Elizabeth Blasius: Chicago must act to protect the South Side’s midcentury modern Pride Cleaners
Pride Cleaners building at 558 E. 79th St. in Chicago on March 12, 2026. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
From the Chicago Tribune: On Feb. 28, the last orders of crisply pressed dress shirts passed through the doors of 79th Street’s iconic Pride Cleaners. After nearly 70 years cleaning South Siders’ uniforms, sweaters and suits from a building straight out of the futurism of “The Jetsons,” Pride Cleaners closed its doors — leaving its future uncertain.
Pride Cleaners, located at 558 E. 79th St. and designed by architect Gerald Siegwart in 1959, was built during a period when midcentury modern design was used to capture the attention of consumers with shape and flash.
Yet Pride Cleaners, both the angled, parabolic building and the towering, colorful pylon sign out front, captured more than customers. This humble dry cleaner, a de jure Chicago landmark, has been photographed by professionals and amateurs alike; has appeared in books, films and music videos; and has become a keystone in conversations about the significance of Chicago’s South Side to this city’s architectural heritage.
New Preservation Austin HQ opens on Red River Street in restored McFarland-McBee House
Neon sign lighting at the McFarland-McBee House (Credit: TWest Photography)
From CBS Austin: AUSTIN, Texas — Preservation Austin has completed a years-long rehabilitation project with the opening of its new headquarters, the McFarland-McBee House at 3805 Red River Street.
The 1947 home, a rare example of Streamline Moderne architecture, will now serve as a central hub for the organization’s offices, advocacy, and public programming.
Celebrate the 100th anniversary of historic Route 66 with the Missouri Historical Society
Exterior of Rich and Creamy, built in 1965, on historical Route 66. (EJ_Rodriquez via Getty Images)
From creators.yahoo.com: Epic road trips have been a quintessential American experience ever since the invention of the automobile. While America has many spectacular road trips to take, perhaps none is as iconic as Route 66, popularly known as the Mother Road.
This legendary highway runs for 2,448 miles between Chicago and the Santa Monica Pier on the California coast, passing through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. Forever glorified in movies, music, and nostalgia, the route is known for dramatic scenery and unique, quirky motels, restaurants, and other attractions.
Nonprofit leaves Johnie’s Coffee Shop as changes transform the Miracle Mile
The Johnie’s Coffee Shop at Wilshire and Fairfax housed the nonprofit Community Solidarity Project, which provides aid to people in need. (photo by Edwin Folven)
From the Beverly Press: Change is coming to the former Johnie’s Coffee Shop at the northwest corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue.
The Community Solidarity Project, a nonprofit that has used the vacant coffee shop as a hub for activism and community-serving programs for 10 years, is preparing to clear out within the next month. The Community Solidarity Project supports grassroots groups and local nonprofits through the distribution of essential items such as water, groceries and household supplies. The organization collects donated goods and makes them available to people in need and organizations that provide assistance in communities.
The Johnie’s Coffee Shop building is owned by the Gold family, which previously owned the 99 Cents store chain before selling it in 2011. The family also owns the vacant 99 Cents Store and Sizzler buildings on Wilshire Boulevard just west of Fairfax Avenue, where graffiti has been removed and a temporary wall has been installed in front of the former retail store.
‘It’s very bittersweet for me’: Hollywood Blvd. Cinema to auction decades of movie memorabilia to fund makeover
Replica Bluesmobile and a statue of ‘Elwood Blues’ have been displayed on the roof of Hollywood Blvd. Cinema in Woodridge. They are among items that will be up for auction on March 28. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com<
From the Illinois Daily Herald: Do you want to bid on a Buddha? There’s a bunch of them.
How about storyboard sketches from the 1960 John Wayne movie, “The Alamo”? A sculpture of King Tut’s burial mask? A dress once owned by Whitney Houston? A life mask of Vincent Price? A stainless steel ice bin? Marilyn Monroe’s funeral prayer card?
Or the grail, perhaps, the facsimile Bluesmobile secured atop the Hollywood Blvd. Cinema in Woodridge, with fiberglass statues of John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd included. Opening bid: $5,000.
Some 600 items reflecting decades of accumulated memorabilia, decor, fixtures, and furnishings will be on the block when Donley Auctions holds “The Redesign Auction” for Hollywood Blvd. Cinema.
Lucy the Elephant secures federal funds a year after DOGE cuts left renovations up in the air
Lucy the Elephant will undergo interior renovations next year after securing funding through state and federal grants and hundreds of private donations. THOM CARROLL/FOR PHILLYVOICE
From the Philly Voice: Supporters of Lucy the Elephant, the 64-foot-tall historical landmark in Margate that’s older than the Statue of Liberty, said they have received enough funding through state and federal grants and private donations to undergo critical repairs after the Trump administration threw a wrench in previously approved plans.
Last year, the Save Lucy Committee had secured $800,000 for renovations through a $300,000 state grant and $500,000 from the National Park Service’s Save America’s Treasures program. But last April, DOGE clawed back the federal money, leaving Lucy’s supporters with an uphill climb to fill in the funding gap.
“How do you have a contract, a promise from the government of the United States of America, and they default on it,” Rich Helfant, executive director of the Save Lucy Committee, said at the time. “That’s a pretty sad statement to make, but it happened.”