Discover how Woodstock’s historic Old Courthouse was transformed into a modern, energy-efficient community hub while preserving its 19th-century charm.

Chicago’s legendary rock music hall Double Door is overcoming the typical odds faced by those looking to preserve the best of a historic building while revamping it with both modern and green features. To paraphrase George Harrison, it takes plenty of money, a whole lot of precious time, and much patience, to do it right. Rendering of Double Door facade by Barker Nestor. In 2017, when they realized they had to move out of their old space on the north side of the city, the

Chicago’s storied Bridgeport neighborhood has been the home of mayors, police, and firefighters for years. But hidden in plain sight is another feature of that illustrious neighborhood: the almost century-old Ramova Theatre, newly renovated and reopened for business. Now, it includes a 36,000-square-foot complex including a live music hall, banquet space, brewery, and restaurant. The upstairs banquet space, called the “Ramova Loft,” was once a karate/boxing gym. The Ramova Th

In Chicago, it’s possible to buy an old, deteriorating building for one dollar, provided you promise to save it from the wrecking ball and spend your money renovating it instead. Not only do you avoid the need to demolish and start from scratch---wasting energy and resources in the process---but you can revive a venerable old structure and make it more sustainable as well. Two LEED-certified cases in point: the Optimo Hat Co. plant and corporate headquarters in a former south

Two Roaring Twenties-era structures in the Chicago area are meeting that challenge by collecting and conserving stormwater on a grand scale. Dominican University In 2007, while hammering out the blueprints for a new science building, Parmer Hall, Dominican University in suburban River Forest, IL, discovered a perfect source of water for air-conditioning the new structure: a cistern dating back to the 1920’s buried under planks and debris in the basement of the old science bui

Three mayors ago, in the City that Works, the original Goldblatt Bros. Department Store sat empty on Chicago Avenue in the City’s bustling West Town neighborhood. A shadow of its former distinguished self, the structure was slated for demolition, to be replaced by a Del Ray Farms supermarket. Enter a group of community activists and preservationists, whose objections to the razing prompted the City to buy the vacant store in 1997 and recast it as a municipal office building.

Photo: Bailey Edward Every year, thousands of visitors flock to Springfield, the heart of the Land of Lincoln, to see Lincoln’s stomping grounds. But thousands more visit the city for another reason: to attend the Illinois State Fair each summer. One of the Fair’s key structures, the Coliseum, was designed for prizewinning ponies as much as for people. It recently was treated to a major renovation that focused on safety and sustainability while honoring its illustrious past.

Guest blogger: Landon Bone Baker Architects. Landon Bone Baker Architects were the lead architects for both SRO projects. Residential hotels constructed in Chicago between 1880 and 1930 served as an indispensable component of the city’s housing stock, offering an affordable housing option in prime locations. These single-room occupancy (SRO) hotels served a critical role in housing a large segment of the city’s middle- and working-class residents, and many continue to do so

The first thing that meets your eye when you enter Plant Chicago is an aquaponics tank and rows of kale, lettuce, and other vegetables sprouting in water. Look closer into the tank and you’ll see tilapia and perch swimming around. Among a myriad of other pursuits, the people at Plant Chicago are raising greens fertilized by, of all things, fish waste. In 2019 Plant Chicago took up residence in a two-story, south side building that operated as a firehouse from 1908 to 1978. T

Downed too many St. George’s Green Chile Pepper vodkas at Obed and Isaac’s in Peoria, Illinois? No problem--you can pray for sobriety without leaving the premises, which started out as a Presbyterian church. The 1889 building, a city landmark that’s also on the National Register of Historic Places, was salvaged by the Conn’s Hospitality Group, a family business that specializes in renovating older buildings. The church, also known as the Cornerstone Building, reopened in 20