March 2026 Preservation News Roundup

New Route 66 sign installed at Chicago's Navy Pier

On March 25, Landmarks Illinois joined an event unveiling a sign at Chicago’s Navy Pier to mark the new symbolic starting point of Route 66. The installation is part of the Route 66 Centennial celebrations this year and serves as the centerpiece of the Pier to Pier initiative connecting Lake Michigan to Santa Monica Pier in California, where Route 66 ends. The new sign also aims to raise awareness of Route 66 and its place in American history, attract fresh energy and economic support to the entire Route 66 corridor and recognize the constant evolution and shifting alignments of the 100-year-old highway as enthusiasts begin contemplating its future.

The 1955 start of Route 66 is at the corner of Adams Street and Michigan Avenue, across from the Art Institute of Chicago. The new sign at Navy Pier will invite millions of visitors from around the world to discover the story of Route 66, sparking a journey that begins here in Illinois and continues through the heart of America.

Among those who attended the event were former Chicago Bulls announcer Tom Dore, who at 7-feet, 2-inches tall came dressed as the iconic Route 66 Gemini Giant statue from Willimington (pictured above), an Abrham Lincoln portrayer, White Sox legend Ron Kittle and Cubs legend Ryan Dempster, Chair of Illinois’ Route 66 Centennial Celebration Commission Cory Jobe, Chair of the Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership Bill Thomas, and multiple Chicago elected officials and representatives.

(Landmarks Illinois Regional Advocacy Manager Quinn Adamowski, former Chicago Bulls announcer Tom Dore, and Joliet Area Historical Area Museum CEO Greg Peerbolte at the Navy Pier Route 66 event)

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Landmarks Illinois celebrates 2026 Preservation Forward March 12 at The Old Post Office

Landmarks Illinois welcomed more than 800 guests to The Old Post Office on March 12 to celebrate 2026 Preservation Forward, the organization’s largest annual fundraising event. The night celebrated Landmarks Illinois’ statewide, forward-thinking preservation work and honored our 2026 Landmarks Illinois Influencers:

• BMO Bank N.A., represented by Darrel Hackett, CEO, BMO U.S.
• Sunny Fischer, Board Chair, National Public Housing Museum
• Route History Museum, represented by Co-CEOs and Co-Founders Dr. Stacy Grundy and Dr. Gina Lathan.

CLICK HERE TO Watch our video to learn more about the Influencers.

The 2026 Influencers each received a custom award designed and made by Firebird Community Arts and inspired by the work and impact of each influencer.

Preservation Forward raised $611,000 for Landmarks Illinois’ mission-driven work helping people across the state save places that are special to them and their communities.

For the first time, BandWith Chicago performed at the event in The Old Post Office’s Grand Hall and helped usher guests into the Historic Lobby for the event’s Main Program. Bandwith is a nonprofit performing arts center and community hub in Chicago’s East Garfield Park neighborhood. It provides free music programs to underserved communities at its new headquarters space inside an adaptively reused historic building at 134 S. California Ave. In 2024, Landmarks Illinois awarded BandWith a $500,000 loan through our Reinvestment Program Loan Fund to support the adaptive reuse project.

The 2026 Preservation Forward After-Party featured a DJ as well as sweet treats from the following local bakeries: Classic Cobbler Baked Goods Company, Schweet Original Homemade Chicago Cheesecake, Moody’s Market, Royce + Reign, Cakes by the #pound and Whipped Inc.

Landmarks Illinois thanks Presenting Sponsor TAWANI Property Management, our first-ever presenting sponsor, as well as our Annual Corporate Sponsors. We also welcome new sponsors BMO, Good Chaos and the Good Heart, Work Smart Foundation.

See photos from the event below.

