advocacy archive
Preservation
Alert: February 2008
Building 521
Gunner's Mate Training School
at Great
Lakes Naval Station
Building 521 - Gunner's Mate School at Great
Lakes Naval Station in North Chicago, Illinois is threatened
with demolition. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and
completed in 1954, this impressive Bruce Graham-designed building
has been unused for years.
The Navy is moving forward with plans to demolish this building.
However, the Navy is open to an outside entity/contractor using
the building or to disassembling and moving the building off
the base. Please
click
here for information on the Navy's Enhanced Use Lease Program.
 The
Navy is accepting proposals for re-use of the building through
Wednesday, February 13, 2008.
Please pass this information along to
colleagues, friends, and relatives or anyone
who may have an interest in utilizing this notable structure.
Proposals and inquiries may be submitted to:
Ms. Maria Sus
Cultural Resources Program Manager
201 Decatur Avenue, Building
1A
Great Lakes, IL 60088-2801
847-688-2600 *1364
The Navy's presentation for the public meeting
of January 29, can be downloaded here.
The minutes of the public meeting: Alternative Re-Use, Building
521 Great Lakes, on Tuesday, January 29, 2008, are available
here.
SOM has recently prepared a variety of reuse proposals for this
building. Any entity interested in using this amazing building
to its full advantage is encouraged to submit a proposal.
Below are excerpts of SOM's proposals, which include dimensions
of the building.
To read Blair Kamin's article in the Chicago Tribune, "Why the
Navy Should Act to Save This 'Box': Building 521 Priceless Relic
of Naval, Chicago History" (February 3, 2008) and view building
photographs, please click
here.
To learn more, click
here for "Code Red: Military Bases
Are Rushing to Reduce their Buildings by 2013, and a Mid-Century
Modern is on the List," an article by Margaret Foster in Preservation
Online of the National Trust for Historic Preservation
(January 25, 2008).
To voice your support for preservation of
this building, please contact:
Rep. Mark Kirk
10th Congressional District Office
707 Skokie Blvd., Suite 350
Northbrook, IL 60062
Tel 847-940-0202
Fax 847-940-7143
Congressman Mark Kirk
Images courtesy of SOM.
Preservation
Alert: January 2008
Building 521
Gunner's Mate Training School
at Great
Lakes Naval Station
Building 521 - Gunner's Mate School at Great
Lakes Naval Station in North Chicago, Illinois is threatened
with demolition. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and
completed in 1954, this impressive Bruce Graham-designed building
has been unused for years.
On Tuesday, January 29, 2008 the U.S.
Dept. of the Navy will hold a public meeting to explore alternative
uses for this structure.
Click
here for the public notice (pdf)
The
Navy is open to an outside entity/contractor using the building
or to disassembling and moving the building off the base. The
meeting will take place from 4:00
to 6:00 pm at the Visitor
Center at Great Lakes Naval Station Farragut Avenue,
Great Lakes, lllinois, phone: (847) 688-5648. All interested
parties are welcome to attend.
SOM has recently prepared a variety of reuse proposals for this
building. Any entity interested in using this amazing building
to its full advantage is encouraged to attend the public meeting.
Below are excerpts of SOM's proposals, which include dimensions
of the building.
Images courtesy of SOM.
To learn more, click
here for "Code Red: Military Bases
Are Rushing to Reduce their Buildings by 2013, and a Mid-Century
Modern is on the List," an article by Margaret Foster in Preservation
Online of the National Trust for Historic Preservation
(January 25, 2008).
2007 National Trust for Historic Preservation and American
Express Partners in Preservation Program:
Please vote to fund preservation of the only
Gordon Bunshaft
building in the Midwest!!
Log on to: www.partnersinpreservation.com and
vote (once a day per email address, every day through October
10) for Gordon Bunshaft’s (SOM) 1942 Hostess House at Great
Lakes Naval Base in North Chicago.
If it receives the most votes, the Great Lakes Naval Museum
Association will win its full funding request from the National
Trust for Historic Preservation and American Express Partners
in Preservation competitive grant Program.
The Great Lakes Naval Museum Association is one of 25 finalists
in the Chicago region for this one time grant fund. The
association has requested $150,000 to help kick-off its renovation
fundraising campaign to re-use the one-time Hostess House as
its new museum.
Visit the
Hostess House at an Open House on Saturday, September 15, 10am
- 3pm. click here for more information.
Click here to read a letter
from Scott Allen, Vice President of the Great Lakes Naval Museum
Association.
Support restoration of the Hostess House into the new Naval
Museum! docomomo is a consulting party to the discussions between
the Great Lakes Naval Station with the Advisory Council on Historic
Preservation and the Illinois State Historic Preservation Agency
regarding the future of Gordon Bunshaft’s (SOM) Hostess
House and Bruce Graham's (SOM) Gunner's Training School Building.
September 2007 Letter Requesting Support for
Funding of Great Lakes Naval Museum New Location
Greeting Great Lakes Naval Museum Supporters,
The Great Lakes Naval Museum Association is inching closer to
its dream of opening the doors to a new naval museum that will
be located just outside the main gate of Naval Station Great
Lakes.
The U.S. Navy is working closely with the Great Lakes Naval
Museum Association to transfer Building 42, originally known
as the Hostess House and a nationally recognized historic building,
to the Naval Museum Association to house the Great Lakes Naval
Museum.
American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation
chose Chicagoland as the second region to receive $1 million
in funding under the Partners in Preservation initiative. This
historic program is designed to help restore and preserve cultural
assets through community awareness and involvement for future
generations to enjoy.
The Great Lakes Naval Museum Association’s “Hostess
House” renovation project has been chosen as one of the
finalists and could receive a grant ranging from $25,000 up to
a maximum of $150,000.
Your vote is needed. Please go to www.partnersinpreservation.com and
vote for the Great Lakes Naval Station, Building 42 (Hostess
House). You can vote every day from September 6 through October
10. Please encourage your friends to vote as well.
The Hostess House, designed by Gordon Bunshaft as the reception
center for WWII Sailors, was opened in 1942 to provide a setting
for thousands of Sailors to be reunited with their families and
friends after completion of boot camp. Over the years it
has seen many uses, but is now scheduled to be restored to its
original form and house the Great Lakes Naval Museum.
Once transferred, the Museum Association will embark on a $15-20
million multi-phase plan to restore the Hostess House to its
WWII grandeur. When restored, it will be the only museum in the
United States dedicated to presenting the story of Naval training.
Visitors will journey through over 10,000 square feet of the
historic World War II building filled with hundreds of Navy artifacts,
life-size photos, interactive displays and exhibits.
Thank you for your continued support of the Great Lakes Naval
Museum Association.
Scott Allen
LCDR, USN (RET)
Vice President
Great Lakes Naval Museum Association
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