Chicago Architecture Center turns 60 — and looks ahead
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Board of Trustees chair Marian Despres at the first docent class graduation in 1971. Photo: Courtesy of Chicago Architecture Center
The Chicago Architecture Center celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. Its leaders say their mission is not just to highlight the city's history, but to help shape how Chicago looks in the future.
Why it matters: While most locals and visitors know the center's work through its walking and boat tours, CAC also serves as a connector for the many entities vying to determine the city's built environment.
Flashback: In the mid-1960s, a group of civic-minded locals fought to preserve the Glessner House on the city's near South Side as its neighboring buildings were lost to neglect.
- The group purchased the home on April 16, 1966, and laid the groundwork for the Chicago School of Architecture Foundation, the precursor to CAC.
- One of its leaders, Marian Despres, later worked with her husband, Ald. Leon Despres, to establish the Commission on Chicago Landmarks.
What they're saying: "Our story is a bit of a tumbleweed, like when there's an opportunity, we sort of pick up a piece, and through people action and through civic action, sometimes it's invited, sometimes we insert ourself ... it just so happens that preservation was the first fire we ran to," CAC's Michael Wood tells Axios.
Context: A lasting legacy from the architecture center's early days is the strong docent program, which now includes hundreds of volunteers who donate thousands of hours to lead tours of downtown and the neighborhoods.
- Anyone who has taken the boat tour knows how deeply docents research the buildings. Wood says there's no script — each guide tells the story of a building or neighborhood as they see it.
And yes, they take a test, and CAC sends "secret shoppers" to the tours to evaluate how the docents are doing.
State of play: The city's landscape is constantly evolving, shaped by the economy, development interests and politics. CAC president Eleanor Esser Gorski feels invested in helping Chicago achieve great plans for the future and she sees the center's role as convener.
- "We don't represent one group," she tells Axios. "We're here for the city. We're a membership organization. So our thought is, 'let's bring all these great ideas together.'"
What's next: "Currents: 60 Years of the Chicago Architecture Center" is on display through May 1 at the Chicago Architecture Center at 111 E. Wacker Drive.