The 5 Most Endangered Buildings in Chicago

1) Union Station Power House

Chicago’s central role in the national rail network was unparalleled by any other city in the nation, with the highest amount of passenger and freight traffic.

The Union Station Power House is part of a network of buildings, systems, and rail tracks constructed in the 1920s by the architectural firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst & White, which included Chicago’s Union Station. The Chicago Union Station Power House has been out of service since 2011, is currently mothballed and is being considered for demolition. 

2) Chicago Water Cribs

Chicago’s first water crib was constructed in 1865 and designed by engineer Ellis F. Chesbrough to help deliver clean water to the city. At that time, Chicago was dumping its sewage directly into the lake. By locating the water intake two miles out into the lake and connecting it via a deep tunnel to a pumping station and water tower on the shore (the famous old Chicago Water Tower and Pumping Station on Michigan Avenue), clean water was carried to the city. In the years between 1865 and 1935, the city constructed eight additional water cribs, all considered major engineering feats of their day. Of these, only six remain standing, and only two are still in active use. 

The City has plans to demolish two of the older water cribs and is scheduled for the City’s Capital Improvement Program.

3) The Altgeld Gardens

Altgeld Gardens was constructed between 1943 to 1945 for African-American servicemen returning from World War II and their families.

Altgeld Gardens was designed by architects Naess and Murphy, as a public housing complex in the 1940s,  linked together in groupings, and placed in a park-like setting. The complex was said to be “the most self-contained comprehensive public housing project ever constructed in Chicago”. It includes a public library, schools, an auditorium, clubhouse, and modernist shopping center, which created a self-sufficient commercial development in the heart of the complex.

While there has been a great commitment towards preservation and reuse of many of the housing units in the past, a number of buildings, which had been mothballed for future renovation, are now facing potential demolition. 

4) Madison-Pulaski District

As Chicago grew exponentially in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, outlying shopping districts began appearing along streetcar lines and elevated train routes. One of the largest was located in West Garfield Park, centered at the intersection of Madison and Pulaski.

With a varied collection of Art Deco, Art Moderne, Modernist and Gothic architecture by an eclectic mix of architects, Madison-Pulaski is one of the largest intact outlying shopping districts in the city.

The area currently includes numerous abandoned and underutilized structures, and if not protected, much of the area may face demolition by neglect in the near future.

5) Jackson Park & South Shore Cultural Center Park

The historical significance of these two parks is monumental. The 500-acre Jackson Park was designed by the important and influential landscape designer of the 20th Century, Frederick Law Olmsted, and was the site of one of the most important events in Chicago history, the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 which has been memorialized with one of the four stars on the city’s flag. It is connected via the Midway to Washington Park, forming one of the most magnificent networks of urban parkland in the country. Both parks are listed on the National Register of Historic places and elements are protected Chicago Landmarks.

The threats to these parks are three-fold and interrelated; the construction of the Obama Library in Jackson Park, the rehabilitation and construction of the golf course spanning both parks, and the various building proposals by Project 120 in Jackson Park.

The overarching concern is the level of influence by privately held organizations and the lack of substantive community involvement in each of these three initiatives: the Obama Foundation, a newly established non-profit called the Chicago Parks Golf Alliance, and Project 120. These non-profits are governed by their respective boards of directors and not accountable to the citizens of Chicago as are the governmental agencies, such as the Chicago Park District.

Source: https://preservationchicago.org/chicago07/?cat=57