two 1870's italianate conjoined rowhouses fronted with "athens marble" face the wrecking ball

several 1870's-era joilet limestone commercial and residential structures have been wiped away from chicago's ciyscape this year. i find this deeply disconcerting. could you imagine buildings in soho, fronted with cast iron facades, being broken apart and scrapped? just as with the buildings in soho's cast iron district, i'm equally obsessed by the 1870's yellowish-colored "athens marble" or joliet limestone buildings still standing in chicago. i've developed a great affinity towards these structures since i began taking stock of chicago's architectural inventory around the time of the great chicago fire. with so many now threatened with demolition, i feel they are on the verge of extinction. i've devoted several posts to this unique building material, which was quarried from joilet, ills., where it was a favored treatment known as "athens marble" (named after its off-white color when first quarried - exposure to the elements over time gives it the tan-colored color) used on buildings resurrected after the great chicago fire of 1871.

the other day i visited two italianate style lemont limestone-fronted flats located at 1000 w. monroe street. the vacated 1870's-era structures are faced with demolition before the end of the year. while no green fence has begun to suffocate the lot, the buildings appear to be completely empty - standing helplessly while lifelines (e.g., gas, water, and electric) are cut off one by one. since the yet to-be-built condos are already being sold on the real estate market, any and all preventive measures seem moot at this point.