Chicago theater, canning factory and office building listed as Illinois most endangered places
CHICAGO (CBS) — A shuttered Chicago theater, a city office building, and a former canning factory in the suburbs are among the ten structures on the 2024 Landmarks Illinois list of the Most Endangered Historic Places.
The list highlights what the organization called "10 culturally and architecturally significant sites across the state that desperately need preservation resources."
Three of those endangered buildings are located in Cook County.
"Despite their current condition, these places tell important stories from our past — stories that should not be erased due to insufficient investment or general disregard for our collective histories. Landmarks Illinois stands ready and willing to help our partners find preservation resources and solutions for these threatened places, which are opportunities for sustainable reuse, job creation and providing spaces needed in their communities," said Bonnie McDonald, President of Landmarks Illinois.
The Portage Theater in Chicago's Portage Park neighborhood opened in 1920 in the busy "Six Corners" area. According to Landmarks Illinois, "it has suffered from deferred maintenance since fully closing in 2018."
As neighbors in Portage Park describe it, the Portage Theater is a special place near and dear to the community.
Many in Portage Park's busy Six Corners area hope someone can save it.
"It's important that the public knows that if we don't do something about it and if we don't rally together, it's over 100 years old. This is the time. If we don't do it soon, it's not going to get any better. It really needs a big plan. It's a very big property," said Amie Zander of the Six Corners Association.
The organization said that while the current owner is interested in revitalizing the space, "long-term plans remain unclear, and securing financing has been a challenge."
The Libby building in Blue Island used to be a canning and bottling factory. It was built in 1918 for the Libby McNeill and Libby Company, the second-largest producer of canned foods in the United States.
Hundreds were employed there until it closed in 1968. The building now sits empty and "is currently vacant and is beginning to decay due to a lack of reuse and proper maintenance," said Landmarks Illinois.
The former Sears Administration Building in Chicago was built in two phases, in 1905 and 1914, and it was the office headquarters until the 1970s.
Landmarks Illinois said it was part of the company's North Lawndale campus and "a complex that is a designated National Historic Landmark and is a Chicago landmark district.
"Until funding for permanent stabilization is secured, the future of the building remains uncertain," said Landmarks Illinois.
Landmarks Illinois website has more information on the buildings and others in danger throughout the state.