My Christmas gift to you is one last look at demolition of the Chicago Tribune Freedom Center, barring another visit over the next two weeks or so. Because that might be all the time left to see anything besides rubble.
These photos were taken December 22, 2024:
The Spirit of Progress couldn’t bear to watch, and had to be removed from her perch.
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Demolition of the W. C. Reebie & Brother storage building in Uptown, Chicago Nov 20, 2024.
Demolition of the former W. C. Reebie & Brother storage building has left little remaining of the Uptown structure, save for the rearmost shell of the five stories that stood on the site for 100+ years. The George Kingsley-designed building at 5035 North Broadway was purchased in 2018 by TimeLine Theatre; they’ll soon begin turning the property into their new home, once demo contractor Milburn Demolition has wrapped up work.
The first iteration of the new theatre would have saved the building’s façade, but TimeLine deemed that plan unfeasible due to a number of factors, including further evaluation of the structural integrity of the existing edifice. Architecture firm HGA then drew up new designs to completely redo the front portions of the building for performance spaces, while integrating the rear levels for office use.
HGA rendering
TimeLine Theatre’s new venue is set to include a range of features aimed at enhancing both visitor and artist experiences. Plans highlight a lobby café and bar alongside a 250-seat black box theatre designed for flexibility and transformation. The space will also house exhibit galleries to complement TimeLine’s immersive and interactive lobby experiences. Behind the scenes, the facility will offer dedicated areas for collaboration, including a rehearsal room, production and design studios, and staff offices. Additionally, their Living History program will have its own dedicated space, which will also serve as a resource for community meetings and events.
TimeLine has raised nearly $40 million toward toward the new facility. They expect to begin putting on shows here early in 2026.
The W. C. Reebie & Brother storage building, pre-demolition.
A demolition permit was issued October 28 by the City of Chicago to tear down Our Lady of Fatima Church at 3051 North Christiana Avenue in Avondale. Built in 1956, the church was part of St. Hyacinth Basilica about half a mile away on Wolfram Street. “SAINT HYACINTH MISSION CHURCH” remains a prominent fixture on the façade of the doomed church building.
A visit to the church Tuesday, the day after the demo permit was issued, showed no signs of demolition prep. It’s hard to tell when the building was last in regular use, but it doesn’t look abandoned or neglected. It appears to have been most recently used by the non-profit organization Blue Army North.
Three pending permits show three single-family homes coming to the lot, addressed as 3051, 3055, and 3057 North Christiana. Permits name Pro-Plan Architects as the architect of record, and The Christina Collection as the developer. Wawel P.A Inc is listed as the general contractor, with Conrad Roofing of Illinois shown as the demo contractor.
One of the pending new construction permits.The demolition permit, issued 10/28/2024.
Tons of sand to remove at the 3036 North Sheffield construction site.
It never ceases to amaze me how much sand was left behind when Chicago decided to move the shore of Lake Michigan eastward. Turns out, it’s easier to build on sand than on water. I still don’t know exactly how far west the lake used to reach (Ashland Avenue-ish, I’ve heard), but venture past a Lake View construction site and you’ll get an idea.
Such is the case at 3036 North Sheffield. Two multi-unit residences have just been demolished to make room for a new five-unit condominium development here. On October 10, both buildings still stood. Now, demolition contractor Land Enterprises has knocked them down, hauled off the rubble, and begun digging into the never-ending sand pit that will be the construction site. Think of ii like a sand box, without the fun. Or a sandlot, without the baseball and gigantic drooling dog.
The new project, a three-story building with a basement and a rooftop deck, will include a detached five-car garage at the rear of the property. Interestingly, the home that used to occupy the north half of the construction site, 3038 North Sheffield, was at the back of the lot, as if it was a coach house. But according to the demo team, there is no sign of any foundation or other remnants of a “main” residence at the front of the lot. It appears the driveway in front of this house had always been there.
And you know, I could have been wrong earlier. Maybe the dude operating the excavator *is* having fun in that sand box. The guy with the shovel? Maybe not.
Excavation work, 10/29/2024.Post-demolition, 10/25/20243034 North Sheffield, photographed October 10, permitted for demolition on October 9, 20243038 North Sheffield, photographed October 10, permitted for demolition on October 17, 2024
Demolition of the Chicago Tribune Freedom Center is ongoing at Chicago Avenue and Halsted Street along the North Branch of the Chicago River. Brandenburg Industrial Service continues carving a cavernous chasm toward the building’s northwest corner, but now they’ll also tearing into the south end of the facility as well.
