WEST LOOP — A one-time nightclub where the roots of house music spread from a group of Chicago DJs to worldwide prominence is now an official city landmark.
In the late ’70s and early ’80s, The Warehouse at 206 S. Jefferson St. in the West Loop was home to dance parties hosted by legendary Chicago DJ Frankie Knuckles, who helped create house music and popularize it around the world.
The building — today home to law offices — has been at the center of a recent push to recognize Chicago’s contributions to house music, as well as the numerous LGBTQ+, Black and Latino Chicagoans who helped define the genre.
The City Council approved a landmark designation for The Warehouse Wednesday, the final step in a process that began earlier this year when Preservation Chicago listed it as one of Chicago’s seven most endangered buildings.
The building previously had no historical protections, opening the possibility it could be demolished after being sold in December to lawyers Shneur Nathan and Avi Kamionski, according to Cook County records.
That led to thousands of people signing an online petition calling on the city to “save” the West Loop building. The landmark designation would protect the building’s facade and roofline from being altered by the current owner.
Kamionski appeared at an April virtual meeting of the Commission on Chicago Landmarks to ensure the city and others that he and Nathan would not demolish the property. He said they planned on renovating the interior in order to move their law firm, Nathan & Kamionski LLP, into the building.
The commission approved final landmark status for The Warehouse earlier this month with the backing of preservation groups, local officials and house fans from the around the world. It was then given the green light by the City Council’s zoning committee Tuesday.
“It was at this club, with the iconic DJ Frankie Knuckles at the helm, that house music was developed. From The Warehouse, this new sound spread from Chicago living rooms to the rest of the world,” Max Chavez, the director of research and special projects with Preservation Chicago, said at Tuesday’s zoning meeting.
Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th) praised the landmark designation at Wednesday’s meeting. The newly-appointed chair of the Council’s zoning committee said he was “so pleased” the ordinance was moving forward during Pride Month.
“The Warehouse at 206 South Jefferson is where Black and Brown Chicagoans celebrated life and love and the birth of house music, a genre that has taken over the globe,” he said. “The Warehouse is where Frankie Knuckles, a Grammy winner and proud openly gay Black man, created a safe space for everyone.”
Alderpeople also approved a landmark designation Wednesday for Edgewater’s Epworth Church, 5253 N. Kenmore Ave.
Block Club’s Melody Mercado contributed.
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