Preservation News Roundup: 2025 Year in Review

A year of transformation

This summer, Landmarks Illinois adopted its new “Transformational Plan,” a five-year strategic roadmap to make preservation more accessible, equitable and effective. The plan serves as our guide to champion a preservation movement that saves and celebrates the places that people value while addressing society’s current challenges. The plan identifies four priorities for our work:

• Inclusive Preservation
• Community and Economic Development
• Housing Access
• Climate Change Mitigation

In September, Landmarks Illinois President & CEO Bonnie McDonald and Vice Chair Ron Clewer led a webinar discussing the new plan. Watch it here. We are also about to launch a comprehensive rebrand project that will align our visual identity with our Transformational Plan. Please stay tuned for more news on this project in 2026.

Reinvesting in our historic places 

Landmarks Illinois awarded $127,828 in grant funds in 2025. These matching grants were provided through our three grant programs: the Preservation Heritage Fund, Barbara C. and Thomas E. Donnelley II Preservation Fund for Illinois and the Landmarks Illinois Timuel D. Black, Jr. Grant Fund for Chicago’s South Side. Each grant provided critical seed funding to help communities save places that are special to them. Visit our website to learn more about our grant programs and how to apply for funding. Applications for the next round of funding through the Timuel D. Black, Jr. Grant Fund are due January 1.

(Pictured: Landmarks Illinois Timuel D. Black, Jr. Grant Fund for Chicago’s South Side grant recipient, the Historical Preservation Society of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party, unveils its first historic marker in Chicago in July.)

Landmarks Illinois celebrates Reinvestment Loan projects

Two adaptive reuse projects supported through Landmarks Illinois’ Reinvestment Loan Program marked milestones this year. In December, BandWith Chicago opened its new Performing Arts & Community Hub in Chicago’s East Garfield Park neighborhood. The new space is created through the restoration and adaptive reuse of the former Loyal Casket Building and will serve as BandWith’s headquarters, providing space for the organization’s free youth arts programming. The new hub will not only allow BandWith to serve more children, engaging them in dance, drumline, sound engineering, instrumental and choral ensembles, but also provide space for adult programming. It also features community event space and a neighborhood cafe, the first of its kind for the West Side neighborhood.

Landmarks Illinois supported the project with a $500,000 loan through our Reinvestment Program. The funding helped cover critical project-planning costs for the building’s reuse. Landmarks Illinois Director of Reinvestment Suzanne Germann and President & CEO Bonnie McDonald attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

In November, Plant Chicago, another Reinvestment Program Loan recipient, broke ground on its project to rehabilitate a 1908 firehouse in the Back of the Yards neighborhood. Plant Chicago is a nonprofit dedicated to creating local circular economies where resources are reused, recycled and shared within a community to minimize waste. The organization operates out of the former firehouse at 4459 S. Marshfield Ave., providing educational programming, food and retail markets and accepts items from the community for recycling and composting.

Landmarks Illinois provided a a $300,000 loan for Plant Chicago’s restoration project, which will make the firehouse ADA accessible, over 90 percent decarbonized and add a shared-use indoor farm. Landmarks Illinois attended Plant Chicago’s groundbreaking event.

Learn more about our Reinvestment Loan Program below.

(Pictured: Director of Reinvestment Suzanne Germann with Bandwith Founder and Executive Director Annie Palomino)

2025 Most Endangered Historic Places in Illinois

Landmarks Illinois released its 2025 Most Endangered Historic Places in Illinois in May, calling attention to 10 historic sites that require immediate attention and preservation resources. The endangered sites, located in Cook, Cumberland, DuPage, Iroquois, Jackson, Kane, Livingston, Logan, Madison, McHenry and St. Clair Counties face growing threats of disinvestment and demolition. Explore the list at our website.

Fordon Horse Barn

Oak Brook

In June, engineering and advisory firm TYLin conducted a pro bono structural assessment of the Fordon Horse Barn in Oak Brook. The barn, built C. 1930, is a lasting reminder of an era when Oak Brook was the polo capital of the nation. Just this month, Landmarks Illinois also awarded the Oak Brook Park District, which owns the barn, a Preservation Heritage Fund grant to repair the barn’s roof and do other stabilization work.

