Southwest Side Warehouses, Early Loop Skyscrapers Among Chicago’s Most Endangered Buildings

Industrial warehouses on the city’s Southwest Side and a Brutalist three-story building on the University of Illinois Chicago campus are among the most endangered properties citywide as selected by advocacy group Preservation Chicago for 2023.  

Among the Southwest Side’s most prominent endangered properties is the Continental Can Building at 3815 S. Ashland Ave. In McKinley Park’s Central Manufacturing District. Dating from 1920, it’s slated to be demolished to make way for a cold-storage facility. 

Topping this year’s list, as they have in previous years, are the Century and Consumers Buildings at 202 S. State and 220 S. State, respectively, in the Loop. “We have long been concerned about the extended vacancy, deferred maintenance, and deteriorating condition of these important early Chicago skyscrapers,” Preservation Chicago said. Currently they too are likely to face the wrecking ball. 

In addition to demolishing the history they represent, knocking down the two Loop towers could jeopardize the pending nomination of Chicago’s early skyscrapers as a UNESCO World Heritage site. “A UNESCO World Heritage designation has the potential to powerfully boost the Chicago economy with significant architectural and heritage tourism,” according to Preservation Chicago. 

Pictured: The Continental Can Building. Photo credit: Serhii Chrucky.

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