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Statewide Endangered

2012 Ten Most Endangered Historic Places 

Prentice Women’s Hospital

333 E. Superior St., Chicago
(Cook County)

Update
 

February 14, 2013

Today Landmarks Illinois and the National Trust for Historic Preservation moved to voluntarily dismiss their legal complaint in Cook County Circuit Court, signaling the end of our legal challenge against the City of Chicago and the Commission on Chicago Landmarks with regard to Prentice Women’s Hospital. At this time, we feel that the landmarks process has run its course.

Although the outcome was not what supporters of preserving Prentice for adaptive reuse had hoped, Landmarks Illinois believes that it pursued all options to find a solution and uphold the public process.

February 7, 2013

The Coalition to Save Prentice issued the following statement:
 
We are disappointed that the Commission on Chicago Landmarks voted to again reject its unanimous preliminary landmark recommendation for Prentice. By the standard of Chicago’s Landmarks Ordinance, the Commission made its decision based on improper considerations in an improper forum.
 
Since the Commission last voted on Prentice, healthcare planning and design experts spent over 1,000 hours developing a multitude of practical reuse possibilities for Prentice. Each of these proposals meets Northwestern’s needs while delivering greater economic benefit–including an additional 1,560 jobs and $1.1 million in annual tax revenue. Today, the Commission regrettably turned a blind eye to real solutions for Chicago by ignoring the many viable options for reusing Prentice.
 
See Press Coverage for the latest news.
 

January 27, 2013

Prentice is headed to the Landmarks Commission again. The City is acknowledging that the Commission's November 1 meeting was deficient, but the upcoming meeting and proposed rejection of landmark recommendation for Prentice violate the Landmarks Ordinance. Click to read the full statement from the Save Prentice Coalition. See Press Coverage for latest news stories

January 11, 2013

Today, Judge Neil Cohen ruled to grant the City of Chicago’s motion to dismiss the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Landmarks Illinois lawsuit against the Commission on Chicago Landmarks and the City of Chicago because he had no legal standing to deny it. He gave the plaintiffs thirty additional days to appeal or reposition its case and continued the injunction until February 15.

The Save Prentice Coalition issued the following statement in response to today’s ruling by Judge Neil Cohen.

“We welcome the outcome of today’s hearing, which keeps in place a stay preventing harm to historic Prentice Women’s Hospital and provides an opportunity to amend our pleadings within 30 days. We appreciate the care with which Judge Cohen is considering this case.

“The City does not dispute that Prentice is architecturally worthy of landmark status. Indeed, the Landmarks Commission made a unanimous finding to that effect before rescinding the designation in a pre-orchestrated hearing. In court today, Judge Cohen called that process into question and noted that the public notice and swiftness of the proceedings were ‘arbitrary’ and ‘nontransparent.’ We agree.

“Despite Northwestern’s refusal to consider other options, a series of recent proposals shows that reusing Prentice would advance Chicago’s economy and its leadership in biomedical research. On January 3, a group of former City officials, experts and architects unveiled a series of reuse alternatives for Prentice. Reusing Prentice as a support facility for adjacent medical research would deliver significantly greater economic benefits than Northwestern’s current proposal – including an additional 600 temporary jobs, 980 permanent jobs and $1.1 million in annual tax revenues. These reuse alternatives and economic figures can be viewed and considered at saveprentice2013.wordpress.com.

November 15, 2012

At an emergency hearing in Cook County Circuit Court on Thursday, November 15, Judge Neil Cohen entered a stay that restores the Commission on Chicago Landmarks’ preliminary landmark recommendation for historic Prentice Women’s Hospital and temporarily bars the city from issuing a demolition permit. The Commission unanimously voted two weeks ago to grant a preliminary landmark designation for Prentice and then--in an unprecedented move--rescinded that designation just two hours later at the same meeting based on a departmental report.

On November 15, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, joined by Landmarks Illinois, filed a lawsuit against the Commission on Chicago Landmarks and the City of Chicago. The suit argues that the Commission unlawfully rescinded the designation in violation of Chicago's Landmarks Ordinance by improperly weighing alleged economic arguments and by usurping the authority of City Council. Judge Cohen set the next court date for December 7 and made it clear that he wanted to see Prentice protected in the interim.