(Photo credit: Paul Morgan)

Judge Barry House

St. Charles

The Judge Barry House in St. Charles avoided demolition this year after the St. Charles City Council voted in August against a demolition request by the property owner. Built in 1844 by active citizen and Illinois attorney Judge William D. Barry, the Greek Revival-style home sits prominently in St. Charles’ downtown Central Historic District. The current owner, Baker Memorial United Methodist Church, had proposed tearing it down to create parking spaces.

(Photo credit: Paul Morgan)

JJ Walser House

Chicago

The Joseph Jacob Walser House, the only Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home on Chicago’s West Side, has sat vacant and in foreclosure, with mounting maintenance needs, for many years. Unfortunately, a foreclosure sale in December resulted in the property being auctioned to the lender. Landmarks Illinois is continuing to work with the local group, Austin Coming Together, on its attempts to acquire the property to restore and adaptively reuse it.

(Photo credit: Paul Morgan)

2025 Landmarks Illinois Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Awards

In October, we celebrated the winners of the 2025 Landmarks Illinois Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Awards at a ceremony in Chicago. The annual awards program has honored exceptional preservation efforts in Illinois since 1995. This year’s nine winning projects were located in Belvidere, Charleston, Chicago, Granite City, Millstadt, Tinley Park and Waukegan. Learn more about the winning projects and see photos from our event at our website.

(Pictured: The Pui Tak Center and the building’s owner, the Chinese Christian Union Church, won a preservation award for Cultural Heritage Conservation. Credit: David T. Kindler)

Preservation Tax Credit Extended

The River Edge Historic Tax Credit Program (RE-HTC) — a vital incentive for restoring historic buildings in Illinois — has been extended through 2028 following a successful advocacy campaign during veto session. The tax credit was previously set to expire in 2026.

The RE-HTC provides an uncapped 25% state historic tax credit on qualified rehabilitation projects and can be combined with the 20% federal historic preservation tax credit. It was originally available to projects in the Illinois river communities of Rockford, East St. Louis, Peoria, Elgin and Aurora. In 2023, Joliet and Kankakee were given an opportunity to apply for RERZ designation and Quincy, Moline, East Moline, Rock Island, Ottawa, LaSalle and Peru were given the opportunity in 2024. In 2025, two new communities were given access to become Redevelopment Zones: Alton and Sterling. Regional Advocacy Manager Quinn Adamowski worked with partners, including Board Member Gary Anderson and Vice Chair Ron Clewer, in 2025 to successfully advocate for Alton and Sterling.

A report prepared by PlaceEconomics and released in May 2025 by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources shows the significant positive impact the RE-HTC has had between 2012 and 2024. For instance, RE-HTC projects have generated $643 million in private investment and created 524 jobs, on average, every year. View the full report here.

(Pictured: The reuse project at the former Broadview Hotel in East St. Louis, a 2021 Most Endangered site, used the RE-HTC.)

New Interactive Initiative Shines Light on Cairo’s Rich African American History

In December, members of the Landmarks Illinois team joined partners in Cairo to celebrate the launch of the Cairo African American Heritage Trail & Oral History Project, which highlights the important yet often overlooked history of African Americans in Illinois’ southernmost city. It aims to “empower residents and guests to discover the history that defines Cairo’s vibrant African American community in the very places where it happened.” A new interactive website features digitized historic photos, video interviews of local leaders and residents and information on significant landmarks tied to African American history and culture in Cairo.

The project was a joint effort of The Cairo Historical Preservation Project (TCHPP), the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UofI) and Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. Landmarks Illinois Board Member Magdalena Novoa Echaurren, an assistant professor at UofI, was instrumental in the initiative, as was Don Patton, President of TCHPP and partner of Landmarks Illinois.

Landmarks Illinois has a long history partnering with local advocates in Cairo to preserve local history and landmarks. This has included providing grant funding through our Barbara C. and Thomas E. Donnelley II Preservation Fund for Illinois to support TCHPP’s efforts to list Cairo’s Ward Chapel AME Church on the National Register. We also recently called attention to threatened historic affordable housing in the city, including the Connell F. Smith Sr. Building in Cairo on our 2023 Most Endangered Historic Places in Illinois.

