Preservation Chicago announced 2025’s most endangered list earlier this week. The yearly list highlights buildings across the city which are architecturally and culturally significant, however due to various reasons, they have fallen into disrepair and face potential demolition in the near future. Additional information can be found on Preservation Chicago’s website here.
Each title links to each building’s page on Preservation Chicago’s site.
The Delaware Building via Preservation Chicago by Eric Allix Rogers
The Delaware Building via Preservation Chicago by Eric Allix Rogers
The Delaware Building – 36 W Randolph Street – The Loop
Built in 1874, the iconic eight-story building sits on the corner with N Dearborn Street in the heart of the theater district. Construction on the building commenced right after the Great Fire of 1871, in a period known as the Great Rebuilding, and is one of the few buildings left from that time and that has retained much of its original character.
The Italianate-style structure originally stood five stories tall until a renovation in the late 1890s. This added the top floors, a new atrium cutting through all of the floors, and renovated the ground-floor storefronts. The building’s iconic facade alternated between square and arched windows, as well as Corinthian, Doric, and Ionic pilasters.
Current State
Although the building is in a prime location, it sits vacant as its last major retail tenant McDonald’s closed its ground-floor location during the pandemic with no plans to return. However, McDonald’s is only half-way through its 99-year lease and has refused to allow the building owner to find a new tenant, nor give them the space to build out a new entrance.
Because of this, the current building has not been able to go through with plans to convert the structure into residential units. According to the current building owners, McDonalds only pays $1 a year in rent plus 39 percent of the property taxes. Preservation Chicago hopes outside pressure will help McDonald’s relinquish their lease.
Central Manufacturing District Clock Tower via Preservation Chicago by Serhii Chrucky / Esto
Central Manufacturing District Clock Tower via Preservation Chicago by Serhii Chrucky / Esto
Central Manufacturing District Clock Tower – 2000 W Pershing Road – McKinley Park
The greater Central Manufacturing District occupies over 260 buildings around Pershing and started going up in 1905. It became one of the nation’s first industrial parks and even featured its own architecture and engineering department due to its growth and demand which peaked in the 1950s. At the heart of the complex is the 11-story clock tower built in 1917.
Clad in brick with a multi-story clock on each side featuring the district’s seal at the center. While the building also contained office space, its main function was to disguise the district’s main water tower, with two tanks able to hold 250,000 gallons of water for the complex which featured innovations like a full sprinkler system.
Current State
Like many historical manufacturing buildings of the time, the complex as a whole has fallen into disrepair though is not fully abandoned. Most recently, the city picked a team to redevelop one of the structures near the tower into residential, office, and commercial use featuring a grocery store, though no timeline is known on that at the moment.
As for the clocktower, no real plan currently exists, the current owners have been trying to sell the complex unsuccessfully with a potential residential use. Preservation Chicago recommends that the structure is mothballed and stabilization measures are brought forward in order to extend the tower’s life while it awaits redevelopment.
Western Boulevard Industrial Buildings via Preservation Chicago by Serhii Chrucky / Esto
Western Boulevard Industrial Buildings via Preservation Chicago by Serhii Chrucky / Esto
Western Boulevard Industrial Buildings – 4200 to 4500 S Western Boulevard – Back of the Yard
Located a short walk from the Central Manufacturing District, the eight buildings along Western Boulevard represent Chicago’s massive industrial influence nationally. Located along the grand boulevards system, they replaced a handful of residential buildings as manufacturing flourished in the area due to its proximity to Chicago Sanitary & Ship Canal as well as various railroads.
Built between the 1910s and 20s, a majority of the structures were built in a Craftsman style with others in a Tudor or Classical Revival aesthetic. Collectively they retain many rare elements like clay tile roofs, water towers, and ornate brick and terracotta facades. They also were home to companies started in Chicago like O-Cedar who is now based in Aurora.
Current State
Most of the buildings are currently occupied, with the Wheatland Tube company being the largest tenant/owner. This has allowed them to stay structurally viable and still leasable, but even then they are slowly falling into disrepair. Lack of industrial demand is also a threat to the future of the structures which are in need of renovation and restoration.
Olivet Baptist Church via Preservation Chicago by Serhii Chrucky / Esto
Olivet Baptist Church via Preservation Chicago by Serhii Chrucky / Esto
Olivet Baptist Church – 3101 S King Drive – Bronzeville
The next two sites are both churches, a trend we have seen across the city as many are looking for redevelopment opportunities due to increased maintenance costs and dwindling congregations. The church dates back to the 1850s when it was housed in the Loop, splitting up and reuniting by the 1860s before it saw a large growth in attendance as the Great Migration started.
Since then the growing local African American community became the heart of the church, becoming the world’s largest African American congregation by the 1920s, with their pastors playing a role in the Civil Rights Movement. They have called their current building home since 1918 and is known for its Gothic Revival exterior and former 160-foot-tall corner steeple.
Current State
As mentioned, the church currently still holds services within a smaller lecture room of the building, with its 2,500-seat auditorium seldomly used. Due to financial struggles, the building is falling into deep disrepair with its modernist school addition also sitting vacant. Preservation Chicago recommends pursuing landmark status as a first step in long term preservations.
