Tuesday, November 2, 2021

Landmarks Commission Recognizes 4649 Broadway With A Preservation Excellence Award


details of the decorative terra cotta


the building as it looked in March 2009 (via Google Streetview)

Last week, the City of Chicago's Landmarks Commission recognized 12 buildings for doing an exceptional job of "preserving Chicago's architectural and cultural heritage." Among the big names (Cook County Hospital, Old Chicago Post Office) was one we know well: 4649 North Broadway, currently home of Hackhaus co-working and event space.

The award citation reads:

"4649 N. Broadway, Uptown Square District
Award Recipient: TAG Capital LLC

The modest two-story commercial structure dates to 1905 and represents a typical retail property constructed in North Side commercial districts during the first two decades of the 20th century. 

The work removed several incompatible alterations to the storefront and replaced them with new bricks to match the historic in size, color and texture. Terra cotta window surrounds were also retained, cleaned and repaired. 

The unveiling and rehabilitation of the historic façade has breathed new life into a previously overlooked building within the Uptown Square landmark district."

The Uptown Square Landmark District was created in 2016 at the request of Ald. Cappleman, and protects approximately 42 vintage buildings in the area surrounding Lawrence and Broadway from demolition and incompatible renovations.

We are so grateful for property owners who are willing to retrofit their Uptown buildings to recreate the vintage beauty that was lost over the decades since Uptown's architectural heyday. To mention just a few: the Uptown Broadway Building; the Bridgeview Bank Building; the building north of the Riviera; the "flatiron" building at Broadway and Racine; and now 4649 Broadway.

We've been keeping an eye on 4649 North Broadway and its evolving exterior for a while now:
Congratulations to TAG Capital LLC for earning well-deserved recognition of its historic renovation!

1 comment:

  1. The lead architect for this building's beautiful renovation at 4649 N, Broadway is Patrick Thompson from MDT Architecture who also completed the historical preservation of his new office space at 4629 N. Broadway. A few doors south is also the beautiful remodel of 4619 N. Broadway, which is Uptown United's new home.... all of this across the street from the historic Gerber Building which will be home for the Chicago Market.

    None of this was by accident. I used the Urban Land Institute's 2000 study that gave a blueprint of what was needed to enhance Uptown's retail district, and closely followed it. The study also led to the creation of the plaza with its large circular iconic sculpture in front of the Pancake House. Uptown United also played a pivotal role with their branding of Uptown and input on the new streetscape done a few years ago.

    The endless number of meetings and the amount of planning was at times exhausting, and it took 3 attempts to complete the large sculpture. In the end, it was all worth it.

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