One man's wish: Replace 30 N. La Salle with something aesthetically pleasing
A rendering of changes proposed for the 30 N. La Salle building.
Provided
April 14 will mark the 100th anniversary of famed architect Louis H. Sullivan's death. It's the ultimate irony that a $57 million TIF grant has just been announced to help fund improvements to the 30 N. La Salle building, a bland high-rise that replaced Sullivan's historic Chicago Stock Exchange Building during the 1970s.
Demolition of the Chicago Stock Exchange Building occurred despite a passionate public protest and became a tragic milestone in Chicago's fraught preservation history. To make this a double layer of tragic irony, April 13 will be the 52nd anniversary marking the death of pioneering preservationist and Sullivan authority Richard Nickel, who died in a collapse while rescuing artifacts at the demolition site.
Perhaps it's not fair to hold the sins of the past against proposals to revitalize today's struggling La Salle Street. But at the same time, using those $57 million in TIF funds to demolish the present building and replace it with a pleasing public amenity would be a most satisfying dream.
Tim Samuelson, cultural historian emeritus, city of Chicago
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