St. Martin’s Church via Preservation Chicago by Serhii Chrucky / Esto
St. Martin’s Church via Preservation Chicago by Serhii Chrucky / Esto
St. Martin’s Church – 5848 S Princeton Avenue – Englewood
Built in 1895 for the city’s growing German Roman Catholic Community, with the plans being drawn in Mainz, Germany and realized by local architects. It was also considered at the time to be the nation’s first conscientious endeavor to put up a pure Gothic style church, becoming one of the finest examples of French and German Gothic architecture in the country.
Due to a drop in congregation, it eventually was closed in 1989 and sat vacant until 1998 when it was reopened as an Evangelical church until 2017 when it once again closed. Sitting vacant since then and being featured on Preservation Chicago’s 2022 list. As time passes, the building falls further into disrepair and potential structural crisis.
Current State
As mentioned, the church has sat vacant for almost a decade now with no plans on the horizon for its redevelopment. The previous church took out a variety of loans to perform heavy repairs on the building prior to vacating, thus Preservation Chicago hopes it can serve as a church once again or be converted into residential use.
J.J. Walser House via Preservation Chicago by Serhii Chrucky / Esto
J.J. Walser House (with Anne Teague in front) via Preservation Chicago by Eric Allix Rogers
J.J. Walser House – 42 N Central Avenue – Austin
The only house on this year’s list, the Walser House was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and sits within Austin, which is home to many of the city’s oldest and currently standing homes. The Prairie style home is the only within the city’s west side by Wright and was built in 1903 for a cost of $4,000, having been sold over 10 times since then and seen many renovations.
Current State
The house was most recently purchased by the Teague family in the 1970s who stabilized its structure and performed repairs and upgrades over the years in order to keep it functional. However, in 2019 Anne Teague passed away and the house has sat vacant since then, falling into disrepair. Currently various community orgs are working to pass the house on to new hands.
Clarence Darrow Memorial Bridge via Preservation Chicago by Eric Allix Rogers
Clarence Darrow Memorial Bridge via Preservation Chicago by Eric Allix Rogers
Clarence Darrow Memorial Bridge – 1766 Columbia Drive – Jackson Park
Designed by famed architectural firm Burnham and Root in 1880 as part of Jackson Park’s original design by Frederick Law Olmsted. However, it is also most known for having been used during the 1893 World’s Fair as it sat between the park’s two major lagoons with views of the Palace of Fine Arts now MSI.
The bridge was built in order to provide carriages with a connection between the east and west sides of the park, with its swooping stone embankments representing the designer’s eye for modern but natural elements. It was also a focal point for both the design of the fair and redesign of the park post fair in 1906 when it was widened with new handrails too.
Current State
Unfortunately due to lack of maintenance, the bridge was closed by city officials in 2013 when CDOT erected fences to keep visitors out. This also cut easy access between the two sides of the park. In 2021 $2 million was earmarked for its repairs but has been delayed due to the construction of the Obama Center, it is unknown what will happen next.
Subscribe to YIMBY’s daily e-mail
Follow YIMBYgram for real-time photo updates
Like YIMBY on Facebook
Follow YIMBY’s Twitter for the latest in YIMBYnews
I would be interested in knowing thst came of places that have appeared on this list in years past. I assume most remain in limbo, but does Preservarion Chicago keep a list of any notable successes or demolitions? It would be interested to see the city’s track record.
Hey Will! A few of these have appeared on the list before, Preservation Chicago does have a subpage on their site dedicated to preservation wins found here.
An article in the Sun Times lists some of the buildings that have been preserved: Thompson Center, Ramova theater, Cook County Hospital, 202 & 220 S State St (depending on what the federal government does now).
Can someone explain like I’m 5 why the Delaware building can’t put in residential? Is it due to financing needs that require an active occupant in the retail space? I don’t see a huge issue if 39% of their prop taxes are still being paid.
Hey Z, the basics is that for the building to be converted it needs to expand its lobby and ground floor footprint, roughly by 40-70 square feet at a minimum according to the owner. However McDonald’s refuses to give them that space to do so, thus blocking the project.
McDonalds holding a building from the 1870s hostage over a restaurant they don’t even want to reopen is maddening. You’d think they’d want to get out of that lease.
They want to be bought out of the lease. Why give it up for free if they can make a couple hundred thousand?
I wonder how often something like this happens. Is this what will happen when Walgreens closes the stores on the South Side? Do they own or rent those buildings?
The Western Industrial Building is gorgeous! I see conversion into lofts, senior housing, affordable housing etc. Does not deserve the wrecking ball!
The churches on the south side are basically toast. Zero demand to do anything down there, so bye bye, nice knowin’ ya.
The Central Manufacture District can and should be saved.
And if the Delaware building gets lost, that will be a crime on the level of nothing architecturally Chicago has seen since the demolition of the Chicago Stock Exchange.
Shame on McDonalds .
The McDonald’s/Delaware Building situation is almost comical it’s so stupid. A major contributing building in one of America’s most architecturally significant districts moldering because of…a burger chain.
Not a big fan of so many buildings in the Loop being “preserved”. This is supposed to be the economic engine of our city, not a pretty museum for tourists! Every building under 20 stories should be allowed to be replaced by a modern skyscraper with modern amenities.
i loved that Mcds lol