We congratulate our partners on this engaging initiative that shines a much-needed light on the civic and cultural contributions and rich history of African Americans in Cairo.

(Pictured: Landmarks Illinois’ Easements and Advocacy Associate Amber Delgado; Regional Advocacy Manager Quinn Adamowski; President & CEO Bonnie McDonald; Co-Producer of the Project and Landmarks Board Member Magdalena Novoa Echaurren; and Don Patton, TCHPP Board President.)

Historic South Side Church will be adaptively reused as wellness center

Onyx360 NFP, a nonprofit on Chicago’s South Side dedicated to providing health and wellness resources to undersourced communities, will restore and adaptively reuse the historic Reformation Lutheran Church in Roseland. The group secured ownership of the former church in November. Designed by famed Pullman architect Solon S. Bemand in the late 1880s, the church was previously home to a thriving Black congregation until it closed in 2016. It also housed President Barack Obama’s South Side office when he worked as a community organizer. 

Onyx360 aims to repair the church and its two-story former school building to create a community health and wellness center. Landmarks Illinois awarded the nonprofit a $10,000 grant through the Timuel D. Black Jr. Grant Fund for Chicago’s South Side in February to help with immediate stabilization needs at the church.

Landmarks Illinois is proud to support this project, which is about more than the preservation of a historic building. The adaptive reuse of Reformation Lutheran Church demonstrates how our historic built environment can be preserved to benefit the community, addressing a critical need in a neighborhood lacking health and wellness resources. Check out our upcoming January edition of our print newsletter, The Arch, for an article on this project and its positive impacts, written by Easements and Advocacy Associate Amber Delgado.

Click below to apply for a grant through the Timuel D. Black, Jr. Grant Fund for Chicago’s South Side! Application deadline: January 1!

Restoration begins on McLean Water Tower on Route 66 

The McLean Water Tower restoration project progressed in 2025 in preparation of the Route 66 Centennial next year. Built in 1934-35 as a Public Works Administration project, the tower is a prominent landmark on Illinois’s stretch of the Mother Road. It was decommissioned in 2017 when a new larger tower was erected to meet increased local water demand. No longer in use, the Village of McLean planned to remove the original water tower.

The local nonprofit group CORE of McLean, however, sprang into action to prevent demolition of the iconic tower. After a successful advocacy campaign supported by Landmarks Illinois, Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway and the Route 66 Association of Illinois, the group took ownership of it and transformed the land below the tower into a public park and native garden, providing a respite for community members and Route 66 travelers alike.

This year, CORE began its Phase 1 of the tower restoration, which includes removing rust, repainting the tower and painting a mural on the tank. Painting began in October and is expected to be completed in early spring 2026. Landmarks Illinois awarded CORE a Preservation Heritage Fund in 2024 to support the project. The group continues to fundraise and plans to complete the mural on the water tower by June 1 in time for the summer’s celebrations of the 100th anniversary of Route 66. Learn more at CORE of McLean’s website.

Landmarks Illinois shares stories of preservation on Route 66

Landmarks Illinois joined more than 20 organizations nationwide in a new interactive project aimed at sharing stories of Route 66 in preparation for the highway’s centennial next year. The National Trust for Historic Preservation and Google Arts & Culture teamed up to create a unique virtual storytelling hub highlighting the power and history of this iconic American roadway. The Route 66 storytelling hub provides a digital road trip of sorts along the Mother Road, bringing together a collection of 130 stories on the iconic highway’s past, present and future.

Landmarks Illinois features significant sites and stories like the Route History Museum in Springfield, the Gemini Giant in Willington, Old Joliet Prison and Duncan Manor in Towanda — places that make Route 66 a must-see destination for visitors from across the globe.

The Google Arts & Culture Route 66 project showcases the power of a singular highway and the full history of its communities.

Demolished: Damen Silos

The Damen Silos in Chicago’s McKinley Park neighborhood were torn down this year, despite their historic significance and opportunities for reuse and despite the community’s strong opposition. As advocates, community representatives and Landmarks Illinois predicted, the demolition of the concrete former grain silos along the Chicago River created excessive dust in the area, posing a health hazard.

