Chicago-based Harboe Architects will develop a conservation management plan for the building, which celebrates the 125th anniversary of its design this year.

When a blocked sewer caused major water damage to the 1891-1892 Louis Sullivan- and Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Charnley-Persky House in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood in August 2014, the Society of Architectural Historians (SAH), which has owned the building since 1995, was quick to repair the damage. But the extent of the damage and abruptness of the repair left the SAH thinking that it needed to do something more to preserve the national historic landmark.

“It made us worry about, in this older building, what other problems were out there that we weren’t aware of,” says SAH executive director Pauline Saliga. “We needed more information in order to address them proactively.”

Read More