(Pictured: 2026 Influencers Darrel Hackett Gina Lathan, Stacy Grundy and Sunny Fisher. Credit David T. Kindler)

Preservation Forward Photos

Read more in the news

Nationally Recognized Preservation Leaders Reframe Route 66’s Legacy Through Inclusive Storytelling
WICS, March 19

Landmarks Illinois Delivers at The Old Post Office
Classic Chicago Magazine, March 29

Upcoming Grant Application Deadline: April 1

Deadline to apply is tomorrow!

Landmarks Illinois is accepting applications for the next round of funding through our Preservation Heritage Fund and the Barbara C. and Thomas E. Donnelley II Preservation Fund for Illinois.

These grant programs provide financial assistance to preserve or protect significant structures and sites in Illinois. Visit our website to learn more about qualifying projects for each grant fund and to submit an application.

(Pictured: The Wayside Store in Buncombe, a 2025 Preservation Heritage Fund grant recipient.)

Learn more & apply

Landmarks Illinois joins U.S. Rep. Casten in Lombard for roundtable discussion at the Sheldon Peck Homestead

Landmarks Illinois co-hosted a roundtable discussion event on March 20 with U.S. Rep. Sean Casten (IL-06) and the Lombard Historical Society at the Sheldon Peck Homestead. The discussion focused on why places like the Sheldon Peck Homestead matter and deserve to be recognized and preserved for the significant role they play in our nation’s history.

Landmarks Illinois staff members Kendra Parzen, Advocacy Manager, and Amber Delgado, Easements and Advocacy Associate, were members of the panel. Additional participants included Landmarks Illinois Board Member Sara Phalen, Director of the West Chicago City Museum and member of the Illinois America 250 Commission; Jeanne Schultz Angel, Illinois Association of Museums; public historians Sara Faddah and Dario Durham of 77 Flavors of Chicago; and Jeffrey Nevins from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

The Sheldon Peck Homestead, built by Sheldon and Harriet Peck in 1837, served as a stop along the Underground Railroad. The Pecks were abolitionists, and Sheldon was a “conductor” on the Underground Railroad, helping formerly enslaved people reach the next stop safely. The home is on the National Park Service’s “Network to Freedom” list, but has previously been deemed ineligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. The Lombard Historic Society has reapplied for inclusion on the National Register.

“The Sheldon and Harriet Peck Homestead in Lombard should be included in the National Register of Historic Places,” Bonnie McDonald, President & CEO of Landmark Illinois, said in a press release about the event. “The fact that this documented Underground Railroad site, which is included in the Network to Freedom, has been determined ineligible for National-Register listing proves that preservation practices must evolve. Landmarks Illinois has been working hard to do just that. We thank Rep. Casten for joining us in this work and for his commitment to ensuring the Peck Homestead receives the recognition it deserves. The National Register of Historic Places was created to recognize significant places across the nation, its territories, and tribal lands that tell our country’s collective story. The lack of places included in the National Register that tell our full history, like the Peck Homestead, must be rectified.”

(Pictured: Members of the panel (L-R) Sara Phalen, Amber Delgado, Kendra Parzen, Congressperson Sean Casten and Alison Costanzo)

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City will consider local landmarking for Bryn Mawr Historic District this week

The Commission on Chicago Landmarks will consider granting city landmark designation to the Bryn Mawr Historic District in the Edgewater neighborhood at its meeting on April 2.

Alderwoman Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth (48th) has led efforts at the city level to landmark the district, located along Bryn Mawr Avenue between Broadway and Sheridan Road. The district is already listed in the National Register of Historic Places and features early 20th-century architecture. Landmarks Illinois called for city to landmark the district in our April 2025 letter of support for the Broadway Land Use Framework. Last October, Landmarks Illinois Advocacy Manager Kendra Parzen participated in an information meeting with property owners to discuss the possible designation.

“The Bryn Mawr Historic District is a cultural and architectural treasure, and today we are taking a big step towards protecting this important piece of Edgewater and Chicago history for generations to come,” Ald. Manaa-Hoppenworth said in a press release.

