Thursday, October 24, 2024 | View in browser
Letter From The Chair
Dear Evanston preservation friends and colleagues:
In our Preservation Month-themed newsletter last May, I announced that the Commission was relaunching our annual awards program in a way we hoped would recognize a wider range of people and projects than preservation awards like this usually encompass.
Now, months later, I am absolutely thrilled to report that our community’s experiment with a new kind of welcoming awards program was a clear success. The volume and variety of cultural heritage work represented among the nominees was truly heartening – you made the jury’s decisions much harder! But the jury was also inspired and energized as they deliberated, knowing that so many of these deserving contributions would not have qualified for consideration within the constraints of typical historic preservation awards guidelines.
On behalf of Evanston’s Preservation Commissioners and our City staff, I would like to extend an earnest thank you to everyone who took time away from their busy lives to submit a nomination. There were a lot of you this year; we appreciate your faith in our goals and process.
Read on for details about our hard-working group of 2024 Cultural Heritage Award winners. And feel free to watch Mayor Biss publicly congratulate these individuals and organizations during the October 28th City Council meeting.
Sarah M. Dreller, PhD
Chair, City of Evanston Preservation Commission
 Photo of Charles Smith by Julia Bachrach
2024 Cultural Heritage Award Winners
Join us in honoring the outstanding individuals and organizations selected to receive a Cultural Heritage Award for their contributions in advancing the City’s rich cultural heritage. These recipients have made significant impacts across diverse areas, including research, education, advocacy, equity, design, climate resilience, stewardship, and the arts!
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Cultural Ambassador: Charles Smith and the Jens Jensen Gardens in Evanston
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Outstanding Individual Achievement: Blair Thrush Lele, 1228 Forest Avenue
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Outstanding Group Achievement: Shorefront Legacy Center
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Honor Award: Evanston Latinos
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Honor Award: Northwestern University Center for Native American and Indigenous Research (CNAIR)
Learn more about these award recipients
 Photo credit: Friends of Harley Clarke
A New Chapter for Harley Clarke
On October 14, the City Council unanimously awarded the RFP for adaptive use and rehabilitation of Harley Clarke to Celadon Construction Corporation, ushering in a new chapter for the long vacant landmark.
Celadons $29 million proposal offers vibrant use opportunities that build upon the sites architectural, social, and cultural significance. The proposal also maintains public beach use and access, the parking lot for exclusive public use, and public access to the adjacent park and Grosse Point Lighthouse -- all while offering new opportunities for public access, events, and programming within a fully restored structure and grounds at no expense to the City.
 Photo and Content Credit: Cohen-Hacker Architects
News from the Commission: First Additions Strategies for Adding On
Former preservation commissioner Julie Hacker FAIA and current commissioner Stuart Cohen FAIA have a new book which has just been published documenting their residential architectural practice. Called First Additions:Strategies for Adding On, it presents a theory of building additions and strategies for making additions to historic buildings.
The book is beautifully Illustrated with full page color photographs, plans and often exterior drawings for each project.
 Credit: New York Times
Remembering a Legacy: David Garrard Lowe
Historic preservation is not static. The passing of author, preservationist, and historian David Lowe serves as a reminder of the fragile nature of our built and intangible cultural heritage. The alarm raised and subsequent changes realized by early preservationists, including David Lowe, laid a foundation for stabilizing our architectural and cultural heritage – a foundation we build on today.
Not unlike Chicago, Evanston’s early preservation movement was ignited by a significant loss of our local architectural legacy and history. This movement catalyzed thousands of volunteers, led to adoption of Evanston's first Preservation Ordinance, creation of the Preservation Commission, and eventual registration of over 850 local landmarks and four local historic districts. In service of Lowe and his legacy, let us also remember those early Evanston preservationists - and the many more who followed - who've carried the banner of historic preservation for the benefit of future generations.
Where in Evanston am I?
 Can you identify this Evanston location based on this photo? Email Cade W. Sterling to submit your answer.
A special congratulations to Bill Smith, Carl Klein, and Bex Way who correctly guessed the previous newsletters location – the Hahn Building, located north of Davis Street between Sherman and Orrington Avenues. The Hahn Building, designed in 1927 in the Classical Revival style by Evanston architect John August Nyden, a Swedish-American master, was one of the City’s earliest landmark designations (1978). The building remains one of the downtown's most significant and architecturally interesting buildings, featuring significant stone and terracotta ornamentation and detailing including its distinctive sculpted gargoyles.
Stay tuned for more!
Volunteer Opportunities Available!
Are you interested in advancing and broadening the work of historic preservation in Evanston? Are there significant initiatives within the Preserve 2040 Plan that you would like to help initiate? There are plenty of volunteer options available with the Commission. We have a great group of hard-working City staff and elected officials who genuinely want to support our work. Volunteers can enrich our decision-making with a range of life experiences and fresh perspectives; please consider adding your voice and insights or spreading the word to others who might be open to collaborating with us. Contact Cade W. Sterling at csterling@cityofevanston.org for more information.
That's all for now. Thanks for reading!
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