2022 Landmarks Illinois Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Award Recipients

Read about our 2022 Landmarks Illinois Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Award Recipients below. You can help us honor our 2022 award recipients at awards ceremony on Friday, November 4, 2022 in Chicago. Learn more.

Hotel Belleville, Belleville

Award for Advocacy

Thanks to the efforts of dedicated, local preservationists, the 91-year-old former Hotel Belleville has been rehabilitated into an affordable housing development called “Lofts on the Square.” Owners MH Belleville Associates LP undertook the $14.6 million transformation of the historic, Art Deco-style hotel, a 2014 Landmarks Illinois Most Endangered site. The project is an example of the power of sustained advocacy efforts as well as public-private collaboration. (Photo credit: Andrew Bruah Photographer)

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Chicago Cultural Center Grand Army of the Republic Rooms, Chicago

Award for Restoration

The Grand Army of the Republic Rooms, completed in 1897 in Chicago’s Cultural Center (the city’s former main public library) have undergone a $15 million restoration to preserve and honor the original features designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany and Healy & Millet. The project, which spanned more than two years, was funded by a generous anonymous donor and led by the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, Harboe Architects and Berglund Construction. (Photo credit: Tom Rossiter)

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Lincoln Park Zoo Pepper Family Wildlife Center, Chicago

Award for Rehabilitation & Winner of the Richard H. Driehaus Legacy Award

Lincoln Park Zoo’s historic lion house has been reborn as the Pepper Family Wildlife Center following a much-needed $41 million rehabilitation and expansion. This Chicago Landmark, constructed in 1912 and listed in the National Register of Historic Places, has been restored to its original Arts & Crafts-style appearance, features greatly improved zoo animal habitats, and provides an immersive and fully accessible space for the enjoyment for visitors. (Photo credit: Tom Harris)

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Mattie Butler Apartments, Chicago

Award for Leadership

Longtime Chicago housing activist Mattie Butler and her organization Woodlawn East Community and Neighbors (WECAN) collaborated with Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH) to guarantee the long-term affordability of two 1920s Woodlawn apartment buildings. Initially saved in the 1990s by WECAN, POAH obtained the property in 2017 and in 2022 celebrated the completion of the $26.8 million renovation of the renamed Mattie Butler Apartments, honoring Ms. Butler’s decades of stewardship and activism for affordable housing in the Chicago South Side community. (Photo credit: POAH)

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Pullman National Monument and State Historic Site, Chicago

Award for Rehabilitation

This award honors six organizations and federal agencies for their decades of leadership and advocacy work in Chicago’s Pullman community that led to the creation of the 12-acre Pullman National Monument & Historic Site and the $35 million rehabilitation of the long-vacant Pullman Administration-Clock Tower Building (now the Pullman Visitor Center). Recipients of the award are: the National Park Service, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives, National Park Foundation, Positioning Pullman Project Team and Historic Pullman Foundation. (Photo credit: Andrea Terry – BauerLatoza Studio)

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Lock & Mule, Lockport

Award for Adaptive Reuse

Local residents and business owners Inga Carus and Peter Limberger renovated the vacant former Mackin Motor Company Building in Lockport’s downtown historic district to open Lock & Mule, a craft brewery, restaurant and event venue. The adaptive reuse of the 7,000-square-foot building — constructed in 1927 and listed in the National Register of Historic Places — received support from the City of Lockport and has contributed to the revitalization of the downtown area. (Photo credit: Lock & Mule)

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Crown Brew Coffee Co., Marion

Award for Rehabilitation

Crown Brew Coffee Co. opened in October 2020 in a 120-year-old building in downtown Marion that owners Joshua Benitone and Jared Gravatt rehabilitated largely on their own. As the first business to open in a city-led downtown revitalization effort, the coffee shop serves as an example of what is possible when local governments and business owners join efforts to drive economic development. (Photo credit: Crown Brew Coffee)

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Broadgauge, Petersburg

Award for Adaptive Reuse

Built in 1872 as a “megastore” selling hardware, groceries and dry goods, the Broadgauge Building in Downtown Petersburg has been reopened and reimagined by owner Douglas Pope. Today, the multi-purpose building includes a bar, restaurant, billiards room, event space and coffee shop, drawing the community back into the historic space and becoming one of the town’s largest employers. (Photo credit: Douglas Pope)

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Rockford City Market, Rockford

Award for Adaptive Reuse

The nonprofit Rock River Development Partnership adaptively reused three vacant storefronts at historic buildings in downtown Rockford to create new business and event space. Conceived as an indoor extension of the existing outdoor Rockford City Market, the transformation of these properties as year-round market facilities has brought new life to downtown Rockford’s streetscape and economy, attracting residents and visitors alike, hosting community events, and providing opportunities for collaboration. (Credit: Rock River Development Partnership)

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