Midwest Society for Acoustic Ecology

The destruction of Chicago’s Gropius architecture and Bauhaus legacy has begun. As reported here in August, the City of Chicago destroyed nearly all of the landscaping around the Michael Reese Hospital campus—the 37-acre site that was purchased by the city for construction of an Olympic Village in 2016. Members of the Midwest Society for Acoustic Ecology led a soundwalk here on September 12 to raise awareness of the tragic loss of the landscape and threatened demolition of its buildings.

Even though Chicago was not selected to host the 2016 Olympics the first building on the Michael Reese Hospital campus has been destroyed. This action is in willful disregard of city’s own great architectural history and the research of the Gropius in Chicago Coalition (GCC). It was the GCC who revealed Bauhaus-founder Walter Gropius’s direct role in the design of buildings at Michael Reese Hospital. This action gives the lie to Chicago’s claims of commitment to environmentally sustainable practices. Destruction of a Gropius building is ludicrous because there are no real development plans in place, and it ruins any chance of receiving the 20% Federal Redevelopment Tax Credits for buildings on the National Historic Register.

The Friend Convalescent Home on the Michael Reese Hospital Campus, was demolished first. According to the GCC it is the first major Gropius work demolished in decades, anywhere in the world.

Condemnation of the city’s action has been published around the world. Please read the Gropius in Chicago Coalition’s post listing facts of their research.

Please help save what remains by writing letters to the City Officials listed on the GCC’s support page.