Faded 'queen of Congress' wins $90,000 grant for makeover

The "queen of Congress" is to get a face-lift as she nears her 110th birthday.

The Downtown Tucson Partnership has selected The Chicago Store's building, dating to 1903, as one of two buildings to receive funding for historic renovation in its latest round of facade improvement awards.

By the end of this year, peeling paint, cracked tiles and marred murals will be replaced by early 20th century grandeur. Think rows of transom windows and a sign overhanging the sidewalk.

The building's prominent placement at 130 E. Congress St., the southwest corner of Congress and North Sixth Avenue, makes the building an especially good investment, said partnership CEO Michael Keith.

The partnership will contribute $90,000, the program's maximum, toward the $200,000 renovation.

"If Hotel Congress is the king of Congress Street, The Chicago Store is the queen," Keith said. "It's been a lifelong dream of mine to see that building renovated."

The partnership will reveal the design renderings and the other recipient of this round of renovation funds at a news conference today.

"We're terribly excited about it," The Chicago Store CEO Dave Fregonese said, noting that the music store opened in a nearby building in 1919 and the Levkowitz family that owns the store has remained committed to downtown since. "One of the reasons we decided to participate is that we think downtown is on an upswing."

He's looking forward to the modern streetcar stop across Sixth Avenue from the building despite a 25 percent drop in sales since construction began.

Restoration will begin after the chain link fences hemming in the track work come down, likely by September, Fregonese said.

The facade improvement program, which requires that building owners match the partnership's investment, has made other notable changes to downtown's appearance.

Buildings that have received funds include the Rialto Block, The Screening Room, Providence Service Corp., Beowulf Alley Theatre Co. and The Drawing Studio.

The Imago Dei Middle School building and the former Reilly Funeral Home, soon to open as Reilly Craft Pizza & Drink, each received funds through the partnership's paint and awning program, which awards up to $5,000 for smaller projects.

"It's probably been the best return on investment that we've seen downtown because owners invest in the restoration up to a factor of three," Keith said.

This round's funding was made up of a $90,000 grant from the Tohono O'odham Nation, $80,000 left from an earlier city government contribution and $60,000 in private donations.

The partnership is working on making private donations easier.

At least eight more downtown buildings are facade program candidates, Keith said.

Did you know?

Local architect David Holmes designed 130 E. Congress St. in 1903. Anton Hittinger, a prominent merchant, built it to house the Los Angeles Furniture Co. and then added a second story for the offices of the Randolph System, a series of railroad lines connecting Southern Arizona and Mexico.

J.C. Penney Co. redesigned the building in 1927, adding recessed storefront windows, yellow field tiles with black borders and a mosaic tile entry floor to the Italianate building. The interior features pressed-tin ceilings and an oak staircase.

J.C. Penney moved to a larger space on North Stone Avenue in 1957. Ten years later, Phil and Joe Levkowitz bought the Congress Street building and opened The Chicago Store there.

The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.