Michigan Boulevard District - III

Historic Michigan Boulevard District ..
Continued from part I on .. Historic Michigan Boulevard District .. click here ..

This post is about developments that seem to undermine the beauty of this Streetwall district ..

There has been some controversy about the trend along the Michigan-Wabash corridor of constructing large-scale towers behind the historic structures. Examples include the The Heritage at Millennium Park, The Legacy at Millennium Park [within the Jewelers Row District] ..





# The Legacy at Millennium Park [left] ..
# The Heritage at Millennium Park [right] ..







The Chicago Athletic Association Building ..
Address: 12 South Michigan Avenue, IL 60603 ..
Architect: Henry Ives Cobb
Completed: 1893 ..
Architectural style: Venetian Gothic style, which is rare in Chicago .. It is exemplified with patterned brick and intricately carved limestone ..

Another controversy surrounds the Chicago Athletic Association Building closed its doors on August 31, 2007 .. There was a proposal to convert this building in a 300-room Omni hotel. This proposal was vehemently opposed by preservationists as it included proposals of new addition that would have risen above the original height of the building ... which would have "shatter the integrity of the Michigan Boulevard Historic District" .. However, with the recent slump in the economy and declining real estate value, the hotel conversion of the Chicago Athletic Association property does not seem to be feasible and the plan seems to have crashed .. The future preservation of this building still remains an unresolved issue.
For more on this issue .. click here .. "Foreclosure suit hits Chicago Athletic Assn. hotel conversion" ..

For more on..
# Historic Michigan Boulevard District.. click here..
# The five Chicago Landmarks in the Historic Michigan Boulevard District.. click here..
# Developments around the Historic Michigan Boulevard District.. click here..