Author Archive

At 90,000 square feet, a solid, shimmering glass-and-steel cube on the Illinois landscape would seem hard to miss. But few have seen the Gunner's Mate School, designed by the famed firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, since it was built in 1954 on a military base.

Now, because of the federal government's pledge to purge military bases of 50 million unused square feet in the next five years, the mid-century-modern building may be demolished this year. The Department of Defense's edict has put pressure on many of the country's military bases—including the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor—to tear down rather than reuse their historic buildings like the Gunner's Mate School, also known as Building 521, located on Naval Station Great Lakes in Lake County, Ill.

Despite the Chicago office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill's pro bono study of reuses for Building 521, the Navy is proceeding with plans to demolish the building. A public meeting is scheduled for next week.

"The Navy feels like a wide range of options have been brought up, and none have been shown to be feasible reuses," says Bill Couch, spokesman for the Midwest's Naval Facilities Engineering Command. "None of those ideas are feasible for that building, mostly because of the building's size and because the building is deep inside the base; it's not accessible to the public."

Because the building, located outside of the base's historic district, is eligible for the National Register, the Navy was required to start the Section 106 process before rolling out the bulldozers.

Two years ago, when Landmarks Illinois, a partner in the Section 106 process, contacted Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), even the firm had forgotten about the project. "We had to check to see if we did it," says Jason Stanley, associate director at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill's Chicago office. With a little research, Stanley found that "521" was the office's first "curtain wall" structure. It didn't take much research to confirm that the building was pivotal. "When you walk into that building, you know it's an SOM building."... Read More →

• More Posts (87)

The United States has 20 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and that number hasn't increased in 13 years. But that's about to change, thanks to the National Park Service, which yesterday announced the formation of a "tentative list" of 14 sites it wants to nominate as World Heritage Sites, the world's highest distinction.

"It's kind of like the Nobel Prize," says Stephen Morris, National Park Service spokesman. "It's huge."

Although UNESCO designated Waterton Glacier International Peace Park in 1995, the park service hasn't compiled a list like this in nearly three decades. Places must be on a "tentative list" for at least a year before countries can nominate them—but only two per year—to the international list, which provides prestige but little protection. (Current sites include Mesa Verde, Yellowstone National Park, and Independence Hall.)... Read More →

• More Posts (87)

Abandoned since the 1950s, a hospital built on New York City's Roosevelt Island in 1856 is falling apart.

Last month, the north wall of the smallpox hospital partially collapsed, forcing groups that are trying to create a park on the island to come up with an emergency plan to stabilize the building.

"It's really in bad shape," says Judith Berdy, president of the Roosevelt Island Historical Society, "The brick interior walls are coming away from the stone. If nothing is done in the next few months, that whole wing will just come down."

All of Roosevelt Island's six historic buildings have been restored except the hospital, designed by James Renwick Jr., the architect of St. Patrick's Cathedral. The collapsed wall is located in a wing that was built in 1905. ... Read More →

• More Posts (87)

The Harlem theater where Ella Fitzgerald got her start needs an infusion of millions to complete the final phase of its restoration and expansion.

Yesterday the nonprofit Apollo Theater Foundation, launched in 1991, announced a campaign to raise $45.5 million for the theater's restoration, which has been under way since 2001.

Built in 1914, the Apollo was closed to blacks until 1928. Today, with 1.3 million annual visitors, it's Harlem's most popular tourist attraction and New York City's third-most visited site.

So far, the nonprofit has spent $37 million to restore the Apollo's marquee and terra cotta exterior and upgrade its systems. For the last phase, architects from New York-based Beyer Blinder Belle will focus on the interior: widen the lobby, add a grand stairway and 4,000 square feet of space, and restore ornate details in the auditorium. ... Read More →

• More Posts (87)

It's a dark year for the Academy Awards. This March's event could be cancelled, and one of the nightclubs that hosted six Academy Awards ceremonies will be demolished this month.

The Cocoanut Grove was the nightclub of the 1921 Ambassador Hotel, which the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) tore down two years ago to make way for a new 4,200-student school, to open next year.

On Jan. 2, the Los Angeles Conservancy settled its lawsuit against the school district, which bought the Ambassador's 24-acre site in 2001, in exchange for its $4 million commitment to conserve 125 historic schools in the city.... Read More →

• More Posts (87)