Columbia College Chicago was recipient of a 2004 Campus Heritage Grant from the J. Paul Getty Foundation, and awarded $150,000 to undertake the development of a comprehensive Campus Preservation Plan and Historic Building Restoration Guidelines for nine of its buildings in the South Loop area. This eclectic group of buildings constructed between 1886 and 1930 are considered to be of significant historic architectural importance, and their long term survival is the primary goal of this effort. Funding from the Campus Heritage Grant has supported the historic research and comprehensive evaluation of each building leading to the development of preservation recommendations and determination of the buildings' eligibility for local and national historic designation.

The buildings on Columbia's campus have a rich history. Many were designed by significant architects, including William Le Baron Jenney, Christian Eckstrom and the firm of Holabird and Root, in America's most important city for architecture: Chicago. These buildings demonstrate a surprising continuity in the ways they have been used throughout their lives. They have housed galleries, a theater, music schools, publishers, recording studios, a progressive social club and a film distributor. All of these activities are directly or indirectly related to the mission of Columbia College Chicago: to provide innovative educational opportunities in the visual, performing, media and communication arts. We are proud to present the landmark building heritage of the campus to the Columbia College community.

This project would not have been possible without the work of the following people:

--Anne McGuire, McGuire Igleski and Associates, Inc., Historical Architect, Historic Preservationist
--Tim Wittman, Historic Preservation Consultant
--Calor Design Group, Ltd., Mechanical Electrical and Plumbing Engineering
--Barry A. Goldberg & Company, Structural Engineering
--Schuler & Shook, Architectural Lighting
--Lona Livingston, Corporate and Foundations Relations Director
--Alicia Berg, Vice President of Campus Environment
--Mike Debish, Associate Vice President of Facilities and Operations
--Jo Cates, Associate Vice President for Academic Research & Dean of the Library
--Kim Hale, Acting Library Director & Head of Collection Management
--Larry Oberc, Exhibit Curator & Collection Maintenance/Preservation Librarian
--Heidi Marshall, College Archivist
--Wendy Hall, Special Collections Librarian
--Jessica Alverson, Digital Services Librarian
--John O'Connell, Building Services