Nominations for the 2025 Landmarks Illinois Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Awards
We are pleased to announce that Landmarks Illinois is now accepting nominations for the 2025 Landmarks Illinois Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Awards.
Our annual awards program honors outstanding preservation projects, individuals, organizations, and advocacy efforts that demonstrate a strong commitment to protecting the places that matter to the people and communities of Illinois. The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation has generously underwritten Landmarks Illinois’ annual preservation awards program since 1994.
All nominations will be considered for awards through the Landmarks Illinois Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Awards program. *Award recipients will be honored at a public ceremony in Chicago in October 2024. Recipients also receive a cash prize and a custom-designed trophy.
*Details on the event will be announced at a later date.
ELIGIBILITY
Nominated projects must have been completed within Illinois' geographical boundaries within the last five years. Phased projects may be considered if the nominated phase is complete and can stand on its own merits.
Additionally:
· Nominations may be submitted in someone’s honor and/or without the knowledge of the nominee
· Self-nominations will be accepted
· Nominations that were not selected for awards in a previous year may be revised and resubmitted, provided the five-year time limit has not been exceeded.
AWARD DETAILS
Winners of the 2025 Landmarks Illinois Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Awards will be selected from the following categories:
ADVOCACY – An effective local or statewide campaign to preserve and protect a historic resource.
• Communication/Publications • Community Effort/Grassroots Campaign • Education/Programming
LEADERSHIP—An individual, municipality, private organization or joint partnership that has championed historic preservation, planning, or public policy.
• Emerging Leader • Professional • Legislator · Volunteer · Lifetime Achievement
PRESERVATION – Projects that make possible the continued use of historic commercial/industrial buildings, multi-family/affordable housing residences, public/institutional structures, or preserve a cultural heritage site.
• Adaptive Use
• Cultural Heritage Conservation
• Rehabilitation
• Restoration
• Stabilization
• Stewardship
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY – Mitigation of climate change through preservation technologies.
RICHARD H. DRIEHAUS LEGACY AWARD
One of the selected winners will receive the Richard H. Driehaus Legacy Award, which honors the memory of the late Richard H. Driehaus. The recipient of this esteemed award must demonstrate the immense power of preservation, following in the footsteps of Driehaus, who believed reusing places of our past creates positive change and motivates others to save important places.
JUDGING PROCESS & CRITERIA
Landmarks Illinois invites a jury of preservation professionals to review nominations for the Landmarks Illinois Richard H. Driehaus Preservation Awards. Landmarks Illinois strives to achieve balanced representation from various preservation disciplines throughout the state.
The nominees and projects that most closely emulate Landmarks Illinois’ values and Guiding Principles in preservation will receive the greatest consideration.
Nominations are also judged on the following:
• Impact a project or person has had on an Illinois community
• Quality and degree of difficulty of the project
• Degree to which the project serves as an example of excellence in historic preservation and influences others
• Degree to which the project aligns with Landmarks Illinois’ mission of People Saving Places for People
• Degree to which the project or person supports diversity, equity, inclusion, justice and/or environmental sustainability
• Innovative solutions to preservation including, but not exclusive to. creative partnerships or community engagement efforts, original programming, job creation or economic development, innovative adaptive reuse, best practices in sustainability or technologies that mitigate climate change, cultural sustainability or heritage conservation, and/or creative financing or funding sources
NOMINATION DEADLINE: JUNE 1, 2025
CONTACT: Leila Wills, lwills@landmarks.org
This fund honors and celebrates the life and work of the late acclaimed historian and civil rights activist, Timuel D. Black, Jr.
The Fund will support grantees with planning and capital projects in their effort to preserve and promote the history, culture, and architecture of Chicago’s South Side.
These grants are intended to provide monetary assistance to preserve or protect significant structures or sites. Eligible beneficiaries of Timuel D. Black, Jr. Fund grants are significant structures or sites located on Chicago’s South Side that are of such architectural or cultural importance that their preservation will benefit the public and community.
The Timuel D. Black, Jr. Fund Grant Guidelines can be found at Landmarks.org. A project must be for the purpose of preserving through rehabilitation, restoration or adaptive reuse, all or part of an Eligible Structure or Site. A project may include one or more of the following services provided each service can satisfy the project conditions described in the Grant Guidelines:
- Engineering, architectural, and feasibility studies
- Stabilization
- Rehabilitation
- Legal services
- Surveys and National Register Nominations
Eligibility
Grants are awarded from the Fund to planning, capital, and other projects related to the Fund’s purpose. Eligible applicants include commercial property owners, business owners, nonprofit and community organizations, faith-based and educational institutions. A 3:1 match of awarded grant funds is required. Grants range from $500 - $10,000.