Here, have a whole mess o’ photos, taken October 26, 2024:
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Demolition of the former United Christian Church is ongoing.
It’s all about The Base, ’bout The Base, no rubble, on the corner of Diversey and Seminary in Lincoln Park. That’s where the former United Christian Church is being razed for a new residential development called “The Base” from Contemporary Concepts. And, obviously, there’s lots of rubble.
The five-story building, designed by Studio Dwell, will contain 24 apartments with a roof deck atop them. There will be one off-street parking space, with access to the Diversey Brow/Purple line elevated platform just three blocks to the east.
A demolition for the church, at 2761 North Seminary, was issued on September 25, with Brophy Excavation handled demo work. The new construction permit, issued to 2763 North Seminary, was issued on September 4, with developer Contemporary Concepts also fulfilling general contractor duties for their own project.
The following gallery shows demolition progress as of October 20, with a few earlier images of demo work and some of the church before razing began:
Photo taken 10/20/2024October 7 demo progress.Studio Dwell rendering at the demo site. October 7 demo progress.Pre-demolition. Pre-demolition.Demolition prep on September 5.New construction permit, via Chicago Data Portal.Demolition permit, via Chicago Data Portal.
Demolition is underway in the Fulton Market District on the former Fox Deluxe Foods building at 370 North Morgan. The meat & poultry wholesaler hot-footed it out to the suburbs, as have so many stalwarts of Chicago’s former meat-packing district, so developer Vista Property Group could begin construction on a new residential tower.
The single-story building will be replaced by a 32-story apartment tower containing 494 rental units. The ground floor will contain retail space, while a parking podium with 190 spaces occupies floors 2 through 4. There will be one bicycle-storage space for each unit.
Antunovich Associates is the architect for the building, and Skender, now on site with demo contractor Heneghan Wrecking, will serve as general contractor. Three permits, for excavation, caissons, and the full building, are pending on the Chicago Data Portal with Vista Property Group indicating construction will kick off in the first quarter of 2025. No indication yet about an opening date, but I think 24 months from start to completion is a decent guess.
Some renderings of what’s coming to 370 North Morgan, followed by demo shots of what’s departing 370 North Morgan:
Rendering of 370 North Morgan from Vista Property Group. Rendering of 370 North Morgan from Vista Property Group. Rendering of 370 North Morgan from Vista Property Group. Rendering of 370 North Morgan from Vista Property Group. Demolition prep on October 7, 2024.
Buildings with targets on their foreheads (3029 North Lincoln Avenue, in this case) don’t usually last.3027, 3029, and 3037 are all demolished now.
A New Construction permit was issued September 17 by the City of Chicago for the property located at 3037 North Lincoln Avenue in Lake View. Said permit allows for the construction of a four-story, 15-unit residential building with a 16-car garage and retail space on the ground floor. Demolition work for three buildings (3037, 3029, and 3027 North Lincoln) being torn down to make room for the development is nearing completion, after all three of them got demo permits on July 22. So the new build should get started here very soon.
PLD Homes (Promised Land Development) is both the developer and general contractor, with Hanna Architects listed on the permit as the building’s designer. They have included balconies on all three residential floors, as well as a shared rooftop deck for all residents. I haven’t seen any renderings for this one, but I’ve been looking.
Some photos of what used to be here, and their demolition status as of 09/18/2024:
3029 North Lincoln Avenue3037 North Lincoln Avenue3027 North Lincoln Avenue
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Demolition of the former Chicago Tribune Freedom Center continues on the West Side.
I wasn’t going to post more Chicago Tribune Freedom Center demolition photos this soon, since I just published a bunch of them last week, but there were rainbows…
The west side of the building is history. These were taken late in the afternoon on 09/18/2024:
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By now, you know that Bally’s is building a casino along the Chicago River at Chicago Avenue and Halsted Street. And you also know that’s where the Chicago Tribune printing operation used to be. So I’m not going to waste your time with a bunch of words. Instead, here are photos of demolition progress on the Chicago Tribune Freedom Center, taken September 10, 2024.
Chicago Tribune Freedom Center demolition, 09/10/2024
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