Michael Reese Hospital - Demolition Progress and Preservation Efforts

Demolition Progress and Preservation Efforts

Portions of the hospital campus were over 100 years old and believed by some preservationists to hold historic value. The older buildings were constructed in an ornate style. The Rothschild Nurses' Residence was built in extensive detail and ornate styling, with molded ceilings, arched double windows, solid hardwood floors, and extensive woodwork throughout. The oldest portion of the main hospital building, which was shuttered in 1997 and soon fell into disrepair, also had significant detail and ornate styling in the auditorium and common areas. Although small-scale preservation efforts were made, both buildings were eventually demolished.

A series of newer buildings were completed after a 1946 plan created by Walter Gropius, the first director of the Bauhaus in Germany. These buildings, built from 1946 to 1959, were designed by Chicago firms based in part on the Gropius plan. In addition, the landscaping on the campus was designed by modernist landscape architect Hideo Sasaki, a colleague of Gropius's at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Preservation Magazine reported in June 2009 that "according to Sullivan in the city's Community Development department, the original 1907 Prairie-style building designed by Schmidt, Garden & Martin will be preserved, but the rest of the 29-building campus is not "feasible to save," she says. "Our intention is to utilize the main Michael Reese building, but everything in addition to that, including the Gropius buildings, needs to be cleared from the area." However, the original hospital building, which had been neglected since 1997 and was in poor condition, was later demolished after repeated break ins and acts of looting and vandalism, and due to lack of interest in redevelopment.

Initial demolition began in 2009 and continued through 2010. By 2012, all buildings with the exception of a small former administration building had been cleared from the site.

Construction and demolition work was complicated in August 2009 by the discovery of radioactive contamination of soil on the site. A radium separation company had previously operated on site in the early 1900s and was purchased by the hospital to supply radium for medical procedures. The US Environmental Protection Agency has mandated a cleanup of the site to remove contamination.