The Commission on Chicago Landmarks today granted preliminary landmark status to the Chicago Orphan Asylum Building, a once-important institutional and cultural anchor on the city's South Side.

"From an orphanage, to a community house, to a training center for ministers, the Chicago Orphan Asylum Building has adapted itself to change over the years and is a constant reminder of our past," said Department of Planning and Development Commissioner Arnold Randall.

Located at 5120 S. King Drive, the Chicago Orphan Asylum Building is a distinctive and visually-striking reflection of the Colonial Revival architecture style. Construction began in 1898 and completed in 1899.

The surviving structure from the original Asylum complex, the Jerome Beecher Memorial Building, originally housed administrative offices, lounges, an expansive dining room, and dormitory space for infants, is detailed with Classical-style ornament in pale yellow terra cotta.

Designed by the Chicago office of Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge, they are best known for the original Art Institute of Chicago, the Chicago Cultural Center and more than a dozen buildings for the University of Chicago.

In 1940, the building was sold to the Good Shepherd Community Center and renamed the Parkway Community House. The center's founding director, Horace R. Cayton, Jr., was a nationally-renowned sociologist and co-author of Black Metropolis, an in-depth sociological study of Chicago's African American community and one of the most important sociological studies published in America in the 20th century.

In 1957, the Parkway Community House sold the former Asylum property to the Chicago Baptist Institute. Founded in 1934, the Chicago Baptist Institute's mission was to provide teaching and training to ministers and lay individuals including ministry, social work and counseling.

The vote today begins the process of public hearings, owner outreach and further study. A vote by the full City Council is needed for landmark approval.