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Saturday, July 27, 2013
Saturday, June 29, 2013
"Reagan Big, Hearts Small"
The final word, for now, on efforts to save Reagan Chicago Home... for more, see http://friendsofpresidentreaganschicagohome.blogspot.com/
Just as the wrecking ball was poised to swing at President Reagan’s home on Chicago’s South Side, where he lived when he was 3-4 and survived near-fatal pneumonia, President Barack Obama put brain research in the national spotlight.
Valerie Jarrett and Michelle Obama played huge roles at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Their former colleague, Susan Sher, the first lady’s chief of staff and a major player in the passage of Obamacare, now serves both as senior adviser to University of Chicago president Robert J. Zimmer and executive vice president for corporate strategy and public affairs at the medical center. Funding for the research centers has seriously lagged, falling tens of millions of dollars short of its goal, according to Crain’s.
By week’s end, I felt like I had been bulldozed. It had been a rigorous climb, aided by key allies on our board and beyond, many who were Reagan intimates. Not only did we have the city and university as obstacles but many of our natural allies, unlike Reagan, had adopted an attitude, “It Can’t Be Done.”
Recently, a huge surprise was waiting outside my door. A friend had “bribed (Chicago style)” a key person for “a keepsake commemorating ‘our President's childhood home.’” After waiting quite some time, this key person, he said, returned with a brick from Reagan’s home, reporting, it “would not be allowed again.”
He wanted me to have “something solid upon which to build a future,” inscribing it, “R. Reagan Home, 4.4.2013, Chicago” and said I probably have the only brick from the home. (Albeit those who knew that one of America’s greatest presidents had once lived there were able to retrieve some bricks as keepsakes in that small window before they were swooped away from the sidewalk.)
“While it is true that Heneghan Wrecking (‘We Make Space’),” he wrote, “used the open street to position their heavy equipment, they contained all the demolition and debris behind a locked-fence area. That made it impossible for the ‘public’ to pick up any mementos.”
Each day they carted off all the debris “whether wood, metal, or masonry”—which is highly irregular, he said. “Typically such piles accumulate on-site until the walls are down, basement filled, and ground leveled. Consequently, I don’t think many souvenirs for future generation to cherish will ever turn up.”
He was “pleased to note” that “the brick was 100% solid. Brickyards were turning out lighter units with core holes (typically 3 large holes, sometimes 8-12 small ones) by 1915-1920 in order to decrease kiln time and speed up production. We can be sure, therefore, that this brick was part of the original building and not some later alteration.”
The callousness of the city of Chicago and the university, not only in forbidding mementos but, more importantly, in razing Reagan’s home, is at variance with Ronald Reagan, Mr. Sunshine and Optimism himself. Should we therefore be surprised that Chicago was recently ranked the fourth most miserable city to live in by Forbes?
They needed the envisioned Ronald Reagan Museum and Center. Blending the old and the new, as First Lady Jackie Kennedy did with Lafayette Square, was entirely possible. But, for her vision and determination, Lafayette Square would be covered with one monstrosity of a building today.
Now, perhaps with a government assist, courtesy Obama, the site where little “Dutch” Reagan lived and dreamed of becoming a firefighter will, in time, be covered with just such a monstrosity. That it will house those who hope to find a cure for Alzheimer’s underscores how important and appropriate it was to save the home. But, it was not to be. The larger lesson, in the end, had nothing to do with our brains, but with our hearts and how small they had grown.
Mary Claire Kendall is a writer in Washington and president of Friends of President Reagan’s Chicago Home.
Originally published in The Weekly Standard http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/reagan-big-hearts-small_720609.html
Reagan Big, Hearts Small
Mary Claire Kendall
May 3, 2013 3:05 PM
 |
| As The Weekly Standard noted, "The Gipper went for growth." |
At that moment, the networks all broke in for Obama’s announcement that he was directing $100 million of the 2014 budget to the government’s BRAIN initiative (Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies).
Under Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s leadership, Chicago refused to landmark Reagan’s home, thus making way for a state of the art Alzheimer’s research center (a companion to the nearby Center for Care and Discovery)—a decision the wrecking ball that day was carrying out. This, in spite of the fact that Chicago’s Landmarks Commission considered the home landmarkable during Reagan’s presidency.
