Preservation News Roundup: January 2023

The monthly Landmarks Illinois News Roundup keeps you in the loop on the latest preservation news stories from the month as well as Landmarks Illinois’ main advocacy efforts, projects and announcements. You can also receive these monthly news roundups directly in your inbox by signing up for our newsletters at the bottom of the page.

Additional Landmarks Illinois preservation news

• Landmarks Illinois Advocacy Manager Kendra Parzen convened a virtual meeting of the Suburban Preservation Alliance on Saturday, January 21. The meeting included a conversation with preservation consultant Julia Bachrach on 2022 Most Endangered site Gillson Park in Wilmette and a discussion on historic preservation survey opportunities in suburban communities.

• Director of Reinvestment Suzanne Germann represented Landmarks Illinois at the January 20 ribbon-cutting ceremony of PODER’s new headquarters in a historic building at 3357 W. 55th St. in Chicago’s Gage Park neighborhood. PODER is a nonprofit providing tuition-free English education and job training to Spanish-speaking adults. Landmarks Illinois awarded the organization a Preservation Heritage Fund grant in 2022 to support the restoration of the 90-year-old building originally constructed as a power station owned and operated by the City of Chicago Bureau of Electricity. See photos of the ribbon-cutting here.

• The Alexander Blacksmith Shop in Geneva, which previously went by the name the Mill Race Inn, faces a demolition threat, and this month, the Geneva Historic Preservation Commission considered removing the historic structure’s local landmark designation to proceed with tearing it down. Advocacy Manager Kendra Parzen spoke in opposition to de-designation and demolition at a public hearing held January 18. The Alexander Blacksmith Shop is located at 4 E. State St. in Geneva and was included on Landmarks Illinois’ 2018 Most Endangered Historic Places in Illinois. Built in 1846, the structure is one of the oldest surviving commercial structures in Geneva and is an important structure associated with the city’s pioneer era. The commission will continue the hearing at a future meeting. Read Landmarks Illinois’ full statement here.

• On January 12, the Commission on Chicago Landmarks approved preliminary landmark designation for Promontory Point, a peninsula park established in 1939 and located east of DuSable Lake Shore Drive between 54th and 56th streets in Hyde Park. Landmarks Illinois included the park on its 2004 Most Endangered list, and Advocacy Manager Kendra Parzen spoke in support of landmark designation at the commission’s recent meeting. “Granting this designation affirms the importance of Promontory Point to the Hyde Park community, the South Side and the City of Chicago,” Parzen said. “It also supports a preservation approach for the treatment of the Point’s historic limestone revetment, identified as a significant historical and architectural feature, which is now the last stretch of intact, WPA-era limestone revetment that once spanned the lakefront.”

• This month, the Naperville City Council approved amendments to the city’s preservation ordinance that requires preauthorization from the council for any nonowner to submit a landmark nomination for consideration. After consulting with local partners, Landmarks Illinois Advocacy Manager Kendra Parzen submitted a letter in support of the changes to the city council but took issue with some council members describing landmarking as “taking” property rights, which is an inaccurate and misleading characterization of local landmarking. Read the letter here.

• On January 10, Landmarks Illinois President & CEO Bonnie McDonald joined a Chicago Architecture Center (CAC) discussion to close its “Energy Revolution” exhibit, co-curated by architect Doug Farr, FAIA, of Farr Associates and CAC’s Eve Fineman. The exhibit focused on the climate change crisis and the urgent need for building decarbonization and making new and existing buildings more energy efficient. McDonald responded with Landmarks Illinois’ perspective and support based on its guiding principle to fight climate change. Read more about approaches to the issue in her “Fighting Climate Change Through Preservation” blog post.

• The Muddy Waters House at 4339 S. Lake Park Ave. in Chicago’s North Kenwood neighborhood is now listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The once-endangered property is being rehabilitated and reused as a museum to celebrate blues legend Muddy Waters, who purchased the brick two-flat in 1954 and lived in it until the 1970s. The building is part of the North Kenwood Multiple Resource District, a Chicago Landmark District designated in 1993 due to its architectural significance. Landmarks Illinois proudly awarded a grant to the MOJO Museum through our Timuel D. Black, Jr. Grant Fund for Chicago’s South Side in September 2020 to aid restoration efforts at the home.

• At the end of December, Landmarks Illinois met with the Little Village Community Council, the Little Village Chamber of Commerce, Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez, Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) and JLK Architects to review plans for repairs to the Little Village Arch, which CDOT is planning to undertake this year. In 2022, the arch became the first Chicago landmark designed by a Mexican-American Architect. The repairs will ensure that this beloved community landmark continues to stand over West 26^th Street, where it is the gateway to the Little Village neighborhood.

• Landmarks Illinois is working with partners around the state, like AIA Illinois, to advocate for the extension and enhancement of the Illinois Historic Preservation Tax Credit. As the successful program is scheduled to sunset this December, we have discussed the future of the tax credit program with legislators over the past few months to plan for an extension. Mirrored bills filed in the Illinois House (HB1513) by Rep. Jehan Gordon Booth and in the Illinois Senate (SB119) by Sen. Steve Stadelman to extend the program through December 2028 and increase the yearly allocations from $15 million to $75 million. Please contact your Representative and Senator to ask them to cosponsor this important legislation!

• Members of the public are invited to participate in the Illinois Statewide Historic Preservation Office’s (IL-SHPO) process to prepare a new statewide historic preservation plan. SHPO will be hosting a number of regional on-site workshops throughout the year, including ones that took place in January in Alton and Carbondale. Residents are welcome to attend the workshops to discuss local, regional and statewide issues that impact preservation in their community. Additional workshops in Rockford, Rock Island, Marshall, Chicago and Bloomington are also expected to take place this year as part of the state’s process. The Illinois Statewide Historic Preservation Plan is scheduled to be completed by December 2023. Learn more here.

• This month, Landmarks Illinois and COO Frank Butterfield was featured by Illinois Humanities, which has supported numerous Landmarks Illinois projects through its grants. Read the feature here.

Download the full January 2023 Preservation News Roundup below.

January 2023 Preservation News Roundup

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