Haunting Photos Inside One Of The Loop's Oldest Buildings, Now Slated For Demolition
By Mae Rice in News on Dec 12, 2015 6:10PM
The city has issued a demolition permit for one of the oldest buildings in the Loop, a four-story structure at 209 W. Lake St.
Take a final look at it in the gallery above, which shows its exterior and each floor of its interior, plus the silhouette of an Angelina cutout that has stood in one of its front windows for years.
The building was erected in the early 1870s, just after the Great Chicago Fire, as part of local revitalization efforts—in about 1872, according to ​Ward Miller, Executive Director at Preservation Chicago.
The site has a two-fold historical significance, Miller says. First, the buildings erected in post-Fire reconstruction efforts were almost identical to the ones that had burned down, which makes this building a rare connection to the time before the Fire (and the Chicago School of Architecture’s steel-frame creations).
Second, the four-story structure could be a testament to the tough times that followed the Fire. Miller says it's unclear what the facade is made of. It could be real sandstone, but it could be an artificial sandstone builders used during that era of scarcity.
There's a chance the facade will survive, though. While the building can't be designated a landmark due to legal technicalities, Miller has spoken with the building's owners.
“The ownership… very much welcomed the conversation,” he said. “I don’t think they quite understood the significance of the building until we were able to meet with them. The ownership was very interested in possibly saving the facade.”
Miller says the facade might be incorporated into the new residential tower the owners have planned for the address, although they’ve made no “firm commitments.”
Our photographer Matt Tuteur notes that the building once was home to Wet Club (you can go back in time to the mid-aughts with this Yelp listing) as well as Studio 11.