Northwestern Receives Demolition Permit For Historic Prentice Women's Hospital
By Chuck Sudo in News on Mar 23, 2013 8:00PM
The end is near for Historic Prentice Women's Hospital. The City issued a permit for demolition to Brandenberg Demolition March 18 and fencing was erected around Bertrand Goldberg's iconic structure Friday. Brandenberg applied for an asbestos abatement permit with Cook County. Northwestern spokeswoman Pat Vaughan Tremmel told Chicagoist in an email the asbestos abatement should last about a week before demolition begins.
The Commission on Chicago Landmarks voted a second time last month to not grant final landmark status to Historic Prentice. Northwestern has long argued they needed to tear down the building to build a state of the art biomedical research facility. Preservationists argued the current structure could be adapted to fit the university's needs.
The Landmarks Commission's second vote was precipitated by a court ruling that sided with their original vote, but a judge said the way they came to their decision was not transparent.