The battle over the former site of the Prentice Women’s Hospital, 333 E. Superior St., has stalled since Northwestern delayed seeking a permit for demolition.
According to Director of Media Relations Mary Jane Twohey, the University has delayed seeking the permit in order to conduct discussions with officials from the City of Chicago.
The announcement is good news for James Peters, president of Landmark Illinois, a statewide non-profit organization that placed the hospital on its list of the 10 most endangered historic places in 2011.
“I hope this will result in some solution to save the building,” Peters said. “We would rather see (Prentice) used than tossed into a landfill.”
Peters said representatives from NU and Landmark Illinois will meet with the Commission on Chicago Landmarks on Thursday at City Hall.
After listening to both parties, the commission will decide if it should pursue making the building a landmark.
Even if the commission decides to begin this process, the next step would be studying the building. Then, if research shows that it should be preserved, the commission will make a recommendation to the Chicago city council. The council makes the final decision. Peters said if no one says no during the entire process, NU would gain the authority to demolish the building.
According to Peters, the former hospital warrants the landmark status.
“It’s an absolutely unique building,” he said.
Besides its unique design, Peters said, the building has motivated many architects to look to other shapes for their ideas instead of rectangles and squares. Many architects have sent letters to Landmark Illinois in support of the preservation of the building.
“It’s very inspirational to a lot of architects,” he said.
If NU is given permission to demolish the building, the University plans to construct a new research center for the Feinberg School of Medicine in its place.
Peters said since many people think landmarks are buildings that are more than 100 years old, they underestimate the value of modern buildings like Prentice.
“A lot of people aren’t sure that modern buildings should be saved,” he said.
If Prentice is deemed a landmark, it would be one of the first modern buildings to be saved, he added.