  
November 1, 2012

The Commission on Chicago Landmarks (CCL) voted “yes” for a recommendation of preliminary landmark designation for Prentice Women’s Hospital, on November 1, 2012. Shortly after, the commission rescinded the vote and Prentice can now be demolished.

Over 100 Save Prentice supporters showed up at the commission meeting proudly wearing Save Prentice tees and buttons. They shared stories, expertise, and passion about Bertrand Goldberg and his iconic Prentice Women's Hospital. Many more followed the proceeding on Facebook and Twitter, helping spread the word about this important moment with likes, shares, and retweets.

With a unanimous 9-0 vote, the Commission recognized Prentice with preliminary designation. However, all but one Commissioner voted to overturn their landmark recommendation less than three hours later. We applaud Commissioner Christopher Reed for his dissenting vote, a true demonstration of courage and independence.

The Save Prentice Coalition is considering all options in response to yesterday's proceedings, and we will keep you updated on this page, our “Ten Most Endangered” Prentice page, Save Prentice Facebook, and on Twitter at @SavePrentice. Thanks again for all of your support.

For more, read Landmarks Illinois’ Advocacy Director Lisa DiChiera’s statement delivered at a November 1 press event with the Save Prentice Coalition, prior to the CCL meeting.
 

Prentice Women’s Hospital

333 E. Superior St., Chicago
(Cook County)

This Bertrand Goldberg-designed building has been vacant since September, 2011. Ownership has reverted from Northwestern Memorial Hospital to Northwestern University, which wants to demolish it and land bank the property until it can finance a new medical research facility. This concrete, clover leaf-shaped structure, which was built in 1975, is representative of Goldberg’s organic architectural designs and is highly adaptable for reuse due to an open floor-plate structural system. After Prentice was included on last year’s endangered list Landmarks Illinois commissioned studies of three possible reuses for the building. The University, however, has claimed none are feasible for its needs.

Prentice was considered groundbreaking for its cutting-edge architecture, advanced engineering and its progressive design approach to organizing medical departments and services. It received international press coverage and an award from Engineering News Record for its innovative tower and open floor-plate layout that eliminated the need for structural support columns. “You will not find the structural solution to Prentice, which is an exterior shell cantilevered off a core, anywhere else in the world” notes Geoffrey Goldberg, an architect and Bertrand Goldberg’s son. “Prentice was the only one in which this was achieved.”

When Northwestern Memorial Hospital first announced its plans to build a new Prentice Women’s Hospital preservation organizations immediately began voicing concern about the future of the Goldberg-designed building. Prentice was on Landmarks Illinois’ 2005-06 Chicagoland Watch List and this is its fourth listing on the statewide endangered list. Preservation Chicago has also included it on its Chicago 7 list for a second time this year. The National Trust for Historic Preservation placed it on its nationwide “11 Most Endangered Historic Places” list. In 2010 the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency determined the building is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.

In partnership with Preservation Chicago, DoCoMoMo (Documentation and Conservation of the Modern Movement), AIA Chicago, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a coalition has been formed to advocate for the preservation of this irreplaceable Modern building.

Public Pressure to Save Prentice Growing
 

On September 6th at the Commission on Chicago Landmarks meeting, Chairman Rafael Leon announced that while discussion about Prentice would not be permitted that day, Prentice would be on the agenda of one of the upcoming fall meetings. In the meantime, the Save Prentice Coalition continues to collect signatures from leading architects in Chicago and the world, including eight Pritzker Prize winners, on a letter to Mayor Rahm Emanuel in support of landmarking Prentice. Over 80 Architects sign letter to the Mayor in support of Prentice.pdf.

What You Can Do

Write a letter to city officials in support of reuse of the building. Or, send an email message to Mayor Emanuel and the Commission on Chicago Landmarks in support of landmarking Prentice and in support of finding a reuse for this irreplaceable building.

Additional Links

CCL Photo 2  CCL Photo 3  CCL Photo 4  CCL Photo 5  CCL Photo 6  CCL Photo 7  CCL Photo 8

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