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preschicago.bsky.social
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Gertrude Lempp Kerbis Memorial Monument Design Competition Call For Entries

A juried competition to honoring the life & legacy of Gertrude Lempp Kerbis, Chicago’s 1st lady of modernism.

Prize money will be awarded.

Intent to Submit: Due February 13,
2026

www.gertrudelemppkerbismemorial.com
December 15, 2025 at 9:09 PM
As Uptown Theatre marks 100 Years, its ties with Chicago’s LGBTQ+ community resurface windycitytimes.com/2025/11/14/a...
As Uptown Theatre marks 100 Years, its ties with Chicago’s LGBTQ+ community resurface - Windy City Times
A significant local landmark, the Uptown Theatre is a familiar sight to anyone who has wandered the lively intersection of Broadway and Lawrence Avenue. While the faded posters of silent films decorat...
windycitytimes.com
December 11, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Reposted by preschicago.bsky.social
dmercer.bsky.social
3229 (left) and 3231 W. Washington Blvd., Chicago, built in 1897 and 1894 respectively. The interiors of both are pretty good. www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/3... www.zillow.com/homedetails/...
Two 19th century homes built right next to each other. The one on the left is brick with a rusticated brown stone facade that includes a two-story tower on the left side. The home at right has smooth stone on the front, painted gray and an angular tower on the right side.
November 13, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Reposted by preschicago.bsky.social
dmercer.bsky.social
1500 block of S. Spaulding, Chicago. I can't tell which parts are original.
Two-story (although part of the first story is below the sidewalk) brick and stone residence. It's a bit of a hodgepodge with brown brick visible across the top and down both sides and a rough stone section that projects out from the left side on both levels. There are brick corbels across the top. The stone section is arched above the top window and there are smaller stones making a sort of quilt pattern above and below the second floor window. Corrugated metal awnings are shading the window and the front door, which is at the right. Wooden steps painted brick red lead up to the entrance.
November 13, 2025 at 1:53 PM
gertrude lempp kerbis memorial monument design competition

what would you propose if you had the commission to design the gertrude lempp kerbis cremation grave marker at graceland cemetery?

Learn more at gertrudelemppkerbismemorial.com
December 10, 2025 at 8:47 PM
The secret of "Impossible to Inevitable"?

Add 428 stories +106 testimonies + 563 Newsletter Articles + 24,107 petition signatures.

Combine with a Candid Platinum and a Charity Navigator 4-Star rating, and a strong dose of Love Your City Fiercely!

preservationchicago.org/donate-on-gi...
November 24, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Reposted by preschicago.bsky.social
OPEN CALL FOR NOMINATIONS For Preservation Chicago's 2026 Chicago 7 Most Endangered List!

We need YOUR help identifying neglected or threatened buildings.

To be eligible, it must be:
1. Historic
2. In danger
3. In Chicago
4. Too special to lose!

📸@ericallixrogers.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:37 PM
Tell the Chicago Park District About Your Favorite Park District Treasures!

Chicago’s parks are home to some of the most beautiful and historically significant art, architecture, and landscapes in the nation.

www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/centennial-p...
November 13, 2025 at 9:26 PM
OPEN CALL FOR NOMINATIONS For Preservation Chicago's 2026 Chicago 7 Most Endangered List!

We need YOUR help identifying neglected or threatened buildings.

To be eligible, it must be:
1. Historic
2. In danger
3. In Chicago
4. Too special to lose!