Valerie Jarrett and Michelle Obama played huge roles at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Their former colleague, Susan Sher, the first lady’s chief of staff and a major player in the passage of Obamacare, now serves both as senior adviser to University of Chicago president Robert J. Zimmer and executive vice president for corporate strategy and public affairs at the medical center. Funding for the research centers has seriously lagged, falling tens of millions of dollars short of its goal, according to Crain’s.
By week’s end, I felt like I had been bulldozed. It had been a rigorous climb, aided by key allies on our board and beyond, many who were Reagan intimates. Not only did we have the city and university as obstacles but many of our natural allies, unlike Reagan, had adopted an attitude, “It Can’t Be Done.”
In the end, it wasn’t meant to be. A larger lesson was intended.
Recently, a huge surprise was waiting outside my door. A friend had “bribed (Chicago style)” a key person for “a keepsake commemorating ‘our President's childhood home.’” After waiting quite some time, this key person, he said, returned with a brick from Reagan’s home, reporting, it “would not be allowed again.”
He wanted me to have “something solid upon which to build a future,” inscribing it, “R. Reagan Home, 4.4.2013, Chicago” and said I probably have the only brick from the home. (Albeit those who knew that one of America’s greatest presidents had once lived there were able to retrieve some bricks as keepsakes in that small window before they were swooped away from the sidewalk.)
“While it is true that Heneghan Wrecking (‘We Make Space’),” he wrote, “used the open street to position their heavy equipment, they contained all the demolition and debris behind a locked-fence area. That made it impossible for the ‘public’ to pick up any mementos.”
Each day they carted off all the debris “whether wood, metal, or masonry”—which is highly irregular, he said. “Typically such piles accumulate on-site until the walls are down, basement filled, and ground leveled. Consequently, I don’t think many souvenirs for future generation to cherish will ever turn up.”
He was “pleased to note” that “the brick was 100% solid. Brickyards were turning out lighter units with core holes (typically 3 large holes, sometimes 8-12 small ones) by 1915-1920 in order to decrease kiln time and speed up production. We can be sure, therefore, that this brick was part of the original building and not some later alteration.”
The callousness of the city of Chicago and the university, not only in forbidding mementos but, more importantly, in razing Reagan’s home, is at variance with Ronald Reagan, Mr. Sunshine and Optimism himself. Should we therefore be surprised that Chicago was recently ranked the fourth most miserable city to live in by Forbes?
They needed the envisioned Ronald Reagan Museum and Center. Blending the old and the new, as First Lady Jackie Kennedy did with Lafayette Square, was entirely possible. But, for her vision and determination, Lafayette Square would be covered with one monstrosity of a building today.
Now, perhaps with a government assist, courtesy Obama, the site where little “Dutch” Reagan lived and dreamed of becoming a firefighter will, in time, be covered with just such a monstrosity. That it will house those who hope to find a cure for Alzheimer’s underscores how important and appropriate it was to save the home. But, it was not to be. The larger lesson, in the end, had nothing to do with our brains, but with our hearts and how small they had grown.
Mary Claire Kendall is a writer in Washington and president of Friends of President Reagan’s Chicago Home.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Ronald Reagan’s Heart: Two Emotional, Historical Landmarks
By Mary Claire Kendall
When former President Ronald Reagan visited his birthplace in Tampico, Ilinois on May 10, 1992, this
tender-hearted, consummate gentleman, fast-fading with enveloping Alzheimers,
wept as he laid eyes on the bed, where his mother Nelle had labored for many
difficult hours, said curator Joan Johnson, finally giving birth to him on
February 6, 1911.
His father Jack, Reagan later recounted, quipped right after his
birth, “For such a little bit of a fat Dutchman, he makes a lot of noise
doesn’t he?” But, his mother, though weak, glowed, “I think he’s perfectly
wonderful.” Both the name and the opinion stuck.
All of us who came to understand how “perfectly wonderful”
Ronald Wilson “Dutch” Reagan was, have hearts overflowing
with gratitude for this giant of American history.
Two months ago, I had the privilege of learning more about Ronald Reagan
when I visited his birthplace.