The Damen Silos were one of the last remaining monuments to Chicago’s historic dominance in the national grain industry. Built in 1906 by the Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, today the silos are an iconic waterfront landmark visible from I-55, the Chicago Transit Authority’s Orange Line train and the adjacent neighborhood of McKinley Park. More recently, the silos were featured in the 2014 movie “Transformers: Age of Extinction” and have become a favorite destination for urban explorers.

Landmarks Illinois included the silos on our 2023 Most Endangered list due to the threat of demolition. MAT Asphalt purchased the silos from the State of Illinois in October 2022, a sale that went through without community input. MAT plans to build a new company headquarters on the site. Demolition of the silos was halted briefly this October when neighbors reported excessive dust and debris in the air, on the roadways and falling into the Chicago River. Work resumed a week later, posing a continued hazard for McKinley Park, which has long struggled for environmental justice.

Demolition planned: Scott Foresman

The architecturally significant Scott Foresman campus in Glenview, former home to the textbook company’s headquarters, will be demolished to make way for a single-family residential subdivision. Glenview village trustees gave the final approval for the new development earlier this month.

The campus was built in 1966 and was an award-winning Midcentury Modern design of architecture firm Perkins & Will. Foresman was the publisher of the 20th century’s popular Dick and Jane series, and the company was one of several successful educational publishers based in Chicago. The sprawling campus, spanning 250,000 square feet among four buildings, sat vacant since 2020 and was later listed for sale, facing potential foreclosure. Landmarks Illinois included the site on our 2021 Most Endangered list. Despite its architectural significance and Foresman’s role in childhood education, it did not have any type of landmark designation.

Landmarks Illinois was one of the many voices calling for the campus’ reuse. As WBEZ stated earlier this year, “This campus was the last home of a company that played a key role in U.S. education — especially reading education — in the 19th and 20th centuries.

In limbo: Elks Lodge No. 64

Rockford’s former Elks Lodge No. 64 has faced threats of demolition this year, though the future of the historically significant building remains uncertain. The Rockford City Council voted in November to proceed with demolishing the 113-year-old building. However, a week later, it was reported the building owner and city officials were once again trading offers to turn ownership over to the city.

Landmarks Illinois listed the former Elks Lodge building on its 2022 Most Endangered Historic Places in Illinois due to ongoing neglect. Following years of deferred maintenance, the building posed a public safety threat, leading the City of Rockford to pursue demolition.

This summer, Landmarks Illinois secured two building analyses of the structure, one of the interior conducted by Brush Architects and one of the exterior by Bulley & Andrews Masonry Restoration. Both assessments showed that while repairs are badly needed, the building is reusable and can be restored.

As of the middle of December, there has not been any reported progress on a deal for the city to take over the building for potential restoration.

Inappropriate development: Oak Park Boulevard Arcade Building

The Oak Park Village Board made a rare and misguided decision to go against its own historic preservation commission this year when it approved a proposed 10-story addition to the Boulevard Arcade Building, an architecturally significant local landmark. The high-rise development, which would provide luxury housing, was previously denied four times by the Oak Park Historic Preservation Commission.

The Arcade building is currently a two-story structure. It was constructed in 1906 and restored in 2008. Landmarks Illinois and other opponents of the addition argued its design conflicts with the historic integrity of the current structure and is wholly out of sync with Oak Park’s architectural review guidelines.

“What you’re going to see behind and above this historic building is a very attention-grabbing design,” Kendra Parzen, Landmarks Illinois Advocacy Manager, told Crain’s Chicago Business in September. “We would prefer to see something more deferential to the historic building, something that’s attempting to work with what’s already there.”

Another issue with the proposed high-rise development is its targeted market. While housing is needed in Oak Park, this project will not provide affordable housing options and is only one unit short of triggering a requirement that the developers pay into Oak Park’s affordable housing fund.

As of October, full approval and a project timeline had not been announced.

2025 events build community, drive engagement in preservation

Approximately 2,580 people attended our various events throughout 2025, engaging in and supporting Landmarks Illinois’ mission-driven work. 