Please help us advocate for this landmark district! Visit the city’s website below to learn more about how to submit a public comment before the April 2 meeting.

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On the blog

Celebrating Women in Preservation

In honor of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, Landmarks Illinois President & CEO Bonnie McDonald reflects on the leading role women have played in the U.S. preservation movement. From preserving cultural identity to passing on traditions and rituals, women have long led efforts to keep our histories part of the present.

Read the article

Stock Exchange Trading Room in spotlight following 'Most Endangered' listing

Over the past year, Landmarks Illinois has been in ongoing discussions with the Art Institute of Chicago about the future of the former Chicago Stock Exchange Building Trading Room, recreated in the museum’s east wing. The trading room was once the centerpiece of the Chicago Stock Exchange Building, designed by Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan and previously located at 30 N. LaSalle. The demolition of that building sparked the creation of Landmarks Illinois more than 55 years ago. Pieces of the original trading room were reinstalled in the trading room exhibit at the Art Institute in 1977, thanks to a dedicated team of preservationists led by architect John Vinci.

This month, Preservation Chicago included the Stock Exchange Room on its 2026 Chicago 7 Most Endangered List. While the Art Institute has not publicly released formal plans to remove the Trading Room, the museum has stated that the east wing is the area of its campus with the greatest potential for future gallery expansion. Should plans emerge that jeopardize the Trading Room’s current location, Landmarks Illinois looks forward to being a part of continued conversations.

Landmarks Illinois advocates for preservation legislation in D.C.

Regional Advocacy Manager Quinn Adamowski attended Advocacy Week March 2-5, organized by Preservation Action, in Washington, D.C. Along with local advocates and partners from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the National Trust Community Investment Corporation (pictured), Quinn met with congressional staff to advocate for historic preservation initiatives and legislation. Key priorities included protecting Section 106 and NEPA as regulatory tools, Reauthorization of the Historic Preservation Fund (H.R. 3418) as well as FY27 appropriations for the fund, improvements to the Historic Tax Credit Program (H.R. 2941/S. 1459), and the Route 66 National Historic Trail Designation Act (H.R. 5470/S. 2887).

Pullman's closed Hotel Florence will be revived, thanks to a public-private partnership

Late last month, Gov. JB Pritzker held a press conference at Hotel Florence on Chicago’s Far South Side to announce plans for a public-private partnership to restore and reuse the historic hotel and other places that are a part of the Pullman State Historic Site.

According to Block Club Chicago, a combination of $21 million of public capital funds and $83.6 million in private investment will transform the 1881-built Hotel Florence and portions of the Pullman Car Works building site into a boutique hotel, dining location and cultural and performing arts hub.

Landmarks Illinois attended the press conference, held on February 25, to celebrate the news. Hotel Florence was designed by famed Pullman architect Solon S. Beman. It has remained closed in recent years. Construction for the preservation project will kick off next spring and is expected to be completed by the end of 2028. Renderings of the future hotel are expected to be released in the coming months.

Catch Landmarks Illinois on RFD Today every month

Each month, you can catch Landmarks Illinois on RFD Today, a news and information talk show on the agricultural news radio network, RFD Radio, based in Bloomington. Regional Advocacy Manager Quinn Adamowski leads talks with host Jim Taylor about Landmarks Illinois’ statewide work.

Grants & the Wayside Store in Buncombe

In March, Adamowski discussed two of Landmarks Illinois grant programs: the Landmarks Illinois’ Preservation Heritage Fund & the Barbara C. and Thomas E. Donnelley II Preservation Fund for Illinois. The grants provide financial support to people preserving places in Illinois. Applications for the next round of funding through the grant programs are due April 1.

