Published
Fri, Mar 17, 2023, 12:30
- A petition has been launched to save the historic site, where Frankie Knuckles, among others, created house music.
The building once home to legendary Chicago club The Warehouse is at risk of being torn down.
Last Tuesday, March 14th, Preservation Chicago launched a petition to stop the demolition. The local organisation has been protecting buildings of socio-cultural value for more than 20 years. Almost 5,500 people have signed the petition so far.
Speaking to Resident Advisor, Preservation Chicago's Max Chavez said the petition will be presented to the City of Chicago authority, which has power to grant a "landmark designation" to protect the building from demolition.
"This building has a global resonance for so many people from so many parts of the world–we feel very optimistic about saving it," he said. "This neighbourhood is really hot for redevelopment so we're asking the City of Chicago to take proactive steps to landmark the building asap before anything can happen to it."
RA contacted the local authority's Department of Buildings and was told that a permit to demolish the building hadn't been issued. But according to Chavez, this doesn't mean the building isn't under threat. He said a real estate listing last year tagged it as a "redevelopment opportunity," which raised concerns.
This information was flagged by "a tipster who asked to remain anonymous," Chavez added. "This alerted us to the fact that the building could be in the crosshairs for demolition and with no historical protections can be torn down pretty much without any sort of delay."
Frederick Dunson is a spokesperson for the Frankie Knuckles Foundation, which he told RA is "dismayed at the possibility of losing what is our Mecca–it's where so many of us found ourselves and began our love of house music."
Dunson said the building's architecture is "unlike any other in Chicago," and has been a model for other clubs worldwide. "It was a safe space for marginalised black and brown queer individuals with no place to go when they were discriminated by clubs in River North and on the Northside," he added.
Located on 206 South Jefferson Street, The Warehouse was opened in 1977 by New Yorker Robert Williams before closing in 1987. Since then, the building has changed hands several times.
Local artist DJ Lady D, who is involved in the campaign to save the building, said both Knuckles and Williams were responsible for creating the blueprint of house.
"[They] brought the best parts of NYC club culture and mixed it with the best parts of Chicago's underground scene," she told RA. "The resulting swirl became an undeniable brew from which we're all still drinking. We have the opportunity to save this instrumental part of Chicago's history, of global dance music's history–we must do something for the generations to come."
Lady D compared The Warehouse to New York's influential Paradise Garage, which was eventually demolished in 2018. "We need to ensure this doesn't happen to The Warehouse building," she said. "Residents and tourists will visit for years to come. We need to honour the legacy it holds by giving it landmark status."
The building went on the market late last year and was sold to controversial Chicago-based law firm Nathan & Kamionski LLP, which was recently paid $7.3million by the City of Baltimore to defend police officers allegedly involved in the wrongful conviction of three Black men.
Preservation Chicago reached out to Nathan & Kamionski LLP to ask about its plans for the building but has yet to receive a reply. Chavez said talks with the City of Chicago to landmark the property are still ongoing. He hopes the petition will speed up the process. (
RA also contacted Nathan & Kamionski LLP but has yet to receive a response.)
Sign the petition.
We'll report more on this story as it evolves.
Photo: Jacob Arnold