The old Prentice Women’s Hospital and the New Regal Theater in Chicago, along with the former home and studio of noted sculptor Alfonso Iannelli in Park Ridge, all made a preservation advocacy group’s annual list of Illinois’ 10 most endangered historic places.
Also on Landmarks Illinois’ list are a bridge that connects Sangamon and Christian counties, a former sheriff’s house and jail in Ford County, and three Catholic churches in LaSalle County.
The old Prentice Women’s Hospital, a concrete, clover-leafed structure at 222 E. Superior St., designed by architect Bertrand Goldberg, is slated for demolition by Northwestern University. Ald. Brendan Reilly, 42nd, said last weekend that he had persuaded Northwestern to delay its plans for obtaining a demolition permit for 60 days.
Goldberg is best-known for the corncob-shaped concrete towers of Marina City along the Chicago River, but none of his Chicago work is protected by local landmark designation, Landmarks Illinois said. Old Prentice made the endangered list for the third straight year, and James Peters, Landmarks’ president
, is expected to put forth a reuse plan for old Prentice next week.
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The New Regal Theater, a 1920s movie palace at 1641-59 E. 79th St. that was designed in a Middle Eastern/Moorish style, was cited last year for dangerous exterior wall conditions by the City of Chicago, according to Landmarks Illinois.
“The building has since gone into foreclosure and is expected to be sold through a judicial sale this summer,” the group said. “In the meantime, needed repairs have not been undertaken.”
In Park Ridge, preservationists have so far beaten back attempts to demolish Iannelli’s home and studio, at 225 N. Northwest Highway. Nonetheless, Landmarks Illinois said, the home and studio “are now for sale and vulnerable to demolition if purchased by an unsympathetic buyer.”
Judy Barclay, chairwoman of the Park Ridge Historic Preservation Commission, said the Kalo Foundation of Park Ridge, which works to preserve the suburb’s artistic legacy, is raising money to save the home and studio. The goal is to turn it into a heritage center, Barclay said.
Iannelli created sculptures in collaboration with such architects as Frank Lloyd Wright at the site.