What to do with the historic Mellus Building in Lincoln Park?

The future is up in the air for one of downtown Lincoln Park’s historic structures - the Mellus Newspapers building.

The city’s Downtown Development Authority is in the process of purchasing the building at 1661 Fort St, and the adjacent Pollak building, for $90,000. The DDA plans to commission an assessment of the structure’s integrity; its future after that is anybody’s guess.

The Lincoln Park Preservation Alliance is advocating for its renovation into a small business incubator. Some city officials are looking into razing it -- which would be the end of the road for one of the city’s more notable, historic structures.

Both buildings, dating to the 1940s, are single-story storefronts in the traditional downtown style. The Mellus Newspapers structure is on the National Register of Historic Places.

For decades it served as the home to Lincoln Park's local newspaper, The Lincoln Parker. Both the paper and the building were owned by local newspaper magnate William Mellus (the building's namesake) who was also a good friend with automotive entrepreneur Preston Tucker. The Pollak building was once the home to Pollak Jewelers.

The Mellus Newspapers building still has its original porcelain-enameled Moderne commercial building exterior and curved glass block entrance, while the Pollak building retains its terrazzo entrance sidewalk.

Source: Leslie Lynch-Wilson, president of the Lincoln Park Preservation Alliance and Steve Duchane, city manager for Lincoln Park

Writer: Jon Zemke

What to do with the historic Mellus Building in Lincoln Park?

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