Ben Yeshurun, the developer who bought painter Roger Brown’s Lincoln Park home and studio, says he plans to gut the interior, reshape it into six bedrooms, and then sell it—while landmark rules protect only the exterior, including a historic storefront facade
When Ben Yeshurun signed the contract last year to buy painter Roger Brown’s Lincoln Park home and studio, he wasn’t just stepping into a renovation project—he was stepping into a piece of Chicago art history that still mattered to the people who fought to save it.
The 1880s residence at 1926 N. Halsted and its contents had been tied to Brown’s legacy since the painter gave the property to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago a year before his death in 1997. The school kept it as a study center until closing it in 2020. and then. in 2024. put the home on the market as a possible teardown. Historic preservationists and Brown enthusiasts rallied to have it designated as a local landmark.
They won. The Commission on Chicago Landmarks voted unanimously to grant the property preliminary landmark status just days after Yeshurun signed his purchase contract for $1.196 million. Final City Council approval came in May.
But the landmark designation comes with obligations, including extra steps to get building permits and pursue renovations. Yeshurun didn’t back out. Instead, he got more committed to the project.
“This is going to be a really cool project, and I want to be a part of it,” he said.
His plan is blunt about what he intends to change. Yeshurun does not plan to live in the house. and he does not plan to return it to its previous use as a study center. Instead. he intends to gut the interior and rearrange it with six bedrooms—four upstairs and two in the basement—and an open floor plan on the first floor. After that. he plans to sell the property and lean into its connection to Brown and Chicago art history when it hits the market.
“I really liked the fact that this was a really big house already, and I didn’t see a reason to tear it down,” he said. “I like those projects where you can keep the history of it.”
Landmarks rules protect what’s unique to each property, and in this case, protection is limited to the exterior. That includes the original iron-frame storefront façade and a “ghost sign” on the north side of the house—a fading painted advertisement for the Daily News. a newspaper that ceased operations in 1978.
“As far as the new owner’s plans for the interior, they’re really free to make whatever changes that they see fit,” said Kendra Parzen, advocacy manager for Landmarks Illinois.
The designation also reflects why Brown’s home was more than architecture. Brown’s role in Chicago’s LGBTQ history helped shape the landmark nomination. Parzen said it is “certainly part of the text of the nomination report” and a major part of Brown’s life. She also pointed to how Brown and his partner. George Veronda—an architect—worked together to renovate the building and create Brown’s ideal studio space.
Matt Crawford. a coordinating planner at the Chicago Department of Planning and Development. said that just three other locally landmarked properties have a connection to visual artists: one at 1810 W. Cortland formerly owned by Richard Nickel, and two others that housed artist studios—the Erie Street Row, 161 E. Erie, and Tree Studios, 603-621 N. State.
Yeshurun says he wants to keep Brown present during the transition, even if the interior will be stripped and rebuilt. He hopes to hold a celebratory open house where he will pay tribute to Brown with a display of historical photos of the structure. He is also considering exploring a collaboration with Gray, the art gallery that handles Brown’s estate.
He plans to show more than photographs. During the inspection, Yeshurun discovered Brown’s 1967 Mustang in the garage. He bought the car for $6,500 and is having it brought back to a drivable condition, with the goal of incorporating it into the tribute.
For many of the people who fought to preserve the building. the outcome hinges on a narrow line: the city saved the exterior. The question now is whether that will be enough to satisfy the legacy inside. too—especially once the six-bedroom layout takes shape and the home’s public story shifts from study center to something else.
Roger Brown Lincoln Park Chicago Landmarks Ben Yeshurun preservation landmark designation School of the Art Institute of Chicago 1926 N. Halsted Daily News ghost sign George Veronda Gray art gallery 1967 Mustang