Nicole Briese

At the corner of Chestnut and Lake Shore at the Lake Shore Athletic Club this afternoon, twenty or so people are lining up enthusiastically to sport t-shirts and wield picket signs. A referee runs up and down the sidewalk, clumsily dribbling a ball and tooting a whistle. A woman in boxing gloves stands out, as does a man wielding inflatable muscles. Megaphones assure the energetic crowd that they "look great, keep it up!" They are here as members of both Preservation Chicago and Streeterville Organization of Active Residents, in protest of the permit Fifeld Realty has applied for to knock down this beloved building in favor of luxury condominiums.

Within minutes, the block is crowded from Chestnut to Pearson, and the mood begins to shift. The chuckles and lighthearted conversation have lapsed in favor of passionate cries from the ever-growing crowd.

"What do we want? LANDMARKING. When do we want it? NOW!"

One woman’s cries in particular seem to rise above the rest as she jogs from one end of the sidewalk to the other. The communications director of Preservation Chicago, Stacey Pfingsten reluctantly pauses to comment on the situation. "It disgusts me that a building with so much architectural and historical merit will go in the landfill," she says heatedly before bursting back into chant.

The cheers are hushed as whispers began to circulate that alderman Brendan Reilly has arrived. The protesters, who are now numbering a hundred or more, line up to shake his hand. The alderman patiently assures the numerous individuals that he is working with the city to find all available options for the site.

"I work for the neighborhood," he can be overheard saying.

He explains that while he is trying to see what can be done to preserve or reuse the property, the property owner has certain rights that entitle him to demolish the building—unless the building is landmarked by July 17th. He smiles momentarily as the chant shifts to cries of "ALDERMAN REILLY, IT’S UP TO YOU!"

"It’s a very emotional issue and there are a lot of passionate people here," says Reilly. "[This building] is a part of the neighborhood."

Only Anthony Bianchi stands quietly—he holds no picket sign, boasts no protest t-shirt. "I don’t like these sort of things," he confesses. "But if you can’t save a building like this, right on Lake Shore Drive, what can you save?"

(2007-06-12)

Also by Nicole Briese

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