Riverdale’s Shop Building at Altgeld Gardens Designated as Chicago Landmark

The Shop Building at Altgeld Gardens in Riverdale was designated by City Council today as an official Chicago landmark.

Built at 13100 S. Ellis Ave. in 1945, the Shop Building served as a commercial and organizational hub for the Altgeld Gardens public housing complex. Also called the Up Top Building, the modernist structure was designed by Chicago architect George Fred Keck.

From 1945 to 1951, the building housed the Altgeld Consumer Co-operative, the largest Black-owned co-op in the country, and later, it housed offices for grassroots environmental justice organization People for Community Recovery. Since the late 1960s, an exterior wall has been used as a memorial for deceased community members.

The building is planned for rehabilitation by By The Hand Club For Kids as part of a $24.3 million community center project. The landmark designation protects all exterior elevations of the building and the memorial wall.