SIX CORNERS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ... - The Lakota Group

ADDENDA
a half block north and south were filled in with
commercial structures. On West Irving Park
in particular, one-story storefronts went up in
the moderne style of the late 1940s; many of
these stand vacant today. Parcels east of the
bank remained largely undeveloped while the
manufacturing concerns on the south leg of
Milwaukee blocked commercial expansion.
The wide geographic spread of the Six Corners
shopping district from its heyday into the 1970s is
still evident, although parcels on the fringes have
been consolidated into strip malls or more recently
redeveloped for residential townhouses. There are
gaps here and there along all but the two most
solid historic sections, North Milwaukee Avenue
and West Irving Park Road.
Individual Landmarks
Peoples Gas Company Irving Park Store, 4839 W
Irving Park Road, was designated a local Chicago
landmark on February 18, 1987. Designed by
George Grant Elmslie and Hermann V. Von
Holst, this 1926 two-story limestone commercial
block features embellished stone carvings in the
Sullivanesque ornamental style. The building
was rated red in the Chicago Historic Resources
Survey and was also included in the Illinois
Historic Structures Survey.
Portage Park Theatre Building, 4042-60 N
Milwaukee Avenue is pending local landmark
designation by the Chicago City Council. It was
granted preliminary local landmark status on April
5, 2012 by the Chicago Landmarks Commission.
This three-story combined theater, storefronts,
and apartment building was designed by Lindley
P. Rowe in association with Fridstein & Co.
and opened in 1920. The red-brick façade with
cream-colored terra cotta features an unusual
combination of classical and Art Moderne stylistic
influences. The building was rated orange in the
Chicago Historic Resources Survey.
W Irving Park Road was noted in the AIA Guide
to Chicago and probably absent from the CHRS
because it only included buildings that appeared
older than 1940. The 1938 design by Nimmon,
Carr & Wright was starkly modern, with plain
concrete facades setting off large display windows
intended for the presentation of merchandise.
Unfortunately this signature feature has been
altered from its original design.
Proposed Historic District
The Six Corners Association began pursuing
the possibility of listing as a National Register
Historic District in 2008 when a preliminary
eligibility report was prepared by a consultant and
submitted to the Illinois Historic Preservation
Agency for consideration. IHPA staff concluded
the proposed district was not eligible due to too
many (26%) non-contributing structures within
the proposed boundary and the exclusion of two
of the six corners. A second consultant conducted
further research to establish the importance of the
buildings and remodelings dating from the midcentury,
and revised the application accordingly.
In 2011 the IHPA issued another negative staff
opinion noting integrity issues as a weakness of
the proposed district. The Six Corners Association
continues to press its case with the IHPA with no
success to this date.
It may be time to reconsider whether National
Register listing is an appropriate development tool
for the business area. With a landmark district
whose significance relies heavily on mid-century
modern commercial structures -- many of them
one story -- any redevelopment strategy that
involves demolition of one-story structures and
new construction at higher densities would not be
able to use the federal historic tax credits for such
projects.
There are no other structures still standing at
Six Corners that were rated orange or red in the
Chicago Historic Resources Survey. However
the Sears, Roebuck & Company store at 4730
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