Our events included:

• Skyline Trivia Night (pictured above) in January, held at Great Central Brewing.
• Preservation Forward at The Old Post Office. Our biggest fundraiser of the year raised nearly $580,000 for Landmarks Illinois.
• A joint Real Estate and Building Industries Council and Skyline Council summer event at Wrigley Field, celebrating five years since the completion of its decade-long restoration of the Chicago Cubs’ home.
• The 2025 Landmarks Illinois Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Awards, honoring nine preservation projects across the state.
• And more! Head to Landmarks Illinois’ Flickr page to see photos from all our major events of 2025.

Save the date for 2026 Preservation Forward!

SPONSORSHIPS NOW AVAILABLE

Mark your calendars! Landmarks Illinois will hold its 2026 Preservation Forward event on March 12, 2026, at The Old Post Office in Chicago. Each year, this annual fundraiser brings in critical support for Landmarks Illinois’ mission-driven work.

The evening will also honor this year’s 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 Drs. Gina Lathan and Stacy Grundy

Carl Johnson

In September, Illinois lost a longtime champion of preservation. Carl Johnson of Galena passed away at the age of 94. He and his wife, Marilyn, dedicated their lives to preserving Galena’s unique history and heritage, and were instrumental in making the town a tourist destination renowned for its iconic 19th-century architecture and quintessential historic main street. The couple received a Landmarks Illinois Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Award in 2020 for their extensive and inspirational preservation work. Carl was a prolific painter, taking inspiration from the historic places around him. Marilyn, a former Landmarks Illinois Board Member, said his paintings will remain his legacy. His gallery on Galena’s Main Street is among the many properties the Johnsons personally invested in and restored. Click below to watch our video on the Johnsons, shown at our 2020 preservation awards ceremony.

(Pictured: Carl and Marilyn Johnson outside Carl’s gallery in Galena in 2020.)

Richard Moe

In September, Landmarks Illinois joined the preservation community nationwide in mourning the passing of former National Trust for Historic Preservation President and CEO Richard (Dick) Moe. Dick was an astute and effective leader who took historic preservation advocacy in new and innovative directions, which have continued to influence the field. His memorable actions that expanded the impact of preservation included the Trust’s work on battlefield and cultural landscape preservation, disaster response and policy as well as his work with Landmarks Illinois to save the Edith Farnsworth House. Together, our two organizations purchased the Edith Farnsworth House and turned it from a private home to a protected, publicly accessible resource. We have lost several leaders of this remarkable preservation win: Dick Moe, Landmarks Illinois President and CEO David Bahlman and leading funders John Bryan and Richard Gray. What we take away is a call for courageous leaders who keep positioning preservation as a community priority—one that benefits future generations. We carry that work forward. Our condolences to Dick’s family and friends.

(Pictured: Richard Moe (center) pictured at the 2004 ribbon-cutting ceremony opening the Edith Farnsworth House up to the public. Credit: Joan Hackett.)

Instagram

The most popular Instagram post of the year goes to the Uptown Theatre supporters on their community turnout in August to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the historic theater and the re-creation of a 1925 opening-day photo. The photo was sponsored by Uptown United, Friends of the Uptown and Ald. Angela Clay (46th). Uptown Theatre, a 2014, 2010, 2001 and 1996 Most Endangered site, was built in 1925. Designed by Rapp & Rapp for the Balaban & Katz theater chain, the 4,381-seat, 46,000-square-foot theater was—and remain—one of the largest and most opulent in the country.

Facebook

The most popular Facebook post is “Da Pope’s” childhood church in Illinois. During his childhood in Chicagoland, Pope Leo XIV attended St. Mary of the Assumption on Chicago’s far South Side. In 2019, Landmarks Illinois included St. Mary of the Assumption in our Recent Past Survey of Suburban Cook County, which was done in partnership with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Facebook

In March on LinkedIn, we covered Celedon Construction Corporation’s $29 million project to restore and reuse the Harley Clarke Mansion in Evanston as an events venue and hotel. Landmarks Illinois has been advocating alongside local residents for nearly a decade to save and repurpose this iconic building.