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.
September 2024 Preservation News Roundup
Iconic Little Village Arch is restored
The restored Little Village Arch was unveiled this month after extensive renovations. The historic landmark has stood as a symbol of resilience and culture for decades on West 26th Street in the Mexican and Mexican-American neighborhood in Chicago.
The arch, constructed in 1990, was designated a Chicago Landmark in 2022. Renovations of the arch included rehabilitating its granite bases, decorative limestone and stucco walls and cleaning and repairing the tile facade and clay tile roof, according to Block Club Chicago. Landmarks Illinois proudly advocated for landmarking and restoration of the arch, supporting requests from the Little Village Community Council for preservation assistance. In July 2022, the council initially reached out to Landmarks Illinois due to prospective water damage and electrical issues with the arch. We connected the council to Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc., which provided a pro bono condition assessment of the structure to help determine a preservation plan. Special thanks to current Skyline Council Vice Chair Amanda Marshall of WJE who led the assessment.
Pictured: Amanda Marshall of WJE led a condition assessment at the Little Village Arch in July 2022. She stands with representatives of the Little Village Community Council, including Baltazar Enriquez (right).)
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Grant applications are due tomorrow!
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 are due October 1!
Each fund provides 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 Shastid House in Pittsfield. The Pike County Historical Society received a Preservation Heritage Fund grant in 2024 to help restore the wood-framed home built in 1838.)
Apply for a grant
Altgeld Gardens School Building closer to reuse
The historic “School Building C” in Chicago’s Far South Side neighborhood of Altgeld Gardens is one step closer to rehabilitation and reuse. This month, the Chicago Board of Education agreed to transfer ownership of the long-vacant former Chicago Public Schools building to People for Community Recovery. The Altgeld Garden-based advocacy organization plans to revitalize the building into the Hazel M. Johnson Institute for Sustainability and Environmental Justice.
The former high school was constructed in 1944 and designed by the then-head architect of the Chicago Board of Education, John C. Christensen. It had sat vacant and deteriorating for more than 30 years when Landmarks Illinois included the building on our Most Endangered list in 2021. In recent years, we have worked with PCR and the community to ensure the building would be preserved. This has included speaking at press conferences and public meetings, raising awareness of the building by hosting a community Valentine’s Day event at the site and bringing in McGuire Igleski & Associates Inc. to conduct a free building condition assessment to help create a preservation plan. Congratulations to PCR for this major step toward creating the Hazel M. Johnson Institute for Sustainability and Environmental Justice.
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New historic District signage recognizes Chicago’s Claremont Cottage District
The City of Chicago recently installed signage identifying the Claremont Cottage Historic District in the Tri-Taylor neighborhood on the Near West Side.
The Chicago Landmark District on the 1000 block of South Claremont Avenue was designated in 2019 and features a rare collection of nearly 20 Queen Anne-style worker cottages. The group of cottages were all built in 1884, and despite some alterations made to some of their exteriors, they all retain the physical characteristics that define their architectural significance, making the block a rarity in Chicago. The cottages are contributing structures within the Tri-Taylor National Register Historic District, which is only honorific and offers no protection. The Chicago Landmark District designation does protect the properties’ external features, including the rooflines, from significant alteration or demolition.
In the years before the historic district’s designation, Landmarks Illinois had been working with the Tri-Taylor community and Claremont Cottage homeowners to ensure their unique homes were preserved. A Preservation Heritage Fund Grant in 2018 provided financial assistance to the Tri-Taylor Neighborhood Association to hire the consultant who prepared the Chicago Landmark designation report, and our staff testified at all Commission on Chicago Landmarks meetings to support the district’s landmark designation. Additionally, to raise awareness of the architecturally significant block, we also hosted a tour in July 2019. Following the district’s designation, Landmarks Illinois provided technical assistance to homeowners about repair opportunities and potential financial incentives available for rehabilitation.
(Credit: Lori Christopher)
Upcoming events
Preservation Snapshots
Check out our Preservation Snapshots fall lineup! We kicked off our fall series of Preservation Snapshots presentations this month with Stacy Robinson of Kartemquin Films talking about her documentary, “The Boss and the Bulldozer.” Miss the presentation? Watch it here on YouTube! Check out our next lectures coming up in October and November!
"Sandra Steinbrecher and The Salt Shed"
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10
12-1 P.M.
Documentary photographer Sandra Steinbrecher shares insights about her experience documenting the rehabilitation of the historic Morton Salt Factory, detailed in her new book, The Salt Shed.
Register
"Al Watts and the Alexander Bros. Blacksmith Shop in Geneva, IL"
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12
12-1 P.M.
Al Watts from Preservation Partners of Fox Valley will discuss ongoing preservation efforts for the historic and endangered Alexander Brothers Blacksmith Shop in Geneva.
Register
2024 Preservation Awards
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18
6-9 P.M.
Join us for our annual awards ceremony recognizing exceptional efforts in preserving, restoring and revitalizing historic places in Illinois! The event, which is open to the public, will take place at the historic Apollo’s 2000 theater in Chicago and will feature a sit-down awards ceremony and cocktail reception.
Register
LI joins local organizations to fight potential demolition of Solider Field
On September 18, Landmarks Illinois Advocacy Manager Kendra Parzen spoke at a press conference hosted by Friends of the Parks, reaffirming Landmarks Illinois’ commitment to preserve the historic Soldier Field. The Chicago Bears have proposed replacing its current stadium with a new one – a plan that would demolish the majority of the century-old landmark on the city’s lakefront. Landmarks Illinois also joins a coalition of local organizations fighting against possible demolition. Along with the Friends of the Parks, coalition members include the People’s Council of Southeast Chicago and People for Community Recovery. Read Landmarks Illinois’ statement released in response to potential demolition proposals of Soldier Field. And, click below to learn the latest news updates.
