Michael Reese Hospital Buildings To Be Razed By Year-End

By Chuck Sudo in News on Nov 4, 2010 9:30PM

The main Michael Reese hospital building was designed by Schmidt, Garden and Martin. Photo credit: Forgotten Chicago

The city announced yesterday that they're going to tear down three of the final four buildings in the Michael Reese Hospital campus, including the main hospital building. In announcing the teardown, the Public Building Commission said that the structure was too dangerous to leave standing. The campus's parking structure and hospital administration building are also slated for demolition.

The announcement also breaks a promise to preservation groups that the buildings would remain intact. The PBC estimated that the cost to repair the main building would be $13.2 million.

As of now, the final building left standing is Walter Gropius' Singer Pavilion. No final resolution has been determined on that structure yet, but the PBC said that the adjacent demolition would not leave the building vulnerable to the elements, and its physical layout makes it attractive for reuse. Say, the proposed mixed-use community that Mayor Daley had planned after the city's Olympic bid fell through?

Forgotten Chicago has a beautiful history on the Michael Reese Hospital campus. We also ask that you check out Ben's profile of artist Jeff Carter, who builds sculptures of former Michael Reese campus buildings using Ikea furniture kits.