Preservation at the Roger Brown Study Collection

Built in 1888, the storefront at 1926 North Halsted Street served variously as a tobacconist shop, a book bindery, a grocery and meat market, a confectionary, and later a plastics manufacturing outlet, all before becoming Roger Brown’s home and studio in 1974. In 1996 Brown gave his seminal collection at 1926 to SAIC.

The Roger Brown Study Collection at 1926 N. Halsted St. is a historic house museum that presents a glimpse into Chicago’s rich artistic history through Brown’s broad and eclectic collection of artwork and objects. 1926 N. Halsted St. is listed in the Sheffield District of the National Register of Historic Places.

Since 1998 the mission of the Roger Brown Study Collection has been to preserve the building at 1926 North Halsted Street, and Brown’s extraordinary collection of art and objects which it houses, as a legacy for the School’s community and the public to enjoy in a historic house museum setting. To this end a series of preservation planning activities have been undertaken by SAIC. The goal of the preservation process has been to preserve the relationship between collecting and art practice­­––an important dimension of Brown’s creative process and that of several Chicago Imagist artists––so that it can be experienced in its original environment and architectural setting.

If funded through the Partners in Preservation program, the 1926 N. Halsted St. Roof, Masonry, and Door Restoration Project will improve the building’s safety, access, and integrity. Restoration work will address critical activities:

• Replacing the ailing roof
• Repair to the sidewall and parapet masonry
• Restoration and egress modification of the historic storefront doors, the north door, and the rear door.

Renovation planning and implementation accomplished to date:

• Conservation Assessment Project (1999)
• Schematic Design Report for the renovation (2000-01)
• Plumbing construction project (2000)
• Comprehensive packing, moving, storage, and reinstallation plan, funded by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Historic Artists’ Homes and Studios program (2002)
• Cornice and roof repair (2003)
• Code and Occupancy Study (2004)
• Archive organization project, funded by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Historic Artists’ Homes and Studios program (2005)
• Restoration of the historic storefront as a Historic Preservation Graduate program project (2006)

1926 N. Halsted St. functions, in part, as a historic preservation laboratory. In 2006 a Restoration Methods class restored the historic storefront to the period of 1974 to 1995, the years Brown lived there. Working alongside professionals in the field, students analyzed and restored the windows, bulkhead, masonry, and painted surfaces. The ailing storefront at 1926 North Halsted Street was vastly improved, structurally and visually, and students received invaluable experiences in historic preservation practice.

The Roger Brown Study Collection is a member of the Historic Artists’ Homes and Studios program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The HAHS program is focused on identifying and helping selected American art-related historic sites to preserve, document and interpret their collections and buildings. As a member of HAHS the RBSC is a member of the NTHP’s Associate Sites program, a national network of historic places grouped by theme and region, to encourage peer collaboration and professional development.

Association with the HAHS program reinforced the RBSC’s significance through a partnership with the nation’s primary preservation organization. Representing a late 20th century artist, the RBSC is the only site in the program that integrally involves students in all aspects of site management and collection organization, care, and interpretation.