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Historic Joliet Steel Mill building destroyed by fire
Landmarks Illinois was devastated to learn this month that a fire destroyed the Joliet Steel Mill Main Office Building. The architectural and cultural landmark stood for more than 130 years on Collins Street in Joliet. The limestone building was part of the closed Joliet Steel site and the Joliet Steel Works National Register Historic District. Many buildings that once represented the city’s industrial heritage have already been demolished, heightening the importance of this structure.
Landmarks Illinois called attention to the long-vacant building on our 2021 Most Endangered Historic Places in Illinois. For years, we worked alongside the community to advocate for its restoration and reuse. Our advocacy efforts encouraged U.S. Steel, the site’s owner, to do some repairs, including the building’s roof. Following the fire this month, however, what remained of the building was demolished.
Following the loss of the Steel Mill Main Office Building, Joliet’s Mayor announced the remaining buildings on the steel site would also be demolished to remove the potential for future trespassers.
Quinn Adamowski, Landmarks Illinois Regional Advocacy Manager and a member of Joliet’s Historic Preservation Commission, told the Joliet-Herald News that the destruction of the steel mill office building was “absolutely a loss.”
“I think the building told the story of Joliet’s industrial heritage,” Adamowski said in the article.
The loss also serves as a reminder of the importance of ensuring building owners provide adequate resources to maintain and honor the historic integrity of places that are important to communities all across Illinois and the nation. With proper care and repair, as Landmarks Illinois long called for, the Joliet Steel Mill Main Office Building would likely still be standing.
(Credit: Candace Johnson-Wheeler)
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Additional Landmarks Illinois news...
- Congratulations to Randi and David Howell for celebrating 10 years of restoring the Duncan Manor in Towanda. The couple received a 2021 Landmarks Illinois Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Award for Stewardship for their dedication to restoring the formerly endangered 1866 Italianate farmhouse on old Route 66. After purchasing the historic home in 2014, the Howells have embarked on an incredibly challenging task of transforming the once uninhabitable home into a family home that honors its rich history and architectural legacy. The Howells have also opened Duncan Manor up to the community for tours, concerts, weddings and other events. Their 10-year anniversary was celebrated through weekend events from September 20-22. Learn more about the anniversary here. And, see news updates here.
- At its Sept. 12 meeting, the Commission on Chicago Landmarks unanimously approved the scope of work and budget for the Adopt-a-Landmark Grant for Pentecostal Church of Holiness in Chicago. The church is located in the former Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, constructed in 1931 in the heart of Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood during the height of the Great Depression, and designed by renowned architect Louis Guenzel. It has been home to Pentecostal Church of Holiness since 2010. The Adopt-a-Landmark Grant will enable church leadership to pursue masonry and roof repairs on the exterior. Landmarks Illinois provided a report by Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. with cost estimates from Berglund Construction in 2020 that informed the scope of work for the grant. Landmarks Illinois Advocacy Manager Kendra Parzen also spoke in support of the grant at the commission meeting.
- The City of Evanston has released the three proposals it received for potential adaptive reuse of the historic Harley Clarke Mansion in Evanston, a lakefront property listed on Landmarks Illinois’ 2016 Most Endangered List. The proposals range from reusing the historic mansion as a community center, to opening it up as an events venue, liquor store and hotel. The Evanston City Council is set to discuss the reuse proposals at an October meeting, delaying the discussion originally planned for September, Crain’s reported. Read the proposals at the city’s website.
- The iconic 1926 Varsity Theater in Evanston has been reused and reopened this month as a mixed-use development featuring apartments and retail space. Landmarks Illinois called attention to the Varsity Theater and neighboring properties on the 1700 block of Sherman Avenue in Evanston on our 2018 Most Endangered Historic Places in Illinois. The block remained one of the last historically intact blocks in the city’s downtown but remained vulnerable to being demolished. Learn more about the new development here.
- Legislation was introduced this month in both the U.S. Senate and House to create the Julius Rosenwald And Rosenwald Schools National Historical Park in Illinois and Maryland. The park would honor Julius Rosenwald, a Springfield native who led Sears, Roebuck and Company and with his wealth, greatly expanded educational opportunities for Black children during the Jim Crow era, including building 5,300 schools dedicated to teaching Black youth in the South. The Julius Rosenwald & Rosenwald Schools National Historical Park Campaign has been a years-long effort to create the new national park. Landmarks Illinois is among more than 200 organizations across the nation that has supported the campaign. The Senate legislation calls for creating a park headquarters at or near the Sears Merchandising Complex in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood. Landmarks Illinois called attention to the Sears Administration Building, located in the complex, on our 2024 Most Endangered list. Learn more about the news here.
- Klein & Hoffman and Bulley & Andrews Masonry restoration completed a pro bono assessment report for Beautiful Zion MB Church in West Englewood. The assessment included an analysis of repair needs on the exterior of the building, which was originally the West Englewood Trust and Savings Bank. The assessment will provide a roadmap for the congregation to make needed repairs and seek funding for capital improvements.
- The City of Chicago is encouraging residents to share their input via a survey to help shape the future of downtown Chicago. The survey is part of the Chicago Department of Planning and Development’s Central Area Plan Update process. The goal of the updated plan is to “envision how the city’s central area can better serve Chicago residents, workers and visitors.” Landmarks Illinois President & CEO Bonnie McDonald and Advocacy Manager Kendra Parzen have participated in focus groups throughout the process. Take the public survey here: bit.ly/CAPsurvey2
Read the full September 2024 Preservation News Roundup
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