2019 Landmarks Illinois Driehaus Preservation Awards highlight outstanding restoration efforts across the U.S.

Non-profit organization Landmarks Illinois announced the winners of the 2019 Landmarks Illinois Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Awards, a yearly program that highlights outstanding efforts of people who preserve significantly historic places in their Illinois communities and across the U.S.

Awards were given in the categories of advocacy, adaptive use, stewardship, rehabilitation and restoration, and recipients received a $1,000 prize. The evening awards ceremony will take place at the Chicago Cultural Center on October 18. Landmarks Illinois invites the public to a panel discussion on October 17 to hear from preservation professionals and some of the 2019 award recipients. (Tickets are $10.)

Read on for more about the winning projects!

FORD HOUSE, AURORA: AWARD FOR STEWARDSHIP

Project summary: “Owner Sidney Robinson is recognized for his 30+ year stewardship and maintenance of the iconic, Bruce Goff-designed Ford House and for his dedication to its preservation. Robinson has restored the original features of the 1950 home – a local and national landmark – and made arrangements in his estate to have a preservation easement on the house donated to Landmarks Illinois.”

RISE ABOVE IT BAKERY & CAFÉ, CARTERVILLE: AWARD FOR REHABILITATION 

Project summary: “After restoring her own 1921 bungalow and establishing the Carterville Heritage Museum, Jennifer Spence restored and transformed a downtown Carterville building into a thriving bakery where community residents as well as visitors to the small, southern Illinois town can gather. The rehabilitation preserved historic artifacts of the original building, including salvaged architectural pieces, and has sparked a new sense of pride in Carterville’s historic downtown.”

ERIS BREWERY AND CIDER HOUSE, CHICAGO: AWARD FOR ADAPTIVE USE

Project summary: “An innovative team of dedicated people successfully transformed a long forgotten, 107-year-old former Masonic Temple into a thriving brewery and restaurant, creating a unique destination for residents and visitors of the Northwest Side Chicago neighborhood of Irving Park. The extensive restoration project, which included sustainable design and energy systems to reduce the company’s environmental footprint, celebrates many of the building’s original features like hand riveted steel beams, brick walls and light fixtures. The preservation effort has made it possible for people to gather, eat and drink in the historic space.”

LOFTS ON ARTHINGTON, CHICAGO: AWARD FOR REHABILITATION

Project summary: “The locally and nationally landmarked 111-year-old former Catalogue Printing building at the old Sears, Roebuck & Co. headquarters on Chicago’s West Side has been transformed from a vacant and deteriorating space into 181 affordable housing units. The adaptive reuse of this building owned by Mercy Housing Lakefront not only provides affordable quality housing for 400 residents in need, including children, but also created approximately 350 construction jobs and 11 permanent jobs.”

TURNER HALL, GALENA: AWARD FOR REHABILITATION

Project summary: “The City of Galena and The Galena Foundation teamed up to restore the National Register-listed landmark so it could once again serve as a vibrant community center. Since 2013, the city-created Turner Hall Committee had been working to develop a master plan for the project and carried out an extensive rehabilitation that included both exterior and interior work. Today, it serves as a venue for theater, music, dance, dinners and other community events.”

STELLWAGEN FARM, ORLAND PARK: AWARD FOR RESTORATION

Project summary: “The Village of Orland Park and the Stellwagen family led a meticulous restoration of numerous outbuildings at the only remaining farmstead in Orland Park. Historic photographs and period materials from Europe were used, as well as a tremendous amount of research, to restore the farm to as close as how it looked when Mathias Stellwagen established it for his family in 1860. The farmstead successfully celebrates its history and provides an educational public space for the community.”

DENKMANN-HAUBERG ESTATE, ROCK ISLAND: AWARD FOR ADVOCACY

Project summary: “The Friends of Hauberg Civic Center Foundation was established as a nonprofit group to support and restore the once threatened Denkmann-Hauberg Estate. The group has since led an impressive restoration of the 1911 Spencer and Powers Prairie Style Mansion and adjacent gardens designed by famed landscape architect Jens Jensen. The project has increased accessibility to the estate, which is an integral part of Rock Island’s local history, and serves as a rental venue and hosts tours and gardening clubs.”

ILLINOIS GOVERNOR’S MANSION, SPRINGFIELD: AWARD FOR REHABILITATION

Project summary: “Former First Lady Diana Rauner and the Illinois Governor’s Mansion Association (IGMA) spearheaded the much needed rehabilitation of one of Illinois’ most visible and significant landmarks, built in 1855. When the Rauners moved in to the Governor’s Mansion in 2015, it had suffered significant deterioration, water damage and mechanical failures. Rauner, her family and IGMA led the privately funded renovation of the mansion’s interior and exterior – a project that stands as a perfect example of preservation stewardship for the benefit of the public.”

ILLINOIS HISTORIC PRESERVATION TAX CREDIT ADVOCACY EFFORT, STATEWIDE: AWARD FOR ADVOCACY

Project summary: “Thanks, in large part, to the nearly decade-long efforts of AIA Illinois’ Mike Waldinger, his board and a significant number of volunteer lobbyists, Illinois now has a statewide historic preservation tax credit program, a vital incentive for preservation, job creation and private investment in the state. The legislation creating the 25% tax credit was signed into law in July 2018.”