Prentice Demolition Nears Completion

On a number of occasions in the last two years we documented the unsuccessful fight to save Bertrand Goldberg's old Prentice Women's Hospital at Northwestern University's Chicago campus. First the Chicago Club asked architects to imagine creative ways of reusing the concrete, clover-shaped building; then the Chicago Commission on Public Landmarks denied preserving the building, even after a lawsuit filed by preservationists; then Perkins+Will was selected as the architect for the glass tower that will replace Goldberg's building from 1975.

So it's with some sadness and nostalgia (this author comes from Chicago and had visited the parents of newborn babies in the building) that we share this photo showing the demolition of the cantilevered concrete volume almost complete. Perhaps if more people see this unfortunate act they will reconsider the demolition of highly original buildings from the middle of last century.