A former women and children’s shelter in East Garfield Park was designated an official Chicago landmark by City Council today.

The property at 2678 W. Washington Blvd. includes a three-story, Queen Anne-style mansion designed by architect William Longhurst and completed in approximately 1880 and a one-story dormitory from 1923 designed by Holabird & Roche.

Four organizations used the complex to provide social services to unwed mothers and children and other vulnerable Chicagoans during much of the previous century, including the Chicago Home for Convalescent Women and Children, the Florence Crittenton Anchorage, the Volunteers of America Living Center for Girls, and Inner Voice Inc.

The landmark designation protects all exterior elevations, including rooflines, of the main house and dormitory from alteration or demolition. A bronze lawn sculpture created in 2011 by Academy of Art University students and named “Passage” is also protected.

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