Aging homes, hotels, a CTA station, a church and a vintage bridge, painstakingly restored to their former elegance, are all winners of this year's Chicago Landmark Preservation Excellence Awards.
The 17 honorees for 2009 received their awards last week in a ceremony at the Palmer House.
The awards are given to acknowledge efforts in restoring city landmarks and preserving the city's architectural and cultural heritage. The laurels are bestowed by the Historic Preservation Division of the Department of Zoning and Land Use Planning.
Only properties that have been designated by the City Council as individual Chicago landmarks or that are within a Chicago Landmark District are eligible. Chicago has 282 individual landmark buildings, monuments and sites, and 59 designated landmark districts, which total about 9,200 structures of historical significance.
On the Near Northwest Side in the Wicker Park District, Brandon and Jill Antoniewicz won a preservation award for exterior rehabilitation and restoration of their home in the 1600 block of North Leavitt. Over the decades, the front facade of the 1897 worker cottage had been drastically changed after past owners installed an artificial stone veneer over the original brick and altered the window openings.
The couple removed the veneer, repaired the underlying brick, and restored the historic window openings to their original size based on evidence uncovered after the veneer was removed. The front porch and stairs were also reconstructed.
"When we bought the house in 2006, it had been turned into two apartments. We spent nearly two years planning the project, trying to implement a sustainable aspect to the plans and dealing with all the red tape of landmarks and permits," Brandon said. "In the back of our heads we wanted to do a sustainable house, and restoring the building was a second issue. When we got into it, we realized this was an opportunity to do something great and restore the [architectural] history of the area."
The couple began work in July 2008 and have restored the building into a single-family home. In addition to the facade restoration, the Antoniewiczes totally gutted the interior and installed new plumbing, a new electrical system and heating ductwork.
"At one point we were ready to give up and sell the house because of all the obstacles," Brandon said. "But we decided we loved the neighborhood, so we revamped our plans and made our home the best it could be."
As for winning the Preservation Excellence Award, the couple says it's an affirmation of all their hard work.
"Winning is a feeling of validation for what can at times feel like a real struggle," Jill said. "Renovation has its ups-and-downs and when you're in an historic district there are more ups-and-downs. The hard work was worth it."
In the Austin-Schock Historic District on the West Side, a landmark award for exterior restoration went to Thomas and B.J. Walker and their son, Sharif.
The home in the 5800 block of West Race is called the Schlect House, since it was built in 1887 by architect Frederick R. Schock, for his aunt, Catherine Schlect. Instead of defining the building with trim and corner boards, typical of the Queen Anne style, Schock abstracted the forms by wrapping them with shingles in the popular Shingle Style of the 1880s.
To restore the facade, the Walkers' extensive repairs included replacing areas of deteriorated wood ornamentation, trim and cladding, as well as roof and porch repairs.
"We took off the entire siding and shingles off the building and replaced them with pieces specially made and cut into the same shape of the existing pieces," said Thomas Walker. "Any missing trim was replaced.
"Winning the landmark award is good because you're recognized and appreciated," he continued. "We love the neighborhood and feel it's our responsibility to preserve a home like this that is a distinctive part of the community."
Other winners in the residential categories included the following:
Ukrainian Village District: Near West Side residents Alex and Joanna Vetter won the award for restoration on their home on North Hoyne. The Italianate two-flat was built in 1909. The Vetters removed the non-historic porch and installed a new porch with painted wood stairs and decorative newel posts. They also restored the trim and added new windows and double doors with recessed panels. The rehab also included a new masonry rear addition, a new open metal fence, and new landscaping.
Pullman District: David and Gladys Swalina won for their exterior bay window restoration of their circa 1880s row home on South Forrestville on the South Side. The couple restored the two-story bay window, demonstrating how even a small project can have a dramatic visual impact, landmark judges said.
To restore the bay window to its original design the Swalinas replaced the asphalt siding with new wood siding and historically accurate Pullman-style wood windows. Other work included masonry repairs, new slate roofing for the front porch and the bay window, and new exterior paint to match the original Pullman colors. The project was assisted with the Pullman Facade Reimbursement program of the Beman Committee of the Pullman Civic Organization.
Historic Michigan Boulevard District: The Straus Building, known for its distinctive pyramidal roof, was designed by Graham, Anderson, Probst and White and was completed in 1924. The adjacent seven-story Kerman Building was refaced in 1899 by architects Hessenmueller and Meldahl for the Richelieu Hotel. Metropolitan Properties of Chicago LLC combined and converted both buildings at 310-318 S. Michigan from office buildings into residential condominiums.
Exterior restoration included stone and terra-cotta repair, new windows, penthouse additions, roofing and architectural lighting. A new elevator/stair tower was added at the back of the Straus Building. The Kerman Building's primary facade had been badly damaged in the past, and the owner undertook masonry repairs including rebuilding the top floor and replacing a missing cornice.
Logan Square Boulevards District: Amy Thorne & James Hourican won an award for exterior rehabilitation and rear addition on North Humboldt. The two-story wood-frame single-family home was built in the 1880s. The extensive exterior work included: removing asphalt siding; repairing existing wood siding; reconstructing the front porch and repairing the existing Classical-style porch columns; replacing windows, and building a new rear addition.
Longwood Drive District: Gary and Denise Gardner won an award for a new rear addition to their home on South Longwood Drive. This home was built circa 1915 in the Renaissance Revival style, with later front and rear additions. The current project to expand the home to the rear of this corner lot sympathetically reflects the historic style of the home while allowing for a garage reconfiguration and additional space.
