Hoping for rebirth

A new year approaches, and with it comes the specter of rebirth andthe anticipation of wishes fulfilled. These are the promises of thecalendar's turn. That and the fact that it gives an architecturecritic - who never makes New Year's resolutions - yet another chanceto come up with a list of promises for other people to keep.

Here's hoping the New Year brings:

A clue for Block 37. Is any place as doomed as Block 37? Hereis prime land sitting in the middle of a reborn downtown, and they'rehaving trouble unloading the thing. Surprising? Not really. Muchof the Loop's rebirth - especially the theater district - has come atthe hands of expensive tax increment financing. When people are usedto getting subsidized milk, it's tough finding a customer willing topay full price.Salvation for churches. Last year, a Chicago Sun-Times serieswarned that many of the beautiful churches - wonderful pieces ofarchitecture built by our grandparents at great sacrifice - areliterally falling apart because congregations can't afford tomaintain them. A great old place, the former New TestamentMissionary Baptist Church, was demolished this month. A few monthsago, St. Basil's Roman Catholic Church on West Garfield Boulevard wascut down. What churches will we lose next year?The city, preservationists and religious bodies must gettogether and identify troubled, architecturally significant churches,beat the drum and press for a way to save them.The drive back in Lake Shore Drive. The Illinois Department ofTransportation is spending millions to rebuild South Lake ShoreDrive, but they've got to find a way to make their product seem lesslike an expressway. Get rid of the Dan Ryan-intensity lights. Widenthe medians, and landscape them better. Remember the gospel ofAliotta, Haynes and Jeremiah and keep it holy.A city college for Englewood. The Sun-Times reported in thefall that the city is considering building a college campus, housingand new stores in the sagging Englewood shopping center at 63rd andHalsted. An announcement was expected, but we've heard nothing. Theplan sounds like just the thing needed to breathe new life intoEnglewood. The city must now pull off the wraps and allow thecommunity to touch, feel and help shape the plan.A lesson from the Pullman fire. The fire earlier this month atthe Pullman Factory building was a frustrating thing to anyoneconcerned about architectural preservation. What's worse is that itcould have been prevented if state cash promised for the project 10years ago had arrived sooner. If that had happened, the buildingwould have been a tourist-drawing transportation museum instead ofjust another vacant South Side building.Saner fast-track demolition. The Sun-Times reported this yearthat the city has demolished the equivalent of 60 blocks of housingunder its five-year-old fast-track demolition program, leaving scoresof vacant lots on the South and West sides. A lot of the homes wereshacks, but many could have been rehabbed had the city worked to makethem available to rehabbers. Here's hoping the city begins soundingthe alarm before rolling the bulldozers.A renaissance for Winneconna Parkway. The city took good carethis year of this hidden South Side jewel bounded by 79th, 77th,Vincennes and Fielding. The area's lagoon has been restored, and newhomes are planned, but its time to turn attention to the existing100-year-old homes in this community, built in the 1890s as anexclusive suburb. There is a wide array of housing styles there, butmany of the dwellings need a little help. This would be a good spotfor banks and the city to do a good thing and make some rehab cashavailable to residents in the area. With a little assistance, thearea could become one of the most beautiful residential spots in thecity.E-mail: scoopbey@aol.com