Promontory Point, a limestone peninsula giving Burnham Park and Hyde Park residents a scenic community greenspace along Lake Michigan, has been threatened by both erosion and development proposals.
Now, it could become a city landmark.
The Commission of Chicago Landmarks will take an initial vote Thursday on a proposed plan to designate the point a landmark, making demolition essentially impossible.
Promontory Point, on the lakefront between 54 and 56th Streets, was built 85 years ago and designed by former Chicago Parks Department architect Alfred Caldwell. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018.
The point was named one of Chicago’s “most endangered” sites in 2022 by Preservation Chicago, a nonprofit advocating for historic sites.
Community members have written more than 600 letters urging the city to consider making Promontory Point a landmark, said Ward Miller, executive director of Preservation Chicago.
“We feel that this is really a special place for Chicagoans,” Miller said. “It’s such an iconic destination for so many people, not only in the Hyde Park and Woodlawn community, but for University of Chicago students.”
A national defense bill passed in December mandates that Chicago residents, not the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, will decide how the point should be restored.
Preservation Chicago plans to advocate for a final proposal that preserves the limestone revetments along the point, Miller said.
The Army Corps of Engineers must fund up to 65% of whatever renovations the City Council approves, the Sun-Times previously reported, even if the corps may have otherwise chosen a cheaper steel and concrete remodel.
If the city parks district opposes landmark status for Promontory Point, an additional public hearing will take place before the City Council votes.
The final council vote could be three to six months away, Miller said.
This is the first time Promontory Point has appeared on the Commission on Chicago Landmarks’ agenda, Miller said.
“We’ve been waiting more than a quarter century for Promontory Point to be sensitively restored,” Miller said. “So if it does take a year or two to get to a point where everybody is very pleased with the plans, then I think the actual work could go very smoothly.”