📸@ericallixrogers.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:37 PM
Reposted by preschicago.bsky.social
dmercer.bsky.social
"The Sunday Tribune" ghost sign on 2603 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago. Both buildings are ca. 1895.
Faded ghost sign on the brick side wall of a three-story building. The sign says "The Sunday Tribune." The building is faced with cream-colored brick and has a two-story bay window with cornice, brackets, and gingerbread decoration. The building next to it on the right is also 3-story, faced with tan brick. It has a white cornice with brackets, decorated with a garland motif.
November 2, 2025 at 10:40 PM
Reposted by preschicago.bsky.social
tudoraf.bsky.social
I biked around Budlong Woods and Albany Park, stopping almost constantly to admire.
Color photo of a wide sidewalk leading to steps up to a sprawling classic Chicago Park District fieldhouse. Trees overhanging walk have leaves in autumnal shades of yellow and orange, many of which have fallen onto the ground. Color photo of the top floor, cornice and parapet of a red brick building. Under the cornice, a repeating pattern: a Z in gray brick, then a square panel featuring an unadorned circle, then a backward Z (or stylized S) again in gray brick. Color photo of a castle-looking 2-flat in red brick, with prominent polygonal bay, recessed entrance on left. Four buttresses around bay lead to tall columns (twisty but frankly could be twistier) on second floor. Little mansard roof between merlons on parapet. Basement window has its own arch. Color photo of a glorious Neoclassical mixed-use corner building clad in cream terra cotta. Window spandrels and lunettes feature green terra cotta in elaborate patterns. Curved section at the corner. Balustrade runs along the top of the whole. Newer sign at corner business reads CHICA'S.
November 2, 2025 at 11:37 PM
Reposted by preschicago.bsky.social
ladytophamcatt.bsky.social
Peoples Gas Light & Coke Building detail

The landmark report quotes some early 20th century Chicagoan who saw Notre Dame de Paris & reportedly said "this is well & good, but give me Peoples Gas any day." Because, yes, Chicagoans are & have always been Like That.

Architect: DH Burnham & Co, 1911
Color close up of ornamentation atop the Peoples Gas Light and Coke Building, taken from across the street on the 22nd floor outdoor terrace of the Cliff Dwellers Club. Under a line of acanthus leaf finials is centered the head of lion caught mid-yawn and set into an elaborate scroll 'n' swag cartouche. The cartouche is just part of a larger frieze of more crisscrossing swags and other Beaux Art BS.
November 3, 2025 at 12:23 AM
Historic Portage Theater Has A New Owner Who Plans To Revive It As A Community Space
Chris Bauman, founder of the Avondale Music Hall and partial owner of the Patio Theater, bought the theater and wants to create a “community center”... blockclubchicago.org/2025/10/24/h...
Historic Portage Theater Has A New Owner Who Plans To Revive It As A Community Space
Chris Bauman, founder of the Avondale Music Hall and partial owner of the Patio Theater, bought the theater and wants to create a "community center" that hosts concerts, film screenings, indoor market...
blockclubchicago.org
November 3, 2025 at 2:46 AM
Will The Congress Theater Finally Be Revived? City Seeks $25 Million Loan To Make It Happen
The loan could get the project off the ground after years of delays, but the application has yet to be submitted due to the government shutdown.
blockclubchicago.org/2025/10/31/w...
Will The Congress Theater Finally Be Revived? City Seeks $25 Million Loan To Make It Happen
The loan could get the project off the ground after years of delays, but the application has yet to be submitted due to the government shutdown.
blockclubchicago.org
November 1, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Will The Congress Theater Finally Be Revived? City Seeks $25 Million Loan To Make It Happen

The loan could get the project off the ground after years of delays, but the application has been delayed due to the government shutdown.

blockclubchicago.org/2025/10/31/w...
Will The Congress Theater Finally Be Revived? City Seeks $25 Million Loan To Make It Happen
The loan could get the project off the ground after years of delays, but the application has yet to be submitted due to the government shutdown.
blockclubchicago.org
October 31, 2025 at 3:14 PM
New 'Chicago Homes' Book Details History Of Living In Chicago, From Bungalows To Greystones

Authors and researchers Carla Bruni and Phil Thompson left no greystone — or terracotta — unturned in their 352-page book detailing and illustrating Chicago homes...

blockclubchicago.org/2025/10/27/n...
New 'Chicago Homes' Book Details History Of Living In Chicago, From Bungalows To Greystones
Authors and researchers Carla Bruni and Phil Thompson left no greystone — or terracotta — unturned in their 352-page book detailing and illustrating Chicago homes in the order they cropped up througho...
blockclubchicago.org
October 29, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Another Chicago Legacy Business to Close!

Frank and Mary’s Tavern closes after more than half a century chicagoreader.com/food/monday-...
Frank and Mary’s Tavern closes after 54 years
Frank and Mary’s Tavern closes after 54 years for renovations under new owners, and Monday Night Foodball moves to Thattu.
chicagoreader.com
October 24, 2025 at 10:24 PM
"The film, “The Legacy of Julius Rosenwald” has been nominated for a 2025 Mid-America Emmy award!

