Monday, July 25, 2005

Preservation Chicago Opposes Deconstruction of New York Life Insurance Building

Under the signature of Michael Moran and President Jonathan Fine, Preservation Chicago has sent a letter to Chicago Commissioner of Planning and Development Denise Casalino opposing a new development by Hamilton Partners, designed by architect Lucien Lagrange, that would involve demolition of substantial portions of William LeBaron Jenney's 1893-94 New York Life Building at 39 S. LaSalle Street.

Full text of the letter can be found in the first comment to this post.

1 comment:

Lynn Becker said...

Text of letter from Preservation Chicago to Chicago Commissioner of Planning and Development Denise Casalino.

Preservation Chicago opposes the proposed Planned Development for the New York Life Insurance Building site in the strongest possible terms.

Brief historical points
This New York Life Insurance Building is the most important link that Chicago has to William LeBaron Jenney's earliest steel frame advances. In fact the massing of the New York Life Building is not much different from that of the now-demolished Home Insurance Building.
The New York Life Insurance Building, constructed in 1893-94, was observed carefully by visitors to Chicago from all over the world who had come to the World's Columbian Exposition.
The World's Fair visitors saw the New York Life building's steel frame go up. Then, to the amazement of European writers, bricks were first applied several stories above ground. It was still new to many Europeans that exterior walls on large buildings could be non-load-bearing. What an amazing thing it must have been to them.

Current threat The Hamilton Partners plan is absurd. Hamilton Partners, along with architect Lucien LaGrange, are seeking to design this project with a new building that rises 52 stories that is built on the footprint of 29 S. LaSalle Street and extending 60 percent of the way over the footprint of the New York Life building, which is located at 39 S. LaSalle Street. It is interesting that the owner of the building is the University of Chicago Investment Properties. As you know, the Pritzkers have a close relationship with the University of Chicago. It reduces the groundbreaking frame of the New York Life building to nearly a facadectomy.

Specific measurements
On the cross-section of the Hamilton Partners building, the new building carves out the soul of the New York Life building. In the north-south dimension, the new building cuts into 62 per cent of the New York Life building. That is according to my measurements on the Planned Development documents.
Along the north side of the building, in the east-west dimension, the new building cuts into 94 per cent of the New York Life Building. That is according to my measurements on the Planned Development documents. That makes the northern edge of the LaSalle street elevation little more than a facadectomy.

Preservation Chicago's recommendations
First, the current process should be stopped. The developer and architect need to go back to the drawing board. There should be no encroachment into the New York Life Insurance Building whatsoever. The whole point of the New York Life Building is Jenney's steel frame, and this is what the proposed Hamilton Partners project would be ripping out. That is completely unacceptable.
The current plans show the Hamilton Partners building sprouting out from the top of the New York Life Building, since the Hamilton Partners building extends roughly 62 per cent of the way southwards into the New York Life Insurance Building. Meanwhile, the northern part of the LaSalle Street frontage of the New York Life building is a simple facadectomy, as stated above.
We will contact your office soon to request a meeting for purposes of discussing this proposed project.

Jonathan Fine, president, Preservation Chicago
Michael Moran, vice president, Preservation Chicago

cc: Brian Goeken, Deputy Commissioner, Landmarks Division, DPD
Terry Haymaker, Deputy Commissioner, Central Area, DPD
Alderman Burton Natarus (42nd)
John George, Daley & George