I had planned to travel to Chicago
Once we arrived at the museum in Tampico
Then, too, my connection to Reagan comes via my work in Hollywood
But, there was another reason I was so interested. You see, Redd Griffin was the main champion of saving Reagan’s
In Tampico
When Mr. Pitney sold his store, Jack scrambled for employment and soon
landed a job at Marshall Field’s Mayfair Annex near the University of Chicago Illinois ,
and particularly Chicago
As with Tampico 832 E. 57th Street Chicago
Also, like the birthplace, the Hyde Park
home was the scene of memories that tapped a deep well of emotion for President
Reagan, evidenced by his reaction upon Mayor Jane Byrne presenting a photo of
the home to him in September 1981, six months after the assassination
attempt. His eyes became misty, showing a hint of tears, as he absorbed all
the memories of his time living there—like when four-year-old Dutch and his
brother Neil, nicknamed “Moon,” age six, would go to White City, an amusement
park a mile from their home, where they would sell freshly made popcorn they
were laden down with, to help supplement the family income, increasingly
diminished because of their father Jack’s growing drinking habit in the big
city, where he felt lost among a sea of merchandisers.
All this notwithstanding, this historical, emotional landmark now
hangs in the balance as the City of Chicago decides whether or not to grant it
landmark status and save it from being demolished.
But, if Friends of President Reagan’s Chicago Home, Inc., founded in
December, has anything to say about it, the Reagan home will not only be saved
but will be transformed into a museum that elegantly showcases President
Reagan’s historic presidency while beautifully complementing the university’s
Center for Care and Discovery across the street, including state-of-the-art
Alzheimers research. And, this Chicago home, where, unbeknownst to all little
Dutch was being prepared for greatness, will be added to “The Reagan Trail” of
homes where the only president born and bred in Illinois grew up.
900 words
1/26/13
**********
For those who would like to support the Ronald Reagan Birthplace
financially please visit www.reaganstatue.org. For more
information, contact Joan Johnson, Curator/Mgr, Birthplace of President
Ronald Reagan at 815-622-8705 or via e-mail: reaganbirthplace@thewisp.net or garyjoan@thewisp.net .
They are currently raising the last $30,000 to pay for the statue to be
placed in Reagan Park (formerly Railroad Park
For those who would like to learn more about the Friends of
President Reagan’s Chicago Home, visit www.friendsofpresidentreaganschicagohome.blogspot.com .
"It Can Be Done"
Dear
Friends of President Reagan’s Chicago Home:
We
did it! We incorporated in the State of Illinois on Wednesday, January 16,
2013. Here’s our corporate purpose statement:
Friends of President Reagan’s Chicago Home (the Corporation) is organized and operated exclusively for charitable purposes in accordance with section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (or a corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue law). More specifically, the Corporation is organized to develop and operate a museum and center located at 832 E. 57th Street, in partnership with home’s current owner, reflecting the historical relevance of Reagan’s life growing up there and elsewhere in Illinois. The museum and center will also celebrate President Reagan’s historic accomplishments, highlight his suffering with Alzheimer’s, complementing mission of nearby Center for Care and Discovery, and provide educational and community-enriching opportunities. Friends also intends to make a contribution each year to the other Reagan homes in Illinois underscoring that “The Ronald Reagan Trail” is one, with Chicago home enhancing the whole.With your support, we’re on our way to winning one more for the Gipper!**
As Ronald Reagan always said, “It can be done.”
The quest to save and transform President Reagan’s Chicago Home has, of course, just begun.
For inspiration, I offer Ronald Reagan being sworn in as President of the United States on January 20, 1981, followed by his Inaugural Address.
Who, among us, old enough to remember, can forget that momentous, magnificent day that advanced American freedom and opportunity in such a palpable way?
Who, among us, old enough to remember, can forget that momentous, magnificent day that advanced American freedom and opportunity in such a palpable way?
It won’t be the last! And, this largely symbolic victory of saving Reagan’s home, which is within our reach, will help lay the groundwork for another such goosebump-inducing day, leaving a lump in your throat like that of the Gipper as he told the story of Martin Treptow on D-Day. As newly inaugurated President Reagan said, like Treptow, “With God’s help we can and will resolve the problems which now confront us. And, after all, why shouldn't be believe that? We are Americans.”
Thank you.
Sincerely
yours,
Mary
Claire Kendall
Acting President/CEO
Friends
of President Reagan’s Chicago Home
** On Friday, January 18, we raised our first seed money today to cover initial costs of incorporation and other incidentals, but have several hundred dollars more to go. If you wish to help the cause, you may send your tax-deductible contributions made payable to “Friends of Pres. Reagan’s Chicago Home” to P.O. Box 3772, Washington, DC 20027-3772. Or for those who wish to make a contribution that will arrive more speedily, you may use PayPal. Our email for this purpose is mary.claire@att.net.
** On Friday, January 18, we raised our first seed money today to cover initial costs of incorporation and other incidentals, but have several hundred dollars more to go. If you wish to help the cause, you may send your tax-deductible contributions made payable to “Friends of Pres. Reagan’s Chicago Home” to P.O. Box 3772, Washington, DC 20027-3772. Or for those who wish to make a contribution that will arrive more speedily, you may use PayPal. Our email for this purpose is mary.claire@att.net.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Interim Victory for Friends of President Reagan's Chicago Home
By Mary Claire Kendall
Here is draft of Mission Statement:
The goal of Friends of President Reagan’s Chicago Home is to work with the University of Chicago to develop a plan to transform President Reagan’s Chicago home at 832 E. 57th Street into a museum and center... The museum would be an exact replica of the “six-flat” home as it looked in 1915 when the Reagans lived there, providing information on the historical context and Reagan’s experience there, where in 1915, Chicago had a population of over 2.2 million, whereas Tampico, where Reagan was born and lived until he was three, had a population of less than 1000. The center would be a celebration President Reagan’s historic presidency and would build bridges to the immediate community... as well as to the larger national and international community. A side benefit is the travel and tourism dollars the museum and center would attract, given the deep and broad reservoir of affection for President Reagan nationally and internationally, which would create jobs. “Friends” also intends to make a contribution each year to the other Reagan homes in Illinois to underscore the fact that “The Ronald Reagan Trail” is a team and far from being a zero sum game, the Reagan Chicago Museum and Center will synergistically enhance the whole.
Friends of President Reagan's Chicago Home
P.O. Box 3772
Washington, DC 20027-3772
The initial contribution to help cover the incorporation can be structured as a non-profit donation.
Today,
being the 6th anniversary of the official opening of the home in Barbados where George
Washington lived for two months when he was 19, seems a particularly
fitting time to announce that on Friday, January 11, the Friends of President
Reagan’s Chicago Home, had a MAJOR interim victory.
As Acting President/CEO of the Friends, I spoke with Eleanor Gorski, Assistant
Commissioner for Historic Preservation at the Department of Housing and
Economic Development in Chicago, who approves demolition permits. I had called
the department on Thursday and was told by staff person that there had been “a
lot of back and forth” vis-à-vis the home at “higher levels” and someone would
be contacting me.
Ms.
Gorski affirmed that she fully expects the review process will take the full 90
days and that granting the Reagan home landmark status, after all, is
one of the possibilities they are considering. The home was, of course, denied landmark status in late 2012 about which I wrote in the Washington Examiner.
Only
two days before the department spokesperson, Pete Strazzobosco, was downplaying the worth of the Reagan home. As he told the Hyde Park
Herald, “It’s a pretty modest apartment building for its style and age. It
doesn’t have very much style, at least not enough for the Landmarks Commission
to consider a possible landmark for it.” (January 9 issue) But, the next day at
8 p.m., the University of Chicago’s student newspaper, The Chicago Maroon, reported, that, according to Strazzobosco, “the City of Chicago’s Historic Preservation Division
will use this time to ‘reach out to the property owner and discuss alternatives
to demolition.’”
Friends
were working in a major way behind the scenes in last week,
given what appeared to be the imminent demolition of the home, according to intelligence we had and, indeed, according to
everything we had heard since mid-October when the University of Chicago had a public meeting to announce the home would be demolished. That night the plan
for just a plaque to honor President Reagan’s memory was hatched, a deal my friend the late Redd Griffin brokered as a fallback position. He felt that might be all he could get since all the forces were so heavily weighted against saving the home.
 |
| Photo of site from January 8, 2012, 4:30 p.m. (CT) |
We
will be formally incorporating this week...
Here is draft of Mission Statement:
The goal of Friends of President Reagan’s Chicago Home is to work with the University of Chicago to develop a plan to transform President Reagan’s Chicago home at 832 E. 57th Street into a museum and center... The museum would be an exact replica of the “six-flat” home as it looked in 1915 when the Reagans lived there, providing information on the historical context and Reagan’s experience there, where in 1915, Chicago had a population of over 2.2 million, whereas Tampico, where Reagan was born and lived until he was three, had a population of less than 1000. The center would be a celebration President Reagan’s historic presidency and would build bridges to the immediate community... as well as to the larger national and international community. A side benefit is the travel and tourism dollars the museum and center would attract, given the deep and broad reservoir of affection for President Reagan nationally and internationally, which would create jobs. “Friends” also intends to make a contribution each year to the other Reagan homes in Illinois to underscore the fact that “The Ronald Reagan Trail” is a team and far from being a zero sum game, the Reagan Chicago Museum and Center will synergistically enhance the whole.
More
information to follow...
And,
again, those interested in supporting this cause may send contributions
to:
Friends of President Reagan's Chicago Home
P.O. Box 3772
Washington, DC 20027-3772
The initial contribution to help cover the incorporation can be structured as a non-profit donation.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
To Raze or Not to Raze Reagan Home: 90 Day Review
By Mary Claire Kendall
Here’s my comment on Lee Bey’s article:
Thank you, Lee, for bringing attention to President Ronald Reagan’s Hyde Park home as a young boy. This home, about which he wrote and spoke, had great emotional resonance for our 40th president. It’s an important historic landmark not only for Chicago but for the nation. As I wrote in my Washington Examiner piece last month, “When President Reagan was four, he loved looking out the window of his home on 832 East 57th Street in Hyde Park, not far from the University of Chicago, watching the horse-drawn fire engines storm down the street. He later wrote in a 1988 letter, that watching the firemen ‘come down the street at full gallop ... made me decide I wanted to be a fireman.’ So he did—only the fires he put out were of a larger, geopolitical nature, such as winning the Cold War without firing a shot.” http://washingtonexaminer.com/hyde-park-showdown-over-reagans-childhood-home/article/2515272#.UOZfoKllTQM Goodness gracious, if Barbados can preserve a home whereGeorge Washington lived for only two months, Chicago can find it in its heart and soul to save the only Chicago home of the only president born and bred in Illinois, where his first memory was, about which he also spoke very poignantly, which I will be sharing in another op-ed shortly.
And, this is what I wrote in response to a reader who asserted: 1) President Reagan’s 1988 recollection must have conflated his experience with his Dixon years, because, this reader falsely said, he had Alzheimer’s in 1988; and 2) President Reagan did not “win the Cold War without firing a shot,” which is commonly the way Reagan’s legacy is summed up:
Thanks for your comment. Actually, he shared his recollections in 1981 at the White House with a prominent figure... contrary to what some believe, based on a lack of knowledge, the home on the south side of Chicago, where he lived with his parents and older brother, at age 4, had great emotional resonance for young Dutch Reagan... stay tuned for more details... as for Reagan’s key role in winning the Cold War, it is well-documented in “Reagan’s Secret War,” which I reviewed in this piece.
And, this is what I wrote in response to reader who claimed building will look bad all by itself and made an insulting comment about President Reagan:
Au contraire, it’s a beautiful building and will look great by itself once some architectural brilliance is applied. Artfully blending the old with the new is something the Kennedy Administration pioneered. Jackie Kennedy was the driving force in preserving Lafayette Square and the 18th century buildings along Jackson Place bordering the square. It was a totally uphill battle for her but she had a vision and stuck with – and won. It’s the same vision for saving the Reagan home, which of course is also an uphill battle - a beautiful structure with historic value. The tan brick it’s constructed with is indicative of a turn-of-the-century middle class residence that was considered a cut above. In 1986, it was written up by the Chicago Landmark Commission as having landmark potential. The city’s 1985 inventory of all buildings listed it in the top 2% of historic buildings in Chicago. And, of course, Ronald Reagan was an historic president, with a refreshing aura who brought an era of record prosperity including growth of real GDP of almost 36% and nearly 20 million jobs created. By the way, saving the Reagan home will also create jobs.
And, this is my response to a very intemperate reader, whose comments I cannot even post, they were so inappropriate.
Regarding your suggestion that those who favor saving the Reagan home are out of the mainstream, in fact, in 1986, the Reagan home was written up by the Chicago Landmarks Commission as “noteworthy due to historical associations,” which gave it “landmark potential.” The city’s 1985 inventory of all buildings listed it in the top 2% of historic buildings in Chicago. As for the book I cited, that is just one example of many that report on President Reagan’s central role in ending the Cold War, one of his many historic achievements that make him a truly great president, according to those with the credibility to make those judgments. As for your other most unfortunate and intemperate comments, I will “consider the source,” as my great grandmother always wisely counseled.
A stay of execution has been issued on Reagan Chicago home for 90 days maximum, as Lee Bey reports on
WBEZ. Without the efforts of Friends of President Reagan's Chicago Home, this would not even be news and the likelihood that home might ultimately be saved virtually non-existent.
As my source in Hyde Park wrote me late last night:
As my source in Hyde Park wrote me late last night:
Lee
Bey, an ardent preservationist, has a very popular architectural blog and radio
program on WBEZ, the local public educational station.
He
is a former licensed architect (SOM) who knows his way around Chicago
having been both a former newspaper reporter (Sun-Times) and Deputy Mayor to
Richard M. Daley (2002).
Here
in Chicago, the authority of his "endorsement" will be exceedingly
helpful...
Thanks
to you, things are looking up.
 |
| File/WhiteHouse.gov |
Here’s my comment on Lee Bey’s article:
Thank you, Lee, for bringing attention to President Ronald Reagan’s Hyde Park home as a young boy. This home, about which he wrote and spoke, had great emotional resonance for our 40th president. It’s an important historic landmark not only for Chicago but for the nation. As I wrote in my Washington Examiner piece last month, “When President Reagan was four, he loved looking out the window of his home on 832 East 57th Street in Hyde Park, not far from the University of Chicago, watching the horse-drawn fire engines storm down the street. He later wrote in a 1988 letter, that watching the firemen ‘come down the street at full gallop ... made me decide I wanted to be a fireman.’ So he did—only the fires he put out were of a larger, geopolitical nature, such as winning the Cold War without firing a shot.” http://washingtonexaminer.com/hyde-park-showdown-over-reagans-childhood-home/article/2515272#.UOZfoKllTQM Goodness gracious, if Barbados can preserve a home whereGeorge Washington lived for only two months, Chicago can find it in its heart and soul to save the only Chicago home of the only president born and bred in Illinois, where his first memory was, about which he also spoke very poignantly, which I will be sharing in another op-ed shortly.
And, this is what I wrote in response to a reader who asserted: 1) President Reagan’s 1988 recollection must have conflated his experience with his Dixon years, because, this reader falsely said, he had Alzheimer’s in 1988; and 2) President Reagan did not “win the Cold War without firing a shot,” which is commonly the way Reagan’s legacy is summed up:
Thanks for your comment. Actually, he shared his recollections in 1981 at the White House with a prominent figure... contrary to what some believe, based on a lack of knowledge, the home on the south side of Chicago, where he lived with his parents and older brother, at age 4, had great emotional resonance for young Dutch Reagan... stay tuned for more details... as for Reagan’s key role in winning the Cold War, it is well-documented in “Reagan’s Secret War,” which I reviewed in this piece.
And, this is what I wrote in response to reader who claimed building will look bad all by itself and made an insulting comment about President Reagan:
Au contraire, it’s a beautiful building and will look great by itself once some architectural brilliance is applied. Artfully blending the old with the new is something the Kennedy Administration pioneered. Jackie Kennedy was the driving force in preserving Lafayette Square and the 18th century buildings along Jackson Place bordering the square. It was a totally uphill battle for her but she had a vision and stuck with – and won. It’s the same vision for saving the Reagan home, which of course is also an uphill battle - a beautiful structure with historic value. The tan brick it’s constructed with is indicative of a turn-of-the-century middle class residence that was considered a cut above. In 1986, it was written up by the Chicago Landmark Commission as having landmark potential. The city’s 1985 inventory of all buildings listed it in the top 2% of historic buildings in Chicago. And, of course, Ronald Reagan was an historic president, with a refreshing aura who brought an era of record prosperity including growth of real GDP of almost 36% and nearly 20 million jobs created. By the way, saving the Reagan home will also create jobs.
