Chicago’s Architecture Biennial ended earlier this month, but you can still visit one of our favorite locales. In Bronzeville, a formerly decrepit building sat abandoned until urban planner (of the University of Chicago’s Arts and Public Life Initiative) and artist, Theaster Gates, bought it from the city for $1 in 2013. With the intention of revitalizing the neighborhood, this was certainly a great start. The reclamation of the Stony Island Trust & Savings Bank brought the 1923 building back to its former glory. Shuttered for 30 years, a lot of work had to be done- windows were boarded up and the terra cotta facade was cracking.
More than the rejuvenation of this building is the fact that this renovation has brought an improvement to the local living conditions. This Neoclassical building temple has been transformed into a neighborhood hub, and will hopefully draw private capital to an area that’s suffered massive dis-investment throughout the last century.
The Art Deco details and giant vault aren’t to be missed while touring the “bank”. The 17,000 square- foot facility will offer an impressive exhibition space meant to promote cultural affairs in the area. We hope that this once vibrant area will be revitalized by this amazing reclamation!
With a jaw-dropping library, this location will serve as a gallery as well as a community center.
Image courtesy of: Rebuild Foundation
Saved from a wrecking ball in 2013, Chicago-based artist Theaster Gates has refurbished the Stony Island Arts Bank handsomely. Growing up on Chicago’s West Side, Gates has a vested interest in bringing the area back to the exuberant neighborhood it once was!
Image courtesy of: The New York Times, photographed by: Stephen Wilkes
Dilapidated no longer, the Stony Island Trust & Savings Bank now stands in all its original glory. Theaster Gates’ Rebuild Foundation has transformed this building, as well as several vacant houses and former housing projects, into cultural spaces on Chicago’s South Side.
Image courtesy of: Slate, photographed by: Tom Harris