We also welcomed a recent grant recipient to the conversation. Healther Carey is the Heritage Program Manager/Tribal Liaison at Shawnee National Forest with the U.S. Forest Service. She is also the President of the Illinois Chapter of the Trail of Tears Association (TOTA). Landmarks Illinois awarded TOTA a Preservation Heritage Fund grant recently to support the preservation of the Wayside Store in Buncombe. The former sundry shop sits along the Trail of Tears and is part of the Trail of Tears Encampment in Buncombe. The store is encased in a 1940s frame barn that is in severe disrepair. If the barn collapses, it could severely damage the Wayside Store.

TOTA will use Landmarks Illinois grant funds to carefully remove the outer barn and construct a protective structure over the log store. Also, Landmarks Illinois included the Wayside Store on our 2006 Most Endangered Historic Places in Illinois.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE EPISODE

The Cairo Oral History Project

In February, Adamowski focused the Illinois segment on preservation efforts in Cairo, Illinois, and the Cairo Oral History Project and was joined by Don Patton, Founding President of The Cairo Historical Preservation Project, Inc.,

The Cairo Oral History Project was created by The Cairo Historical Preservation Project, Inc., in partnership with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Southern Illinois University Carbondale. It focuses on significant places and stories around Cairo’s Black community.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE EPISODE

 

(Pictured: Members of the Landmarks Illinois staff with leaders of the Cairo Oral History Project, Landmarks Board Member Magdalena Novoa Echaurren and Founding Preisdent of The Cairo Historical Preservation Project, Inc. Don Patton at the launch of the Cairo African American Heritage Train & Oral History Project in December.)

Landmarks Illinois participates in anniversary celebration at Chicago's Second Presbyterian Church

On Saturday, March 21, Bonnie McDonald was a featured speaker at the 20th-anniversary celebration for the Friends of Historic Second Church, the nonprofit organization that raises funds for the restoration of Chicago’s Second Presbyterian Church.

Landmarks Illinois honored the Friends with the 2025 Landmarks Illinois Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Award for Stewardship for its long-term efforts to preserve and restore the National Historic Landmark Church. Landmarks Illinois has also provided four grants to the Friends to support preservation work at the church. McDonald was honored to be a part of the celebration and the launch of a new $200,000 campaign to restore the remaining unrestored Frederic Clay Bartlett murals.

 

(Pictured: Friends of Historic Second Church executive director Andy Pierce)

Route 66 Centennial Event in Brooklyn, Illinois

JUNE 26

The village of Brooklyn, Illinois, will dedicate and install Historic Route 66 signs to mark its reconnection with the “Mother Road” at a community event this summer. The installation of these signs will be a long-overdue acknowledgment of Brooklyn’s contribution to the rich and untold history of the highway.

Further details will be released in the months ahead. Interested in attending? RSVP to Leslie Hardin, the Community Engagement Coordinator for the Village of Brooklyn: lhardin@brooklynil.org

2026 Congreso

AUGUST 19-21

Landmarks Illinois is proudly serving as the local partner for Latinos in Heritage Conservation’s upcoming summit in Chicago. Congreso Leadership Summit is a national gathering bringing Latinx leaders, preservation practitioners, artists, scholars and community organizers together. Congreso will take place at the historic Palmer House, centering conversations on heritage, place and leadership under the theme Estamos Aquí (We Are Here). The summit convenes national and Chicago-based voices to examine how Latinx communities shape, protect and sustain cultural landscapes across the United States. LHC Executive Director Sehila Mota Casper penned a recent Letter to the Editor, published in the Chicago Sun-Times, reflecting on Chicago as a living archive: a city built on migration, labor, resistance and reinvention.

Early registration is now available at a discounted rate. Scholarships are also available for local leaders & students! Applications are due April 30.

Learn more & register

Top social media posts of the month

We jumped on the “What were you like in the 90s” social media trend this month and featured one of our state’s most iconic landmarks: The World’s Largest Catsup Bottle in Collinsville. Check it out here.

See other top posts from Facebook, on the Illinois Receivership Act, and LinkedIn, about Chicago’s birthday.