CITY HALL — The Commission on Chicago Landmarks moved to protect and preserve West Burton Place Thursday, but it came too late to alter a demolition permit for a building in the proposed district.
Still, supporters hope that creating the district may either change the developer's mind or at least give the commission a say in the new development plans for what was once well known as a "funky, bohemian" artists' colony.
The commission unanimously voted to recommend exploring the creation of the "West Burton Place District," between LaSalle and Wells streets on what amounts to a shady side street in Old Town.
Yet Eleanor Gorski, director of historic preservation with the Department of Planning and Development, said it "unfortunately cannot stop or rescind the demolition application" for 159 W. Burton Place, next door to the Chase Street Studios, that would be the cornerstone of the historic district.
The Department of Buildings approved the demolition permit late last month, shortly after members of the public moved aggressively to create the landmark district.
"It is a shame that another potential demolition is the catalyst for landmark designation," said longtime Lincoln Park activist Allan Mellis.
The street is already on the National Register of Historic Places, but that holds no sway over Chicago development.
A developer has bought a Victorian building at 159 W. Burton Place and reportedly plans to raze the building and develop new condominiums on the site. Yet area residents, concentrated at the next-door Carl Street Studios, which has long been known as an artist colony, are resisting the demolition and fighting for preservation through the Landmarks Commission.
They turned out in force, along with several architecture aficionados and preservationists at Thursday's meeting at City Hall.
Matt Crawford, of the Department of Planning and Development, said many of the 13 buildings in the proposed district are "handmade houses" that constituted an "artist colony" in the Depression era, a circle orbiting around Chicago artists Edgar Miller and Sol Kogen. He said residents constituted a "creative class" in a "bohemian area" that would soon become Old Town.
Richard Cahan, author of a Miller biography, echoed that, saying the "funky, bohemian" district became "the epicenter of Old Town." According to Cahan, Miller believed "people should live in art."
"Art and architecture are interwoven there," said Alan Artner, an owner at 161 W. Burton Place and a former Tribune art critic.
"Such buildings are a three-dimensional works of art," added Ward Miller, executive director of Preservation Chicago. He supported the landmarking as "a fine addition to the city's historic protected resources."
"Historic districts are tourist attractions," said Rolf Achilles, a professor at the School of the Art Institute. He said they produced a "halo effect" on the immediate and surrounding area, luring tourists who spend money there.
The Department of Planning and Development will now produce a new report on the district while the commission canvasses owners on their positions on the proposal.
Gorski said that, while the commission's move would not halt the demolition permit for 159 W. Burton Place, passage means it will have a say over development plans. She held out hope it would nonetheless alter the developer's plans, even though Sebastian Barsh, of Castlerock Properties, new owner of the property, did not attend Thursday's meeting.
Barsh did not respond to requests for comment.
"Perhaps this action today will have some effect," Gorski said, "and perhaps change the course of what's happening with the developer."
Yet concerned citizen George Blakemore was skeptical, saying, "You made your move a little late here. You should have made it sooner."
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