Vote Now: Hyde Park Cable Car Building Competes For Cash In National Geographic Contest

CHICAGO, IL — A local landmark in need of a helping hand could get a much-needed boost from a nationwide contest hosted by National Geographic. The Hyde Park cable car building is the only Illinois building in the running for the "Partners in Preservation: Main Streets" program, an initiative created by American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation to engage the public in preserving and increasing awareness of America’s historic places and their role in sustaining local communities. The building is one of 25 nationwide vying for a $150,000 prize.

That money could help save the historic cable car station, the last to survive Chicago's cable car era, which lasted from 1882 until 1906. The Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce and Hyde Park Historical Society were given the opportunity to compete for funding to save the 124-year-old building, "resting quietly in the shadow of super stores and townhouses."

The historical society said the funding could preserve the cable car building — one of the last remaining structures with a connection to the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition — for future generations. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

"The funds will also allow continued access to a museum and meeting space," the Hyde Park Historical Society said in a news release which offered a glimpse into the building's past:

In the small window that ushered in the cable car era, thousands of people hopped on the cable cars to shop in Hyde Park or to travel downtown to their jobs. But when the streetcar era came to a close in 1958 the cable car building succumbed to apathy and spiritlessness, eventually housing two restaurants and later being further reduced to a storage shed. In 1977 the Cable Car Building was rescued by the Hyde Park Historical Society, saving it from further doom.

The historical society has launched a "Save the Cable Car Building" campaign, and is urging area residents to participate in the "Vote Your Main Streets" competition. The public can vote up to five times per day until voting ends on Oct. 31. Grant recipients will be announced Nov. 2.

"Built in 1893, Hyde Park’s historic cable car building was first renovated in 1980 to house the Hyde Park Historical Society," according to the National Geographic website. "However, the years have taken their toll and it now needs some love. Through this restoration project, you can help us show how old buildings can be new again."

Image via Facebook screenshot