Michael Reese Hospital, Fenced In
In preparation for what is probably the inevitable demolition of the Michael Reese Hospital complex, the entire campus is now surrounded by a chain link fence. Anyone hoping to wander the grounds to get a last look at the place is now pretty much out of luck.
Preservationists and area residents have asked the city to at least reconsider plans to demolish the Bauhaus-inspired campus. The Daley administration has responded by ignoring the public and slowly destroying the place anyways–they want the land for use in the 2016 Olympics, which may or may not take place in Chicago and either way doesn’t have a lot of public support.
After destroying the parks and planned landscapes surrounding the hospital campus for no apparent reason, the fence seems like a final “fuck you” gesture directed at those who are trying to save the campus from the wrecking ball. “I do what I want, public be damned! Richard M. Daley, Mayor.”
For more photos and information about efforts to save the hospital campus: savemrh.com.
I have been following the demise of the hospital campus for a while now, and you’re right – a big Fuck-You from the Daley administration.
Well, there goes my scenic non-lakefront bike route.
Now that Chicago has lost the bid for the Olympics, what is going to become of the demolished site?
Good question! Plans to demolish the buildings are still in place. Via savemrh.com:
“Chicago’s vague contingency plan, to find a private developer to build a residential project on the site, is now being enacted. To date, however, there are no firm plans for the campus, except for demolition and near-total clearance…No firm plans exist that would chart the course for the site’s future, yet the plans for demolition remain intact.”
I suppose that preservationists have more leverage now, but still…I am not optimistic.