Media Contact:
Kaitlyn McAvoy
Director of Communications
Landmarks Illinois
312-995-9679
kmcavoy@landmarks.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 11, 2024
Landmarks Illinois’ Skyline Council asks the public to help shower historic South Side Landmark with love for Valentine’s Day
CHICAGO – Landmarks Illinois’ young & emerging professionals committee, the Skyline Council, will host its annual family-friendly event showing a historic site some love ahead of Valentine’s Day on February 10, 2024. This year, the event will take place at the Schlitz Tied House at 958 W. 69th St. in Chicago. Members of the Skyline Council will be decorating the 125-year-old Chicago Landmark with paper hearts, signs and other displays of affection to bring attention to the building and raise awareness of ongoing efforts to preserve it.
Members of the public are welcome to join the Skyline Council in the morning starting at 10 a.m. at the Salvation Army Adele & Robert Stern Red Shield Center, located across the street from the tied house at 945 W. 69th St., to make Valentines for the Tied House decorating event. Supplies, coffee and treats will be provided. Participants can also bring pre-made decorations and signs. Shortly before noon, all participants will walk to the Tied House to decorate the building. A group photo will take place at 1 p.m. at the decorated building.
“We hope the community will join us to bring attention to this South Side landmark that is both in need of and deserving of our love and attention,” said Alyssa Frystak, Chair of the Skyline Council. “This site tells a unique story of Chicago’s past, and, with the proper resources and preservation efforts, it can continue to serve the community well into the future.”
Preservation efforts at the Tied House
The Schlitz Tied House, a two-story, Queen Anne-style building in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood, was built in 1898. It is one of 57 original taverns or “tied houses” built by the Milwaukee-based Schlitz brewery in Chicago in the late 19th and early 20th centuries just before Prohibition. The tied house on 69th Street is one of only a few of these buildings that remain today. The building’s current owner, local activist and leader Jennipher Adkins, hopes to restore the tied house to reuse it as a community gathering space.
“Huge thanks to Landmarks Illinois for showing this old gem some love,” said Adkins. “This event will undoubtedly mark the start of a new chapter, bringing together the community and setting the tone for the building’s transformation. I am grateful for the attention and look forward to the possibilities ahead.”
Landmarks Illinois facilitated a pro bono building enclosure condition assessment on the tied house, conducted by Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc., to help Adkins develop a preservation plan. Both the assessment and plan also helped Adkins recently apply for a City of Chicago Adopt-a-Landmark grant that, if given, would fund necessary building repairs.
More information on the Valentine’s Day event
Since 2018, the Skyline Council has hosted an annual event showing a historic site some love in honor of Valentine’s Day. The event is based on a national movement that started in 2012 where activists and community members showcase their love for abandoned historic properties by papering them in handmade Valentines. It has become an effective and highly public way to activate and bring attention to historic places in need of preservation resources. Previous years’ Skyline Council Valentine’s Day events have taken place at the Harley Clarke Mansion in Evanston, Altgeld Gardens in Chicago and the former Will County Courthouse in Joliet.
Visit the Landmarks Illinois website to learn more about the Skyline Council and its events.
About Landmarks Illinois
We are People Saving Places for People. Landmarks Illinois is a membership-based, historic preservation nonprofit organization serving the people of Illinois. We inspire and empower stakeholders to save places that matter to them by providing free guidance, practical and financial resources and access to strategic partnerships. For more information, visit www.Landmarks.org.
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