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Grace Del Vecchio (she/her)

3 Jun, 46 tweets, 7 min read

@CHIdocumenters

Happy almost Friday! At 12:45, I'll be live-tweeting from the Department of Planning and Development's
Commission on Chicago Landmarks meeting for #ChiDocumenters @CHIdocumenters. Follow along here or watch for yourself⬇️
livestream.com/accounts/28669…

Here's some of what's on the agenda:
➡️ Preliminary landmark recommendations for Monastery of the Holy Cross and Muddy Waters House
➡️ Report from the final hearing on the recommendation for landmark status of former Schlitz Brewery-Tied House
chicago.documenters.org/documents/agen…

The meeting is beginning with public comment.

Speakers have 3 minutes.
A member of the public speaks in support of landmark status for Monastery of the Holy Cross. They say it has a lot of community significance. The monks of the monastery have consented to landmark status.

Another person is speaking in favor of landmark status for the monastery and provides more background on its architectural significance.

Folks are now speaking in favor of landmark status for the Muddy Waters House. The first person speaks in favor of uplifting the memory of Muddy Waters and his contribution to Chicago and the Blues scene.

Another person is speaking of the importance of the Blues in Chicago. Another person speaks now for the third time in front of the commission.

Another person from Preservation Chicago speaks in favor of landmark status for the Brewery-Tied house and calls for the city to *not* demolish it (another option that is on the agenda for discussion).

4 people also signed up to speak against the demolition of the Mid-North District. They list reasons of risk to other building foundations, green space, increased traffic, as well as the architectural significance of the buildings to *NOT* demolish.

That concludes the public comment section. The commission approves minutes from the May 6 meeting.

The commission is now discussing the items up for landmark status. They're starting with the Monastery, which meets 3 criteria for landmark status, including religious significance, historic architecture & the association of a renowned architect (Hermann J. Gaul).

Ald. Patrick Thompson (ward 11) has spoken in favor of landmark status.

The monks of the monastery are now speaking in favor of the landmark status, led by Prior Peter Funk. The monks, who have been there for 30 years, have cared for the building and the grounds and are committed to living there for life.

The commission moves to designate the preliminary landmark status to the Monastery of the Holy Cross. The motion carries unanimously.

The commission is now discussing the landmark designation of the Muddy Waters House.

The building meets 2 criteria for landmark status: heritage (particularly regarding Chicago Blues) & association with a significant person (Muddy Waters)

Ald. Sophia King (ward 4) speaks in favor of landmark status of Muddy Waters. She speaks of Waters' impact on not only Chicago but the country & world. King, whose family comes from the Mississippi Delta (the same place Waters is from), says it's personal for her.

She says landmarking the Muddy Waters House is a "no-brainer."

Chandra Cooper, the owner of the house and the great-granddaughter of Muddy Waters, speaks in favor of landmark status and speaks to the significance of Muddy Waters' legacy. Her mother, the granddaughter of Waters, also speaks in favor.

Lisa DiChiera of Landmarks Illinois has been working with Cooper to establish landmark status and found the MOJO Museum in honor of Waters.
mojomuseum.com

Commissioner Paola Aguirre Serrano speaks in favor of the landmark status of the Muddy Waters House and says she looks forward to supporting it. Commissioner Maurice Cox always speaks in favor of preserving Muddy Waters' legacy.

Commissioner Tiara Hughes also adds support and says how glad she is that Chicago's Black History is being preserved & shared. She's even been listening to Muddy Waters lately

The commission moves to adopt the preliminary landmark status to the Muddy Waters House. The motion carries unanimously.

The commission is now discussing the preliminary landmark status and proposed demolition of the Schlitz Brewery-Tied House.

Steven DeGraff who's a part of the ownership team, speaks in defense of demolition. He says the landmark status process started after the demolition process. He said if he knew about the potential landmark in advance, they never would have purchased the property.

The hearing regarding the landmark status of the Brewery-Tied was held on May 12 to discover if the house meets the criteria for landmark status.

The meeting meets 3 criteria. Heritage (the history of brewery culture in Chicago), a distinctive theme (there are 10 Schlitz Brewery-Tied houses already approved for landmark status in the city) & the integrity criterion (the building has been somewhat restored).

Commission moves to adopts a preliminary landmark status for the Schlitz Brewery-Tied house. The motion carries unanimously.

The commission is now discussing the permit application for the permit to demolish Schlitz Brewery-Tied House. Commissioner Gabriel Ignacio Dziekiewicz finds the demolition in violation of multiple commission guidelines.

The commission moves to adopt Dziekiewicz's findings, thus disapproving the demolition of the Brewery-Tied House. The commission moves to adopt the findings, the motion carries unanimously.

The commission is now discussing the demolition of the Mid-North District.

Larry Shure presents how the Mid North District contributes to criteria that fulfill landmark status. 1 & 2 ) it exhibits historic architecture 3, 4 & 5) the buildings exhibit the same material & size of the district. 6) any factors that aren't historic can be removed.

Shure & staff recommends the demolition of the 3 sites in the district including the church at 513 W. Fullerton, a site which multiple folks spoke against demolishing.

Cox asks if demolition is permitted, what are the development plans? Shure defers to the development team.

Developers say because the building is not a part of the architectural period and its lack of function, they support its demolition. The future development will mostly be single-family homes and 2 flats.

There will be no zoning change. It will be less dense than what is allowed via zoning.

Ald. Michele Smith (ward 43) speaks in favor of historic preservation. She says while she cannot dispute that the building is outdated, she said the community is looking for the support of the landmark commission.

Commissioner Aguirre Serrano expresses her concern about the ordinance that protects buildings from a certain time frame. She understands the limitations but she thinks it deserves some acknowledgment.

Commissioner Dziekiewicz asks if there are any exceptions to the ordinance. Dijana Cuvolo points out that in the ordinance, there's a section that states any religious building cannot be adopted as a landmark without owner consent. An Alderperson sought to remove that.

Commissioner Hughes asks if it's coming up on the City Council's agenda.
It is not as of now.
She echoes Aguirre Serrano's comments.

Hughes adds that community members have expressed concern over both demolition and losing the diversity in structures and buildings. Ponce also considers how the new development may impact the community.

Cox said he's probably more concerned about what comes next regarding the development.

The commission moves to accept the permit for demolition. The motion carries with 1 present and 1 no.

The commission is now discussing the report from the permit review committee on May 6. Commissioner Aguirre Serrano said all were accepted with conditions.