EDGEWATER — An Edgewater historic district is one step closer to becoming a Chicago landmark.
The city’s Commission on Chicago Landmarks granted a preliminary landmark recommendation for the Bryn Mawr Historic District during a Thursday hearing.
The proposed landmark district includes Bryn Mawr Avenue from Broadway to Sheridan Road, a commercial stretch that suffered greatly during the pandemic but has since seen a big rebound.
The district includes notable buildings like the Edgewater Beach Apartments, 5555 N. Sheridan Road, which is already listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Belle Shore Apartment Hotel, 5550 N. Kenmore Ave., and the Manor House are also part of the district.
The commission found that the historic district met four out of seven criteria needed to be considered for landmark status: It’s a critical part of the city’s heritage, it has important architecture, it has works from important architects and it has a distinctive theme as a district. At a minimum, a potential landmark must meet two criteria.
The preliminary recommendation kicks off a lengthy series of approvals. Steps in the landmarking process include: a report from the Department of Planning and Development, consultation with building owners, a public hearing and a final vote by the commission. The measure would then move to the City Council’s Committee on Zoning and then the full City Council.
Ald. Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth (48th), whose ward includes the historic district, thanked the commission and the community support that made this preliminary landmarking possible.
“We want to stabilize this area, and giving Bryn Mawr a landmark designation will help that and help preserve what we have,” Manaa-Hoppenworth said. The alderwoman’s office is located on this stretch of Bryn Mawr Avenue.
The district has some of the oldest structures in Edgewater, including some dating back to the 1890s, when the first business district in the neighborhood was getting started, Edgewater Historical Society President John Holden previously told Block Club.
The Bryn Mawr Historic District is already on the National Register of Historic Places, but becoming a Chicago landmark opens it up to additional financial incentives and opportunities, like the Adopt A Landmark program, which makes grants available for restoration projects.
The Bryn Mawr business corridor has had many ups and downs recently. It hit a recent low point during the COVID-19 pandemic, when crime increased along the corridor and many of its anchor businesses — including three of its biggest restaurants — closed their doors.
The corridor also endured the rebuilding of the Red Line’s north branch, which saw the closure of the Bryn Mawr station and construction-related headaches for more than four years.
But the area is experiencing a bit of a bounceback with a slew of business openings on the corridor as well as the opening of the renovated Bryn Mawr Red Line station last summer.
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