Plaque Program
Helping homeowners recognize and celebrate the architectural and historical significance of their home.
Why this program?
Vision
Recognition for the buildings, and for the good stewards who maintain and treasure them.
The Chicago Historic Plaque Program, a pilot in Lincoln Park, offers another way to preserve the neighborhood’s history. It gives homeowners a way to learn about and commemorate the history of individual homes.
The program brings together Preservation Chicago, University of Chicago historic preservation students and neighborhood residents to research eligible historic buildings and install plaques explaining their architectural and historical significance.
More than 50 homeowners asked about a plaque in the program’s first week.
“Building awareness and appreciation of your local environment and neighborhood are important things to foster.”
Emily Talen, Professor, University of Chicago (Block Club Chicago, 9/17/26)
“It’s a community-oriented, crowdfunded sort of big neighborhood hug. The hope is that eventually, that neighborhood recognition would bubble up to decision-makers who might say, ‘These 50 buildings are beloved neighborhood buildings. They may not have formal protections, but they’re a beloved neighborhood asset.’”
Adam Natenshon, Director of Operations, Preservation Chicago (Block Club Chicago, 9/17/26)
The Stakes
A third of the Sheffield district, demolished or altered since 1993.
These are ornate, individually detailed houses — carved brackets, window hoods, porches and cornices. Most were built as workers’ cottages, two-flats and three-flats.
The losses follow a consistent pattern. Historic houses are demolished to make way for larger single-family homes, for side yards and gardens, or for expensive new construction replacing buildings that had held several households.
In 1976, roughly 1,000 pre-1900 buildings in Lincoln Park were listed as the Sheffield Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places, a rare designation for a residential area of that density. The losses continued. Between 1993 and 2019, by an analysis from Landmarks Illinois, more than 350 buildings in the district — roughly a third of its stock — were demolished or significantly altered, often converted from three-flats and other multifamily buildings into single-family homes.
The pressure is current. Preservation Chicago named the Sheffield–Belden Group, at the northwest corner of Sheffield and Belden avenues, to its 2024 Chicago 7 Most Endangered list. A few blocks north, buildings in the 2300 block of North Sheffield Avenue have faced demolition for an expansion of DePaul University’s athletic complex.
Adaptive reuse, facade preservation and building behind an existing structure are established practice. Each adds housing and keeps the existing building.
“The idea that you have to choose between preservation and density is a false choice. You can have both.”
Adam Natenshon, Director of Operations, Preservation Chicago (Block Club Chicago, 9/17/26)
The Losses
How could they knock that down? 2240 N. Burling Street, 1873–2023.
In April 2023, 2240 N. Burling Street was torn down to enlarge a side yard. It was an orange-rated Italianate wood frame three-flat, built in the years after the Great Chicago Fire within the Sheffield Historic District. This is just one of the hundreds of Lincoln Park houses that have been torn down.
Peter Millen has lived in Lincoln Park for over 20 years. On daily walks with his dog, Portofino, he has developed a strong appreciation for the wonderfully ornate and varied historic homes that comprise his neighborhood. When the demolition fence went up around these homes, he started to photograph and post these losses online. After documenting dozens of demolitions, his sadness turned into resolve which ultimately catalyzed this Chicago Historic Plaque Program. The hope is to recognize and celebrate these wonderful historic homes so that others can appreciate the neighborhood like a local.
“Peter roams the neighborhood taking pictures and has been very involved in historic properties. I’ve been doing this for a long time, too, mostly experiencing total outrage walking around Lincoln Park at the destruction of historic properties for side yards and McMansions.”
Emily Talen, Professor, University of Chicago (Block Club Chicago, 9/17/26)
Scope
Where the pilot operates.
The Chicago Historic Plaque Program launched in September 2026 and runs first in selected historic areas of Lincoln Park: the Sheffield Historic District and nearby historic residential blocks.
That district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 and covers much of the neighborhood. The listing recognizes the district as a whole; protection for an individual building comes from Chicago Landmark designation, which is a separate route. That designation requires Commission review before a building can be demolished or its exterior altered. Old Town was designated a Chicago Landmark district in 1977 and kept much of its Victorian-era architecture.
Preservation Chicago researches every house nominated; a homeowner does not need to know its history first, and no expertise is needed to nominate one. Researchers work from historical records, deeds and title history, the succession of occupants, building permits and materials, and the surrounding block. They also check the Chicago Historic Resources Survey, the City’s 1990s survey of historic buildings — it was a rating from that survey that placed the 90-day demolition hold on 2240 N. Burling Street. Preservation Chicago research will determine the final wording for the bronze plaque.
Homeowners outside the pilot area may still nominate their homes. Preservation Chicago records each one and sets the eligibility standards, which will widen as the program grows.
“There’s a movement in historic preservation to go beyond a simple plaque and really tell the story of a building. That’s important so that it isn’t just window dressing or an elitist look at an attractive property. It should talk about the meaning and context of buildings.”
Emily Talen, Professor, University of Chicago (Block Club Chicago, 9/17/26)
Partners
A partnership between Lincoln Park Neighbors and Neighborhood Leaders, Preservation Chicago, and the University of Chicago.
Lincoln Park Neighbors and Neighborhood Leaders
Neighborhood residents nominate their historic homes and share what history and stories they know about them. Peter Millen conceived the Chicago Historic Plaque Program and leads it. A Lincoln Park resident of more than 20 years, he has extensively documented the neighborhood’s demolitions online and worked on the effort to save 2240 N. Burling Street.
Preservation Chicago
Preservation Chicago leverages the power of historic preservation to transform long-neglected historic assets into the dynamic neighborhood anchors essential for cultivating healthy, vibrant, diverse, and sustainable communities. It publishes the annual Chicago 7 Most Endangered list, which named the Sheffield–Belden Group in 2024, and its advocacy work is pro bono. It administers this program: intake, coordination, research review, and approval of the plaque wording, guiding homeowners through each stage.
University of Chicago
Emily Talen is Professor of Urbanism at the University of Chicago. Her research addresses urbanism and the relationship between the built environment and social equity, and she publishes Mapping Chicago Preservation. Her UChicago students assist researchers at Preservation Chicago to learn more about individual properties, examining historical records, deeds, occupants, building materials and the surrounding block to develop a fuller account of each home.
The Bronze Memorial Company
The production partner, The Bronze Memorial Company, is located in Broadview, Illinois. Its work includes landmark plaques for the City of Chicago. The cost of the plaque is the responsibility of the homeowner.
Where This Goes
Bringing the neighborhood’s history to life.
Each plaque carries a research summary. Soon a webpage for each house will follow on this site, exploring its history, photographs, and its location on an interactive map, so that the neighborhood can be explored as a self-guided tour.
A street museum, free and open to everyone, built for homeowners and residents rather than for preservation professionals.
“This is a way of doing the emotional work, the intellectual work, the amplification work and the educational work with communities so that when a threat emerges, people have already formed their opinions. They’re pro-preservation, pro-neighborhood and pro-character.”
Adam Natenshon, Director of Operations, Preservation Chicago (Block Club Chicago, 9/17/26)
Coverage
In the press
Patrick Filbin, “Lincoln Park’s Historic Homes Are Disappearing. A New Program Wants To Tell Their Stories,” Block Club Chicago, September 17, 2026.
Brian J. Rogal, “Demolition of historic Lincoln Park home under way after lost preservation fight,” Chicago Tribune, April 24, 2023 — on the loss of 2240 N. Burling Street.
Mack Liederman, “152-Year-Old Lincoln Park Home Demolished After Fight To Preserve It,” Block Club Chicago, April 28, 2023.