Old Cuneo Hospital headed for demolition

These are proving to be tough times for Chicago hospitals designed by architects who pushed the envelope of modern architecture to explore the design possibilities of the circle.

In the Streeterville neighborhood, Bertrand Goldberg's Prentice Women's Hospital is being dismantled by Northwestern University, which plans to build a new research facility at the site after a long fight with preservationists.

And now in Uptown, a similar fate appears to await the former Cuneo Hospital, designed by a distinguished but lesser-known Chicago architect, Edo Belli. A demolition permit has been issued for the long-shuttered building while a small but determined group of preservationists and neighborhood activists continue efforts to save it.

Like old Prentice, Cuneo's design has both fans and detractors.

Naysayers argue that the demise of the curvilinear structure at Montrose and Clarendon avenues, distinctive but in bad repair, would be no loss to Uptown's skyline. The hospital was operated by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart until it closed in 1988, then used for some years as a children's shelter.

Yet Preservation Chicago named Cuneo to its list of the seven most noteworthy threatened structures in 2012, praising its "whimsical yet thoughtful approach to hospital design, including a roof line that resembles an artist's palette."

That may matter little because the local alderman, James Cappleman, favors a developer's plan to replace the old hospital with a high-rise development.

Cappleman notes that the building lacks landmark status. Ward Miller, director of Preservation Chicago, acknowledges that is unlikely to change because "the city has been traditionally loath to landmark boarded-up structures that need rehabbing."

The issue is scheduled for a vote Monday by the 46th Ward Zoning and Development Committee, made up of representatives of block clubs and neighborhood organizations. Ultimately, the alderman will make the call.

John Holden, a member of the committee, said Cuneo's fate has gotten less than a "robust hearing." A developer who wanted to offer a plan to renovate and repurpose the building wasn't encouraged, according to Holden.

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Old Cuneo Hospital headed for demolition