
– Richard J. Daley, Second Term Inaugural Address, April 21, 1959
Richard J. Daley was the mayor of Chicago from 1955 to 1976. He became known as “The Boss” of the “Democratic Machine.” During the Great Migration (1916-1970) and White Flight (1950s-1970s), Chicago — like most major cities — was losing its significant tax base to the suburbs. The Daley Administration created his 1958 Plan for the Central City of Chicago to bring people back, which resulted in the displacement of more than 168,000 existing residents. The WTTW Chicago Stories documentary, “The Boss and the Bulldozer,” highlights how Daley’s plan to modernize the city came with significant consequences.
In the upcoming Preservation Snapshots presentation, Programs Manager Leila Wills will be joined by the award-winning documentarian Stacy Robinson of Kartemquin Films, who produced “The Boss and the Bulldozer.” Stacy Robinson is known for searching for the soul of every story, and this conversation will explore some of the narratives featured in the film.
For the best experience, we encourage you to watch “The Boss and the Bulldozer” on WTTW’s website or YouTube channel before our program.
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Preservation Snapshots: Sandra Steinbrecher and The Salt Shed
Thursday, October 10, 2024
12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Photographer and writer Sandra Steinbrecher spent nearly two years capturing the deconstruction, reconstruction and revitalization of Chicago’s historic Morton Salt Warehouse. This 1929 landmark, a symbol of the city’s industrial grit, has been reborn through one of the most remarkable restoration projects of the 21st century. In her book, The Salt Shed, Steinbrecher takes readers behind the scenes, offering a visual feast of stunning photos and compelling interviews that bring this transformation to life. The book details the effort to reimagine and transform the iconic Morton Salt Warehouse while honoring its history and working-class roots.
Join Landmarks Illinois President and CEO Bonnie McDonald for a Preservation Snapshots discussion with Steinbrecher, where she will share personal stories from her book, The Salt Shed, set to be released in September.
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Preservation Snapshots: Al Watts and the Alexander Bros. Blacksmith Shop in Geneva, IL
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
The Alexander Brothers Blacksmith Shop is one of Geneva’s oldest surviving commercial structures. The original one-story limestone structure was built in 1846. Throughout its history, it has been occupied by many other businesses. Its storied 180-year history and prominent location on the shores of the Fox River have secured its reputation as a beloved, iconic and irreplaceable piece of Geneva’s industrial history.
The Blacksmith Shop first landed on Landmarks Illinois’ Most Endangered Historic Places in Illinois in 2018, under the heading “Early Settlement-era Buildings, Geneva.” Local advocacy efforts resulted in the Blacksmith Shop’s designation as a Geneva Landmark in 2018, and its demolition was prevented. It was listed again in 2023 as it once again faces demolition.
Al Watts from Preservation Partners of Fox Valley will join Landmarks Illinois Advocacy Manager Kendra Parzen for a Preservation Snapshot presentation and update on the Alexander Brothers Blacksmith Shop.
RegisterThank you to our Preservation Snapshots Sponsors!
Past Lectures
Visit us on YouTube to watch past Preservation Snapshots Lectures!
Past Preservation Snapshots Lectures
Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument, Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ
June 11, 2024
A lecture focused on Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ, put on in partnership with the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley Institute and the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund. Speakers: Tiffany Tolbert, Associate Director, African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, National Trust for Historic Preservation; Dr. Marvel Parker, Executive Director of the Emmett Till and Mamie Till Mobley Institute; and Brandon Bibby, Senior Preservation Architect, African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, National Trust for Historic Preservation. (Photo credit: ST-17600005-E1, Chicago Sun-Times collection, Chicago History Museum)
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Twentieth Anniversary of the Edith Farnsworth House
April 4, 2024
Architect and former Landmarks Illinois Board Member Antunovich discusses the preservation effort to save the Edith Farnsworth House in Plano. The iconic home is celebrating its 20th year of being open to the public.
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The Underground Railroad and Freedom Seeking in the 19th Century, The Law Versus Morality
March 7, 2024
Author and professor Gerald McWorter discusses the history and significance of New Philadelphia, Illinois.
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Ten Years Later: The Impact of School Closings in Chicago
November 16, 2023
A discussion featuring Paola Aguirre, Urban Designer and Partner of Borderless Studio, which launched the Creative Grounds Initiative that works to activate closed CPS schools including Overton Elementary.
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Gillson Park and Wilmette Harbor, A Fascinating and Remarkably Intact Historic Landscape
November 2, 2023
A captivating presentation featuring Julia Bachrach, landscape historian, and Malcolm Cairns, FASLA, a retired Ball State University professor, who prepared the Gillson Park nomination for the National Register of Historic Places.
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Dr. Percy Julian, an American story that is home to Oak Park
July 19, 2023
Learn about the life and legacy of Dr. Percy Julian, a renowned chemist who synthesized important medicinal compounds from plant sources. His former historic Oak Park home is also in need of preservation.
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Brooklyn, IL, One of the Last Remaining Freedom Towns in America
June 21, 2023
Landmarks Illinois Programs Manager Leila Wills is joined by Landmarks Illinois Regional Advocacy Manager Quinn Adamowski and the Historical Society of Brooklyn, Illinois’ Robert White, III, for an in-depth discussion on the historic town of Brooklyn, Illinois.
Chicago's Hip Hop Heritage
May 18, 2023
Landmarks Illinois Program Manager Leila Wills joins Brian Gorman, one of the co-founders of the Chicago Hip Hop Heritage Museum, to talk about the city’s impact on hip hop music, celebrating its 50th Anniversary in 2023.
PRESERVATION SNAPSHOTS LECTURE: Economic Development in Illinois’ Commercial Corridors – a Panel Discussion
Landmarks Illinois’ preservation programs are helping people revitalize their historic storefronts, sparking welcomed economic development in our state’s commercial corridors. This panel discussion on November 17, 2022, featured recipients of a Landmarks Illinois loan, grant and preservation award sharing first-hand accounts of restoring commercial spaces inside historic buildings.
SPEAKERS
- Nedra Sims Fears, Executive Director Greater Chatham Initiative, Chicago – Recipient of 2022 Landmarks Illinois Reinvestment Loan
- Stowe Olesen, General Manager Broadgauge, Petersburg – Recipient of a 2022 Landmarks Illinois Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Award
- Moderated by Suzanne Germann, Landmarks Illinois Director of Reinvestment
Click below to watch the lecture.
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Preservation Snapshots Lecture: Recent Past Survey of Suburban Cook County
October 20, 2022
Lisa DiChiera, former Landmarks Illinois Director of Advocacy; Charlie Pipal, Adjunct Professor, Historic Preservation Department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; and Sheila Webb, Graduate SAIC Historic Preservation at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, look back at the Recent Past Survey of Suburban Cook County. this 16-year surveying effort of non-residential suburban Chicago buildings dating from 1935 to 1975 — a period commonly referred to as the “Recent Past.” Approximately 4,100 commercial, institutional, office and religious structures have been identified in more than 53 suburban communities throughout Cook County, Illinois. The survey was undertaken in coordination with Landmarks Illinois by the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s (SAIC) Graduate Program in Historic Preservation since 2006.
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