Masonry contractor in Old Town, Chicago.

Yes — the Old Town Triangle, the compact heart of the neighborhood, was designated a Chicago Landmark district on 28 September 1977. Almost every residential block in the Triangle falls inside that district, which means Landmarks Commission review is the default for any visible facade work. Crilly Court, an interior block of the Triangle, has its own preservation reputation as the city's earliest planned rowhouse development.

Old Town carries some of the oldest residential brick in Chicago — a mix of pre-Fire (pre-1871) common brick and post-Fire Victorian rebuilds from the 1870s and 1880s, with workmen's cottages and Italianate brick rowhouses still in service. The brick is soft, the mortar was historically lime-rich, and any modern repair has to match those very low strengths or the brick cracks.

Lincoln Park sits mostly outside landmark control and runs as standard residential greystone masonry. Old Town is the opposite: almost every Triangle address goes through the Landmarks Commission, the brick is softer and older, and preservation-grade methods are the default — test panels first, lime-rich mortar, hand tools where the original detail is delicate. Scope, schedule and cost all reflect that.

Yes. Crilly Court, with its 1885 rowhouses, and the Wells Street commercial blocks from the 1870s–1890s are core Old Town addresses we work on. The approach is conservation-grade: document the wall before disturbance, sample mortar by lab where the budget allows, run hidden-bay test panels, and submit photos to the Landmarks Commission as part of the scope.

Visible facade work on Triangle landmark-district buildings requires Chicago Landmarks Commission review and, in most cases, a Chicago Department of Buildings permit. The Commission reviews the proposed scope, mortar mix, replacement materials and any change to original detail. We prepare the submission with photos, drawings and material samples; the Commission typically responds within several weeks.

Triangle landmark-district tuckpointing runs $18–$40 per sq ft because the work is preservation-grade — lime-rich mortar by sample, hand tools on delicate stock, Commission paperwork. Pre-Fire and Victorian brick replacement runs $80–$140 per brick when matched salvage is required. Full Triangle facade restoration is quoted per project after test panels are approved.