Jackson Park makes Preservation Chicago’s list for the fourth consecutive year for the threats posed to the historic Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux-designed landscape by the Barack Obama Presidential Center and a new PGA-grade golf course. 2020 will prove to be a critical year for the park as an ongoing federal review studying the projects’ adverse effects is set to conclude this summer. Preservation Chicago says it supports the Obama Center coming to Chicago, but would rather see it built on private vacant land in Washington Park. The organization also advocates for additional protections for Chicago’s lakefront parks, such as becoming a Chicago Landmark or even a National Park.

A perennial feature on the Chicago 7 list, the James R. Thompson Center is back in 2020. The fight to save the 1980s postmodern structure by architect Helmut Jahn takes on a special urgency this year given the state’s recent moves to find a private buyer for the controversial government-owned building. “As Illinois residents, we understand the financial pressures that our legislature is working under,” said Preservation Chicago in a statement. “Utilizing revenues from the sale, the James R. Thompson Center would make a small dent in the unfunded pension deficit, but the history of Chicago’s built environment does not need to be erased to get there. There are preservation-sensitive ways to give developers the density they seek.” 

The iconic twin-smokestack structure along the south branch of the Chicago River was designed in the Art Moderne style by the architectural firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst & White. The difficult-to-reach building hasn’t generated power since 2011, and owner Amtrak is looking at demolishing the structure and putting a maintenance shed in its place. Despite the many challenges associated with the site, preservationists are hoping to see the power house saved and converted to a new use—like a data center or cooling plant. The building also appeared on Preservation Chicago’s 2017 list.

Also under threat is the Washington Park National Bank in Woodlawn—a neoclassical limestone structure designed by architect Albert Schwartz in 1924. The Cook County Land Bank Authority acquired the neglected structure in 2017 and more recently approved a plan to sell the property to developer DL3 Realty, which would demolish the bank building and construct a new mixed-use project in its place. Preservationists continue to push solutions to redevelop the transit-oriented site in a way that preserves its historic architecture. The Washington Park National Bank also appeared on Preservation Chicago’s annual list once before, back in 2016.  

This cluster of large-scale commercial buildings was constructed in a variety of architectural styles along Pershing Road, just south of McKinley Park, in the early 20th-century. Today, many of these buildings are vacant or underutilized and have become vulnerable. Although the district is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the designation does not protect the buildings from being torn down. It is Preservation Chicago’s recommendation that the area becomes a Chicago Landmark district. The change will prevent future demolition and “keep this important part of our city’s industrial history intact and ensure that the community and all stakeholders will have more control over how the area can be developed in the future.”

Lining Michigan Avenue between 100th and 116th streets, this once-thriving commercial corridor in the Far South Side neighborhood of Roseland has seen many of its older character buildings lost or renovated beyond recognition. A 2019 survey conducted by preservationists identified at least 12 historic buildings along the Michigan Avenue corridor that are in an extremely vulnerable condition. According to Preservation Chicago, Roseland has a great opportunity to capitalize on visitors to nearby Pullman National Monument by “investing in its existing historic buildings, enforcing building code violations by negligent owners, and sensibly develop vacant parcels along the corridor.”