City of Chicago Landmark Designation Reports
- Preservation Planning
- Cultural
- Cultural Resources
McGuire Igleski has worked with the City of Chicago to designate several of the City’s culturally and architecturally significant built resources as Chicago Landmarks. As part of each designation, McGuire Igleski conducts a survey of the site and building to document its contextual surroundings, character-defining features, and changes over time. Comprehensive archival research is then completed to understand the history and development of the building, its significance within the local community and Chicago, as well as its architects, designers, and engineers. An illustrated landmark designation report is then prepared per the requirements of the City of Chicago Landmark Ordinance and presented before the Commission on Chicago Landmarks and the City Council.
McGuire Igleski has completed several landmark designation reports for the City of Chicago, including for Holy Rosary Church, the Quincy ‘L’ Station, and Blackwell-Israel Samuel African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, among others. A few recent landmark projects are highlighted below.
Photos: Will Quam
Chicago, Illinois
City of Chicago
Kingdom Baptist Church
Kingdom Baptist Church was designed and constructed in three phases between 1925 and 1943 by the congregation of The Fifteenth Church of Christ, Scientist. Due to the building’s extended construction period, it exhibits two popular architectural styles prevalent between the 1920s and 1940s: Neoclassical and Art Deco. The exterior features an imposing red brick façade accentuated with carved classical and stylized limestone details. Renowned local architect Nelson Max Dunning designed the house of worship to reflect the building and religious traditions of the congregation. The Fifteenth Church of Christ, Scientist was the primary occupant until approximately 1972, when the congregation chose to vacate the building. Following the original congregation’s departure, the newly chartered Kingdom Baptist Church acquired the building in the summer of 1972 and remains the primary occupant of the historic house of worship.
Mars Candy Factory
Located on the border of Chicago’s Galewood and Montclare communities, the Mars Candy Factory opened in 1929 as the first manufacturing plant constructed for Mars, Inc. outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The original factory building was designed and constructed by The Austin Company engineering and construction firm, with a 1960 office addition completed by C.F. Murphy. To integrate with anticipated residential development, the factory was modest in height and set back from the street with an expansive front lawn along Oak Park Avenue. Its design was attractive and somewhat exotic, featuring red clay tile roofs and ornamentation from the popular Spanish Revival style. The result is a building that resembles a picturesque country club more than a manufacturing facility. Inside the factory, Mars created several of its most well-known confections, including the Milky Way, Snickers, and Three Musketeers bars, which would have a lasting impact and contribute to the nation’s candy industry.
Mt. Pisgah Missionary Baptist Church
Designed by prominent architect Alfred S. Alschuler and dedicated in 1912, Mt. Pisgah Missionary Baptist Church opened as the third temple for the Sinai Congregation. Despite a shift in demographics and denominations in the Grand Boulevard community during the first half of the nineteenth century, the former Sinai Temple has remained constant, serving as a center of religion, society, culture, and politics for 108 years. After World War II, the Sinai congregation sold the synagogue to the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, which then sold the building to the current owner, Mt. Pisgah Missionary Baptist Church, in 1962. Under the stewardship of Mt. Pisgah Missionary Baptist Church, the house of worship served as the headquarters for the South Park Urban Progress Center, the Southern Christian League Conference (SCLC) Chicago Headquarters, and the National offices for “Operation Breadbasket” and “Operation PUSH”. Together, these organizations fought for open housing, quality education, job access, healthcare, criminal justice system reform, community development, tenants’ rights, and quality of life enhancements for African Americans. The building continues to operate as a place of worship and a social center under Mt. Pisgah Missionary Baptist Church.