Landmark status could be coming to Old Irving Park house on Tripp Ave

by BRIAN NADIG

The Commission on Chicago Landmarks at its March 7 meeting approved a preliminary landmark recommendation for an Old Irving Park home following reported concerns that it could be demolished.

The Queen Anne-style John Nuveen House, which is located on an oversized lot at 3916 N. Tripp Ave., was built in 1892 and features a corner tower with a pyramid roof, a large front porch and a variety or decorative elements on its facade. Nuveen was the founder of an investment banking firm in Chicago in 1898.

In January of 2018 the city issued several citations for alleged violations with the property, including a failure to maintain the exterior walls free from holes and performing alterations or demolishing a portion of the building without a permit, according to the city Department of Buildings Web site.

“The commission makes a preliminary recommendation that protects the property, then conducts additional research and refines the scope of the proposed designation, including working with the owner to gain consent. Months later they issue a final recommendation that’s forwarded to City Council for consideration,” city Department of Planning and Development spokesman Peter Strazzabosco said in a statement.

The Nuveen House is one of about 9,600 orange-designated properties on the city’s Historic Resources Survey. The orange category refers to structures which possess some architectural feature or historical association which make them potentially significant in the context of the surrounding community.

Despite the need for repairs, the planning department maintains that the house “retains good integrity.” The nonprofit Preservation Chicago has been supportive of landmark designation for the Nuveen House.

On the Facebook page for the Old Irving Park Association, some posters claim the house is in poor condition and the city should not force the owner to preserve the building, while others support the proposed landmark status, which would prohibit the home’s demolition.