Chicago Daily Observer

In 2005 a proposal for a new condo tower in the landmarked Jewelers Row District on Wabash came before the Commission on Chicago Landmarks. The plan for the Legacy allowed the developers to demolish everything but the facades of three 19th-century buildings, one of which had once housed the flagship store of booksellers Kroch’s & Brentano’s. I wrote in the Reader in favor of the project, rejecting preservationists’ “slippery slope” arguments that it would set a dangerous precedent.

I was wrong. Three years later, even as the commission is celebrating the 40th anniversary of Chicago’s landmark ordinance, the true legacy of the Legacy has become clear: not only does the commission continue to leave many of Chicago’s most famous buildings in danger, it’s also eviscerating the very concept of what a landmark is.