"The film, highlighting the life and works of Julius Rosenwald was directed by Storyteller Studios with the Lincoln Presidential Foundation and Looking for Lincoln

youtu.be/rJtK7mgTD-U?...
October 23, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Reposted by preschicago.bsky.social
ladytophamcatt.bsky.social
1/2 I had no idea this thing existed until Lee introduced us to it last month. Went to see it for myself AND IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT.

Just a couple more details for the nerds.

Architect: Paul Gerhardt Sr, 1920
Color close-up of the polychrome terra cotta vertical striping ornamenting the building's cavetto cornice. Directly underneath and edging down the side of the building is ornamental banding featuring stylized lotus buds alternating with blooms, all in brilliant color. Color close-up of the top of one of the fluted columns that brackets the storefront. The polychrome terra cotta capital is decorated with highly detailed lotus leaves in what can only be described as an explosion of colors, and is itself shaped like a lotus flower. The column is also horizontally banded with alternating magenta and yellow strips of terra cotta from which flow narrow vertical strips in a cream-green-magenta-green-cream vertical pattern. Color photo of the polychrome terra cotta base of a column, ornamented by stylized lotus leaves in several different colors. Lotus blossoms peak out from behind the top of each leaf, also detailed in stunning color. Color photo looking straight up at a big ol' winged sun disk flanked by uraei cobras. All of this is fashioned of polychrome terra cotta that itself sits on multicolored vertical stripes of the same material. The wings especially are magnificent -- two shades of blue, some green and a highly detailed brown on tan pattern.
October 23, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Reposted by preschicago.bsky.social
chigeek.bsky.social
We’ve been destroying the history & culture of this country for a long time. Highways erased entire neighborhoods, suburbanization turned beautiful train stations into rubble. Pieces of art lost forever, like Adler & Sullivan's Garrick Theatre in Chicago torn down in 1961 for a parking garage. 🇺🇸
The proscenium inside Adler & Sullivan’s Garrick Theatre. Black and white photo by Richard Nickel Demolition of Adler & Sullivan’s Garrick Theatre in 1961. Black and white photo by Richard Nickel
October 23, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Walter Thomas Bailey: Staring into the Yawning Gulf of Eternity by Dean R. Karau with commentary by Dr. Kwesi Daniels, Tuskegee University.

"Walter T. Bailey was the first Black American the first Black American licensed to practice architecture in Chicago (1924).

waltertbailey.com
October 23, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Reposted by preschicago.bsky.social
wttw.bsky.social
The next episode of Chicago Stories revisits the rise and fall of Marshall Field's — from its humble beginnings as a dry goods shop to its expansion into a national retail powerhouse, and ultimately, its demise. #ChicagoStoriesWTTW wttw.com/chicagostories
October 22, 2025 at 9:14 PM
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g-x-m.bsky.social
Wells Street
October 22, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Reposted by preschicago.bsky.social
chicago.suntimes.com
The owner of an iconic Chicago steakhouse with a location at Midway Airport has been told her airport licensing agreement is being abruptly terminated, a move she believes was done to make way for slot machines at Midway.
trib.al/v1XqVYi
Owner of famed Gene & Georgetti fears she's being pushed out at Midway Airport to make way for slots
Michelle Durpetti, owner of downtown's Gene & Georgetti restaurant, said she got word that Gene's Bistro at Midway Airport would be closing, thereby terminating her brand license agreement for the restaurant. No reason was given, but Durpetti thinks the bistro site is where slot machines envisioned…
trib.al
October 22, 2025 at 10:28 PM
Support Chicago Legacy Businesses!

Owner of famed Gene & Georgetti fears she's being pushed out at Midway Airport to make way for slots chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/20...
Owner of famed Gene & Georgetti fears she's being pushed out at Midway Airport to make way for slots
Michelle Durpetti, owner of downtown's Gene & Georgetti restaurant, said she got word that Gene's Bistro at Midway would be closing, thereby terminating her brand license agreement for the eatery. No ...
chicago.suntimes.com
October 23, 2025 at 1:37 AM