By Ellen Shubart, Class of 2006
The Commission on Chicago Landmarks presents annual Preservation Excellence Awards. At this year’s presentation, the Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF) received the John Baird Award, the highest award the commission gives for those who advocate for preservation through extraordinary efforts to further preservation awareness.
Lynn Osmond, CAF CEO and president, and Gabriel Lyon, vice-president of education, received the award on behalf of CAF. The John Baird Award for Stewardship, the award’s full name, is in honor of long-time real estate activist and preservationist John Baird. It was one of 14 awards presented at a ceremony Tuesday, October 24 at the Cultural Center.
CAF was cited for promoting Chicago and encouraging public participation and civil engagement in the Meet Your City programs. CAF was called “the voice of architecture and design” in Chicago.
The promotional PowerPoint slide that accompanied the presentation showed pictures of Chicago’s First Lady, a docent giving a tour, the No Small Plans book and tee-shirt, and the poster advertising Open House Chicago, all of which were mentioned in the full citation. Among the stats presented: attendance for 2016 was 670,000 visitors.
Following the plaque presentation, a short CAF video was played featuring three docents – Tom Carmichael, Mary Jo Hoag and Molly Page – talking about the role of CAF and CAF docents. It was a fitting end to the entire ceremony.
The other 14 awards were in five categories:
- Rehab (three projects, including the Rosenwald Court Apartments, 4642 S. Michigan Ave.);
- Restoration (three projects, including All Saints Episcopal Church, 4550 N. Hermitage);
- New Construction (one award);
- New Construction and Adaptive Reuse (Ace Hotel, 311 N. Morgan);
- Adaptive Reuse (five projects, including the Studio Gang offices, the former Mulligan Public School and Bush Temple of Music, 800 N. Clark St.).
In order to be a winner a nominee had to already have been named a Chicago landmark or be in a Chicago landmarked district.
The Commission on Chicago Landmarks is made up of nine members appointed by the Mayor and City Council. Established in 1968, the commission is responsible for recommending to the City Council what individual buildings, sites, objects or entire districts should be designated as Chicago Landmarks, protected by law. The commission is staffed by the Chicago Department of Planning and Development.