Preservation Futures is looking forward to opening up our office this coming Wednesday, October 29th from 4pm-6pm as a part of the Chicago Architecture Biennial's series of studio and office tours!

Register here:
chicagoarchitecturebiennial.org/program/stud...

Unpaid labor at a municipal planning agency is not okay--it devalues the expertise required for these positions, and drives inequity.

Chicago's Department of Planning and Development can and should do better!

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The 2024-2025 cycle of Exhibit Columbus is officially open! The theme, Yes And, invites contributors to engage with the legacy of Columbus, Indiana by adding to the layered lives of buildings and spaces.

Lots of activations and talks are planned for this fall! More here:
www.exhibitcolumbus.org

Per a post on Jahn's Instagram account, the vibrant red steel of the James R. Thompson Center is shifting to a "sleek, modern gray."

$875K is a fraction of the millions offered in years prior (in 2025 it was $2.4 mil) Why is the amount so low? AAL funds come from downtown construction projects that contribute to the Neighborhood Opportunity Bonus Fund. Less downtown development means there is less money in the pot for AAL.

Vault lights within New York's SoHo Cast Iron Historic District.

I’m delighted and grateful to be giving a lecture at the Charnley-Persky House for the Society of Architectural Historians this Thursday at 6pm CDT titled “Back to the Future: A History of the James R. Thompson Center.”

This talk has a virtual option and is free!

Register here:
bit.ly/3Y0eVOv

Goth Wendy's, Columbus, Indiana

It's gloomy in Chicago today so you know we've got the vintage lamps firing at full impulse.

More Permastone and Formstone in Chicago and Baltimore.

The color combination "Light Limestone" was developed to emulate the tones of limestone quarried in south central Indiana. Here it is on a chart of color combinations, shown on two salesperson's sample panels, and on the facade of Second Christian Reformed Church.

Around 1949, Permastone was applied to the Second Christian Reformed Church of Roseland. The Building Committee was so pleased with the product that they wrote the company. While the congregation no longer worships at 10543 Perry Avenue, Permastone still clads the building.

Let's get Permastoned, shall we?

The Perma-Stone Company of Columbus, Ohio marketed heavily to houses of worship nationwide as an "ideal accompaniment to a mood of reverence."

Thanks everyone for following me on Bluesky as you've moved from other platforms! I am grateful that folks pay attention and care about what I do!

Hello! I'm Elizabeth Blasius. I'm an architectural historian, writer and critic, and co-founder of @presfutures.bsky.social. I write a monthly column about architecture and preservation in Mas Context. I live in Chicago.