Grant Boundaries
The South Side is approximately defined as the following boundaries:
· South of Cermak Road;
· West of Lake Michigan;
· East of S. Ashland Avenue;
· North of the southern boundary of the city of Chicago.
Application deadlines: January 1 and July 1
Contact
Suzanne Germann, Director of Reinvestment
(312) 922-1742
These grants are intended to provide monetary assistance to preserve or protect significant resources in the state of Illinois. Eligible beneficiaries of Preservation Heritage Fund Grants are significant resources in Illinois that are under threat of demolition, in imminent deterioration, in need of stabilization, in need of structural or re-use evaluation, or need to be evaluated for landmark eligibility.
The Preservation Heritage Fund Grant Guidelines can be found at Landmarks.org.
A project must be for the purpose of preserving through rehabilitation, restoration or adaptive reuse, all or part of an Eligible Resource.
A project may include one or more of the following services provided each service can satisfy the project conditions described in the Grant Guidelines:
- Engineering, architectural, and feasibility studies
- Stabilization
- Rehabilitation
- Legal services
- Surveys and National Register Nominations
- Preservation ordinance support
Application deadlines: April 1 and October 1.
Contact
Suzanne Germann, Director of Reinvestment
(312) 922-1742
sgermann@landmarks.org
The Barbara C. and Thomas E. Donnelley II Preservation Fund for Illinois provides monetary assistance to preserve or protect significant resources in Illinois. Eligible beneficiaries include significant resources in Illinois that are under threat of demolition, in imminent deterioration, in need of stabilization, in need of structural or re-use evaluation, or need to be evaluated for landmark eligibility. Landmarks Illinois manages the fund, which was established in 2013.
The Donnelley Preservation Fund Grant Guidelines can be found at Landmarks.org.
Donnelley Preservation Fund grants are awarded for planning activities and education efforts focused on preservation.
Planning: Support for obtaining professional expert Planning ise in areas such as architecture, archaeology, engineering, preservation planning, land-use planning, and law. Eligible planning activities include, but are not limited to:
- Hiring a preservation architect or landscape architect to produce a historic structure report or historic landscape master plan
- Hiring a preservation planner to produce design guidelines for a historic district
- Hiring a real estate development consultant to produce an economic feasibility study for the reuse of a threatened resource
- Sponsoring a community forum to develop a shared vision for the future of a historic neighborhood
Education and Outreach: Support for preservation ed Education and Outreach ucation activities aimed at the public with particular interest in programs aimed at reaching new audiences. Funding will be provided to projects that employ innovative techniques and formats aimed at introducing new audiences to the preservation movement
A project may include one or more of the following services provided each service can satisfy the project conditions described in the grant guidelines:
- Engineering, architectural, and feasibility studies
- Legal services
- Surveys and National Register Nominations
- Preservation ordinance support
Application deadlines: April 1 and October 1
Contact
Suzanne Germann, Director of Reinvestment
(312) 922-1742
sgermann@landmarks.org
Owners of properties protected by a preservation easement are required to obtain the approval of Landmarks Illinois before making alterations to the protected elements of the property. Please contact Landmarks Illinois prior to commencement of any work to ensure that proposed maintenance and alterations are in accordance with the easement agreement. If necessary, you will need to complete the followng Request for Alterations Form.
Landmarks Illinois’ Easement Committee, a group comprised of historic preservation professionals, reviews proposed alterations to easement properties at their monthly meeting, which typically takes place the first Thursday of the month. The Request for Alterations Form and any additional materials need to be received by Landmarks Illinois at least one and a half weeks prior to the meeting (Monday of the prior week).
Landmarks Illinois uses the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation when reviewing proposed alterations to easement properties. It is recommended that the applicant review the Standards prior to submitting this form.
We encourage you to refer to Landmarks Illinois’ Illinois Restoration Resource Directory when looking to make repairs and alterations.
Contact: Amber Delgado, Easements and Advocacy Associate · 312-922-1742 · adelgado@landmarks.org