HELP STOP THE LANDGRAB AND DEVELOPMENT OF PARKLAND IN ITS TRACKS!
The Landmarked Receptory and Stables building remains threatened by unsanctioned development, which is currently at a standstill, but the threat remains. The construction of the new 6800 square foot barn-like building compromised the integrity of the site by cutting down mature trees and excavating the protected Jens Jensen designed landscape. It also violates the majestic views and protected elevations of the masterful building (Frommann & Jebsen, completed 1896) designed to be viewed in the round.
The new structure was built without permission from the Park District, without permits from the Department of Buildings, and without required pre-construction community input.
Furthermore, the museum CEO made a statement about plans to take control of additional parkland which "...IN A LATER PHASE WILL ESTABLISH AN OUTDOOR ENTERTAINMENT STAGE SIMILAR TO RAVINIA." Ravinia is 36 acres. Shearing off acreage to establish a large privately controlled entertainment complex to run a year 'round mega-fest is a detestable concept and THE PLAN MUST BE STOPPED.
The type of traffic and use that a year-round mega entertainment complex would bring to the historic site would further ruin the landscape, and the Receptory building would degrade if pressed into this kind of service. We need to stand strong against this illegal construction and GET IT TORN DOWN, and get the landscape restored. In doing so, hopefully we nip future parkland development plans in the bud. We must succeed in protecting public lands, so it is there to serve us and future generations of Chicagoans.
Attend the Community Meeting and through your presence and by your voices let those responsible experience our collective thwarting and on no uncertain terms see where the community stands.
LOVE your park. LOVE historic preservation. PROTEST this unsanctioned atrocity.
The meeting is being held at the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture, starting at 5:30PM, at 3015 W. Division St. Parking in the lot is limited, but there is abundant free parking in the park along Luis Munoz Marin Dr.
Had the truth been told since the beginning by the museum operatives about their parkland development plans there are safeguards in place that would have allowed for several community meetings. But backroom deals made behind closed doors equal cinderblocks erected out-of-place on parkland, paid for out of taxpayer pockets. This kind of corruption can be stopped. But we need you on-site to protest to accomplish this. Join us to protect what belongs to all of us.
If you need more information, please read Preservation Chicago's 16-page Statement of Facts, which is linked here, along with links to copies of dozens of documents obtained through FOIA requests:
https://www.preservationchicago.org/humboldt-park-stables-statement-of-facts/
And please sign and share the petition started by longtime Humboldt Park residents: