Until last year, Cook County General Hospital sat vacant for 17 years. As redevelopment plans fizzled, graffiti from squatters began to turn up inside the 1.2-million-sq-ft building once known as Chicago’s Ellis Island. When the staff of County General moved across the street to John H. Stroger Hospital in 2002, the 1914 Paul Gerhardt-designed building served no purpose other than as a refuge from the elements for transients. It was listed four separate times on non-profit preservation group Landmarks Illinois’ list of most endangered historic places, and its brick, terra-cotta and granite facade began to crumble after years of neglect and exposure.
“When we got here [in September 2018] it was a real mess,” says Ken Johnston, senior project manager for general contractor Walsh Construction. “You can see some of the graffiti is modern. There are Twitter handles in it.”