Nearly demolished 100 years after it was built, Yondorf Hall was part of the thriving German-American community around Chicago's North and Clybourn intersection. VHA was instrumental in saving the building and ultimately led its restoration.
By the 1970's, the building was largely abandoned and the City of Chicago wanted to tear it down. In 1984 VHA nominated the building to the National Register of Historic Places and subsequently assembled a design team to renovate it under the National Park Service's renovation tax credit program.
In 1990, VHA restored the entire building, including its masonry and terra-cotta exterior and its second floor music hall. VHA also designed an addition to the east housing circulation and support spaces. The addition is set back from the street and articulated in a contemporary manner, clearly expressing itself as a non-historic architectural element.
Today, Yondorf Hall anchors the revitalized neighborhood, which has become one of the premier commercial districts in the Midwest. The Music Hall is now a performance space for the acclaimed Steppenwolf Theater.
Credits
Lead Architect: Fitzgerald Associates
Structural Engineer: Structural Associates
Photographer: Leslie Schwarz