Demolition started today, November 3, 2009, on the Michael Reese Hospital Laundry building.  The incredible building was the first design Walter Gropius worked on to be erected in the state of Illinois, finishing work in 1948-1949.   The Gropius in Chicago Coalition mourns this completely unacceptable and tragic loss.

Gropius worked solely with the Michael Reese Hospital Planning Staff to design the building.  The local architects on the staff working with him were John T. Black, Reginald R. Isaacs, and George Kolinsky.   

The building intentionally set the tone for the campus buildings that followed, and was unique in part because there was no local firm of record beyond the hospital that collaborated on the design.

We will publish a proper obituary for this phenomenal building in the days to come. 

The facade of the Nurses’ Home, as seen through the demolition activity of the Laundry Building.

© Grahm M. Balkany / Gropius in Chicago Coalition