HIBS DOCUMENTATION
Client: Village of River Forest
Jean supervised Historic Illinois Buildings Survey (HIBS) recordation for the Lutheran Child Welfare Association (LCWA) Building in River Forest, Illinois, a project that was undertaken to mitigate the adverse effects of its demolition, per the Illinois State Agency Historic Resources Preservation Act. She researched and wrote the HIBS report; worked with photographer Leslie Schwartz, who took the required large format black-and-white photographs; and identified existing architectural drawings to submit with the final recordation package.
The Lutheran Child Welfare Association (LCWA) Building was constructed in 1960 as the new headquarters for this social services organization, which was formerly located in Addison, Illinois. It was designed by Holabird & Root, a nationally significant, Chicago-based architecture firm established in 1928 as the successor to Holabird & Roche. The firm is best known for its Art Deco skyscrapers of the 1920s and its large-scale, modernistic commercial and institutional projects of the post-World War II era. A perforated stone screen and two vertical strips of glass blocks provided visual interest to the flat-roofed, L-shaped, split-level office building. Colored, etched glass windows featuring 12 symbols of Christian social services filled the three large bays on Madison Street, providing an ecclesiastical appearance to the unique edifice. The windows were designed by Father A.R. Kretzmann, pastor of St. Luke’s Lutheran Church of Chicago.
