Landmarks Illinois has released their annual “10 Most Endangered” list. While no Wright buildings make the list, five of the 11 sites are in the Chcago-area, and one of the listed sites is the Michigan Avenue Streetwall, an area that includes both Louis Sullivan’s Auditorum Building that Wright worked on and where Sullivan had his office and the Fine Arts Building where Wright designed some interiors and also briefly had his office.
After 25 years of discussion with the city, local landmark designation was finally approved by City Council in 2002. Two current proposals, however, threaten the district’s character.
The former Chicago Athletic Association and YWCA buildings have been slated for rooftop additions, despite the limitations of height and scale enforced in landmark districts. The towers are designed to be set back from the historic façades, but call for considerable demolition of the existing buildings. Their height and mass would greatly disrupt the historic skyline as viewed from Grant Park and the lakefront. Should these projects gain approval from the city, they would set a precedent for high-rise additions in landmark districts and weaken the local landmark ordinance.
Landmarks Illinois is an active, 30-year-old, statewide preservation organization that counts the Reliance Building and the Marquette Building among its successes.