Page 8 The Skanner March 8, 2017
News
Black Chicago Fights to Save Historic EBONY Building from Developers
By Erick Johnson (Chicago Crusader/
NNPA Member)
ERICK JOHNSON/CHICAGO CRUSADER
D
owntown Chicago is set to ex-
plode with construction. In the
next several years, the city that
gave birth to the skyscraper will
have a new look. A new generation of
glitzy skyscrapers will sprout up all
over the city, dramatically altering its
famous skyline with bold new designs
and soaring to greater heights.
The most fertile ground for the new-
est crop of high-rises is on South Mich-
igan Ave., where, in the last several
years, powerful developers have been
harvesting plans to capitalize on one
of the wealthiest residential districts in
the city.
After intense meetings with resi-
dents and historic preservation offi-
cials, developers are moving forward
with ambitious and jaw-dropping plans
to plant mega-size buildings that would
transform a relatively quiet residential
district into a bustling neighborhood
full of retail shops and post-new condo-
miniums.
For developers, it’s a race to the top
in a battle to build the biggest and
best skyscraper as large as the ego of a
high-powered business mogul.
Sitting amidst these dreams is a small,
but well-known 11-story building that’s
been vacant for nearly seven years.
Known to many visitors around the
country as the “EBONY/Jet building,”
for decades, it was the corporate head-
quarters of the Johnson Publishing
Company.
In its glory days, it was the engine
Affectionately known as the “EBONY/Jet building,” the former headquarters of the Johnson Publishing Company is now prime real estate in Chicago.
behind EBONY and Jet magazines that
sat on millions of coffee tables in the
homes of Black America.
Once a proud symbol of achievement,
the once Black-owned building still
stands on one of the most prominent
We honor the many
accomplishments of
African Americans.
It is our primary goal as a labor union to better the lives of all people working
in the building trades through advocacy, civil demonstration, and the long-held
belief that workers deserve a “family wage” - fair pay for an honest day’s work.
A family wage, and the benefits that go with it, not only strengthens families, but also
allows our communities to become stronger, more cohesive, and more
responsive to their citizens’ needs.
Our family wage agenda reflects our commitment to people working in the building
trades, and to workers everywhere. In this small way, we are doing our part to help
people achieve the American Dream. This dream that workers can hold dear
regardless of race, color, national origin, gender, creed, or religious beliefs.
Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters
Representing more than 5,000 construction workers in Oregon State.
Do you want to know more about becoming a Union carpenter?
Go to www.NWCarpenters.org
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streets in America.
It’s now empty and perhaps the most
vulnerable building to hungry devel-
opers.
In several years, the EBONY/Jet build-
ing will be wedged between two fresh
skyscrapers.
To the north of it will be the 620-foot
“Essex on the Park” skyscraper, which
officially broke ground on Jan. 19. When
completed, the skyscraper overlooking
“
of real estate that’s stuck in the past.
Its uncertain future depends on what
happens in the present, in trending
neighborhoods and in corporate Amer-
ica, where big buildings are in and
smaller ones are out.
Sitting on prime real estate where the
demand for multi-million dollar sky-
scrapers is showing no signs of slow-
ing down, the EBONY/Jet building will
meet the wrecking ball if developers
‘My father started Johnson Publishing Com-
pany to inform, empower and uplift the Afri-
can-American community’ —Linda Johnson Price
Grant Park and Lake Michigan will
have 479 luxury rental apartments.
The deal also includes rehabbing and
expanding the neighboring Essex Inn
Hotel to 271 guest rooms.
Two blocks south of the EBONY/Jet
building will be an 86-story glass sky-
scraper that will resemble a stack of
giant ice cubes.
Reportedly named the Jahn Tower, it
will have 506 units; 308 will be condo-
miniums.
There is the 515-foot tower at 1326 S.
Michigan and the planned twin sky-
scrapers on Indiana Ave., which at 76
stories high, will be third tallest build-
ing south of the Willis Tower.
And this is just the South Loop. Sky-
scrapers are going up on the North
Side, too.
As the city experiences a boom in new
skyscrapers, the house that EBONY/Jet
founder John H. Johnson built remains
a decaying relic that’s up for sale as
hungry developers push the limits of
their projects into unchartered waters.
The buzzards of urban progress are
closing in while the EBONY/Jet build-
ing stands increasingly vulnerable
to extinction as space grows tight on
South Michigan Ave. and demands for
bigger, stylish skyscrapers climb to
greater proportions.
For the EBONY/Jet building, an ed-
ifice whose history and important
contributions to Black America has
inspired generations for decades, the
warning signs are there.
With its EBONY/Jet marquee still
beaming at the top, it’s a valuable piece
seeking to make the next statement on
Michigan Ave. have their way.
On Feb. 2, Mayor Rahm Emanuel an-
nounced that the building would be
considered for preliminary landmark
status by the Commission on Chicago
Landmarks — a nine-member group
that has granted similar status over the
years to over 370 historic sites in Chi-
cago, including the homes of writers
Gwendolyn Brooks, Lorraine Hansber-
ry and Richard Wright.
The group’s latest move capped a
month of researching and writing a
preliminary report about the history
of the EBONY/Jet building.
“My father started Johnson Publish-
ing Company to inform, empower and
uplift the African-American commu-
nity,” Linda Johnson Rice, chairman
of Johnson Publishing Company and
chairman emeritus of Ebony Media
Holdings, said in a statement. “With my
mother Eunice by his side, they built
an iconic brand. I am thrilled that the
building housed our company for so
many years and is being considered for
landmark status. It’s a true testament
to the hard work of my parents and all
the people who called Johnson Publish-
ing Company home for decades.”
A member with the city’s Historic
Preservation Division whose staff sits
on the city’s Landmark Commission
said the group could take up to nine
months to decide whether the EBONY/
Jet building should be an official Chica-
go landmark.
The commission has seven require-
ments for landmark designation.