The Commission on Chicago Landmarks will honor 21 landmark buildings, homeowners and businesses with the Chicago Landmark Award for Preservation Excellence. The awards recognize outstanding projects that involve notable improvements to individual Chicago landmarks or to buildings within Chicago Landmark Districts.

Restoration of numerous historic structures and homes across the city.

"Chicago is a city of great architecture with historic buildings gracing our skyline and our neighborhoods," said Department of Planning and Development Commissioner Lori T. Healey. "The Landmark Awards recognize the developers and community members who protect and restore these structures and make it possible for future generations to appreciate them as much as we do today."

The honorees received their awards Thursday at the eighth-annual Landmarks ceremony at the historic LaSalle Bank Theater. Chicago has 243 individual landmark buildings, monuments and sites, and 41 designated landmark districts, which total more than 7,000 structures of historical significance.

"We started the project not knowing what to expect," said Anita Orlikoff, owner of a house on Kimbark Avenue in the historic Kenwood District. "But with the help of the Department of Planning and Development's Landmark Division, and a contractor who specializes in preservation, we were able to educate ourselves and to turn an ugly duckling into a beautiful swan."

The Landmark Division works with homeowners, businesses and developers to preserve and maintain historic properties.

The winners were selected by the Commission's Permit Review Committee, based on the previous year's projects that received its approval. Only properties that have been designated by the City Council as individual Chicago landmarks or as part of a Chicago Landmark District were eligible. The awards are presented to owners in recognition of their critical role in preserving the city's historic landmarks and keeping them in active use.

"What's especially rewarding is the exceptional level of public participation in preservation efforts," said Commissioner Healey. "These homeowners feel a responsibility to their neighborhoods, and to the neighborhoods' heritage, as well."

More information about individual award-winners.

For more information about the Marquette Building:

Marquette Building, 140 South Dearborn(199 kb)