Loyola University Chicago began demolishing a 100-year-old flatiron building in Rogers Park last week, despite a yearslong push by community members to save the triangle-shaped building.
Constructed in 1926 by architect R. Bernard Kurzon, the 30-unit apartment building at 1224 W. Loyola Ave. was once home to businesses Archie’s Cafe, Roman Susan Gallery and Edge Art. It’s next to the Loyola Red Line stop.
The university purchased the site in 2024 for $3 million, according to the student newspaper Loyola Phoenix. It was issued a demolition permit on Jan. 5, according to city records.
A spokesperson for Loyola wouldn’t confirm the building’s purchase price, and pointed to a Feb. 11 newsletter that included a statement by Associate Vice President Jennifer Clark.
Clark acknowledged the demolition permit “has raised questions” about the site’s future. She wrote the location is part of a future Chicago Transit Authority project, “meaning Loyola will not be the sole decision-maker regarding its long-term use. But, we are committed to stewarding the site responsibly and thoughtfully.”
The demolition is expected to take four to six weeks, depending on site conditions and the weather, according to the university. Once complete, it plans to improve the site with “upgraded fencing and new landscaping.”
Preservation Chicago Executive Director Ward Miller said there was a push to make the building a Chicago landmark.
To be eligible, a Chicago building must meet at least two of the seven criteria established by the city, which includes having city heritage, unique visual features or being designed by a notable architect. The building must also meet a more abstract “integrity criterion,” which Miller said can be tough for individual commercial buildings or homes to meet.
The Loyola Avenue building has a scalloped roof with Spanish clay tile and ornamentation along the roof and commercial windows. But there weren’t enough elements “to fit all the strict requirements,” Miller said.
“It’s a very lovely, smaller neighborhood commercial building that is on an unusual site and responded with a program relating to that unusual site,” Miller said. “The community really had a great affection for it and its retail tenants. It’s a building that we may see elsewhere in the city, but it was very special to people in Rogers Park.”
Miller said Preservation Chicago regularly hears from residents accusing Loyola of “land banking” sites, or holding on to vacant land. It’s a practice some residents believe will happen at 1224 W. Loyola, as the university has yet to announce development plans.
“It’s really tragic that we’re losing a nice building that’s got a lot of history,” Miller said. “Demolition is often times the answer with these university expansions.”
Archie’s had circulated a petition in 2024 that called on Loyola to make its development plans more inclusive of neighbors and small businesses. Roman Susan, which started at the Loyola Avenue building, also issued a similar call in late 2024 for the university to recognize the importance of the building and its tenants.
In 2024, Roman Susan founder Kristin Abhalter Smith told the Commission on Chicago Landmarks that more than 1,500 people signed an open letter to Loyola. “I strongly believe that our combined communities of thousands of supporters wouldn’t exist without the location, shape and design of this distinctive piece of architecture,” Abhalter Smith said at the time.
Miller said he hopes universities like Loyola don’t demolish buildings until they have development plans and funding in place. He also urged alderpersons to consider creating landmark districts as a way to save buildings like 1224 W. Loyola.
“Landmark districts don’t necessarily need to be buildings that are museum pieces captured in time and cannot evolve. Landmark districts are a way of encouraging the preservation of the look, feel and the spirit of the district, but it does allow for new construction,” Miller said. “These kinds of districts are really planning tools that encourage sensitive planning and development, and I think we need more of that in Chicago.”