Thursday, November 01, 2012

Mission Accomplished! Prentice goes from unprotected, to prelimary landmark, to not landmark, to rubble - in record time

click image for larger view
OK, the picture above is not really Prentice - it's from a far more positive event: the 28th floor re-groundbreaking for the resurrection of the abandoned Waterview tower as 111 West Wacker - but check back soon.  A Northwestern spokesman promised they could reduce Prentice to landfill in just a few months.

In an extended session of Wagnerian length, the feckless Commission on Chicago Landmarks followed the script handed them by Mayor Rahm Emanuel to its farcical letter.  First they voted unanimously to grant Bertrand Goldberg's Prentice Hospital preliminary designation.  Then, except for Commissioner Christopher Reed, they completely reversed themselves and voted to 7 to 1 to rescind the preliminary designation and destroy the world-acclaimed building.  Afterwhich they congratulated themselves on what a good job they did, and everyone went home .  Or to the nearest bar.


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

My 10 year old son was born at Prentice. When I told him about the Landmark Commission's de facto ruling, he said: "Oh man, I cannot believe they are tearing it down."