By the time the sun rose Tuesday morning, Chicago Park District workers were slamming a wrecking ball into the Lincoln Park Gun Club. Hours later, most of the 76-year-old building lay on the ground–a rubble of broken glass, splintered two-by-fours and shattered concrete.
The surprise demolition may also have splintered the relationship between the Park District and some park activists who are angry they were not notified before the wrecking ball swung.
And the early morning razing called into question another issue: Does the public have enough say over the fate of Park District-owned, tax-dollar financed buildings?
“This building did not belong to the Park District; it belonged to the citizens and (the Park District’s) actions this morning were arrogant and brash,” said Erma Tranter, executive director of Friends of the Park. “The Park District thinks it doesn’t have to answer to anyone.”
Tranter’s group and other park activists met with Park District officials last week to discuss the future of the vacant clubhouse, which overlooked Lake Michigan east of Diversey Harbor. By the end of that meeting, no decision had been made.
But late last week, the Park District decided to tear down the building. They did not announce their decision until Tuesday morning after dust already was rising from the partially demolished clubhouse.
Tranter called the demolition a “breach of the public trust” and said it violated the city’s long-standing lakefront protection ordinance.
But Forrest Claypool, general superintendent of the Park District, said his office not only followed proper legal channels but went “above and beyond” general procedures by meeting with park advocates.
Besides, Claypool said, many who attended that meeting supported the demolition.
“We already had a very open process, and we listened to everything the community had to say,” Claypool said. “But we are charged with making decisions that are best for the public. We made that decision and we can’t delay forever.”
This is not the first time Park District officials sent a building to the ground against residents’ wishes.
In February, they demolished a gun club at the 91-year-old South Shore Cultural Center. Members of a local community group had pleaded with park board members to save the building. They, too, were angry they were not notified of demolition plans.
“This is a perfect example of our renegade, runaway Park District that thinks it can do whatever it wants no matter what the citizens’ wishes are,” said Peter Donoghue, president of the Lakeview Citizens Council, who pressed for restoring the Lincoln Park Gun Club building.
Park District officials say, in most cases, including this one, they have the right to demolish a building without getting official approval from the Park District Board or the Chicago Plan Commission.
“Legally, we can remove buildings as we see fit,” Claypool explained.
The Friends of the Park group vehemently disagrees and points to the city’s Lake Michigan and Chicago Lakefront Protection Ordinance. It says that ordinance requires that all demolition plans along the lakefront be submitted to the Plan Commission at least 90 days before the razing begins.
But Park District officials interpret the ordinance quite differently. They say it was designed to stop construction–not demolition–on the lakefront.
“It was designed to stop buildings like the gun club from going up,” Claypool said. “It was designed to protect the lakefront and keep it forever open, clear and free. And we believe we’ve followed the spirit of that ordinance.”
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The Park District plans to landscape the former Lincoln Park Gun Club property and leave it as an overlook.
The demolition puts the Friends of the Park in an ironic position. The well-connected community group is known for its vocal support of creating more green space. Now, it finds itself arguing against a move that will create a scenic overlook with a stunning view.
Privately, some Park District administrators say members of the grass-roots group are simply angry because they did not get to offer their official stamp of approval.
“For years they complained the government worked too slow, now they complain it moves too fast,” said one administrator. “I question whether they are raising this issue because they are concerned about the lakefront, or whether they are concerned about their perceived loss of power.”