And, this is my response to a very intemperate reader, whose comments I cannot even post, they were so inappropriate.
Regarding your suggestion that those who favor saving the Reagan home are out of the mainstream, in fact, in 1986, the Reagan home was written up by the Chicago Landmarks Commission as “noteworthy due to historical associations,” which gave it “landmark potential.” The city’s 1985 inventory of all buildings listed it in the top 2% of historic buildings in Chicago. As for the book I cited, that is just one example of many that report on President Reagan’s central role in ending the Cold War, one of his many historic achievements that make him a truly great president, according to those with the credibility to make those judgments. As for your other most unfortunate and intemperate comments, I will “consider the source,” as my great grandmother always wisely counseled.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Saving President Reagan's Chicago Home
By Mary Claire Kendall
Happy
New Year! Albeit, it’s not entirely
happy. You see, Obamites are getting ready to demolish the home in Chicago where
President Ronald Reagan lived at age 4 and had his first memories, about which
he spoke and wrote poignantly, bringing him to the brink of tears at one point. We’re
working intensively behind the scenes: VERY SYMBOLIC if they destroy home; VERY
SYMBOLIC if we save it. We will know if our efforts to save home are succeeding
in next few days.
President
Reagan’s Chicago home was written up as having “Landmark Potential” during
Reagan’s presidency, i.e., May 1986, and two months later was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places. Then, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and his
Landmarks Commission (including new political appointees inexperienced in
preservation) denied it landmark status—now that President Barack Obama is in
office and his presidential library will in all likelihood be located not far
from Reagan’s Chicago home.
For
more information, see:
http://spectator.org/archives/2012/12/11/historic-home-or-grassy-strip http://arcchicago.blogspot.com/2012/12/say-goodbye-to-ronald-reagans-apartment.html
http://maryclairecinema.blogspot.com/2012/12/inspired-by-jackie-kennedy.html
http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/theskyline/2011/07/emanuel-appoints-six-to-landmarks-commission-where-are-the-architects.html
http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20121026/hyde-park/former-ronald-reagan-home-become-parking-garage
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/3637552-418/reagan-university-president-park-building.html (February 2011, before Reagan birthday centennial.)
And, here's TV report (and, article version) that aired from December 27, day after the demolition and wrecking equipment showed up, that doesn’t tell the full story:
http://maryclairecinema.blogspot.com/2012/12/inspired-by-jackie-kennedy.html
http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/theskyline/2011/07/emanuel-appoints-six-to-landmarks-commission-where-are-the-architects.html
http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20121026/hyde-park/former-ronald-reagan-home-become-parking-garage
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/3637552-418/reagan-university-president-park-building.html (February 2011, before Reagan birthday centennial.)
And, here's TV report (and, article version) that aired from December 27, day after the demolition and wrecking equipment showed up, that doesn’t tell the full story:
http://www.voanews.com/content/ronald-reagan-home-chicago/1573501.html
http://www.hawaiireporter.com/university-plans-to-demolish-ronald-reagans-chicago-apartment/123
http://www.hawaiireporter.com/university-plans-to-demolish-ronald-reagans-chicago-apartment/123
 |
| Author in front of Reagan Chicago Home, November 30, 2012. Credit: Matthew A. Rarey. |
 |
| Demolition equipment that showed up behind the Reagan home the day after Christmas; one of three back hauls, usually equipped with a shovel, which they retrofit with jaws to pick up debris after boom destroys building, placing it in piles for carting away. |
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| Wrecking crane that showed up behind the Reagan home the day after Christmas |
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| Reagan home is being readied for demolition, shown here with metal fencing and green cloth, to catch dust produced during the demolition, temporary construction erected mid-December |
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About Me
- Mary Claire Kendall
- I am a writer and producer. My book, "Oasis: Conversion Stories of Hollywood Legends," was published in 2015 in the United States and in Spain in 2016 under the title "También Dios pasa por Hollywood." Also, see me on Twitter @maryclairerose and Linked In.