The former site of E2 nightclub at 2347 S. Michigan Ave., marked by tragedy after 21 people died during a stampede in 2003, began its transformation this week as demolition crews set to work tearing down the unsafe building. In an emergency move in contrast to the Commission on Chicago Landmarks' previous decision, city officials found the nearly 115-year-old building to be an "imminent danger to the public," prompting the swift action, CBS News Chicago reports.
Despite preservationists' efforts and the building's historical significance as a vintage 1910 Fiat showroom in the Motor Row District, the structure had deteriorated beyond repair, with its roof collapsed for more than a year, complicating the landmarks commission's unanimous decision to try to salvage the building, while property owner Randy Shifrin pushed forward with his vision to replace it with “Tower 21,” a proposed 21-story affordable housing complex honoring the victims, according to an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times.
The legacy of the 21 lives lost is a concern for both Shifrin and the survivors' families, who have proposed various memorials including the housing project and an "E2 financial center," which, as Howard Ray, who lost his brother DaShand Ray in the incident, told the Chicago Sun-Times, serves as a source of low-interest loans and business grants aimed to invigorate distressed neighborhoods and honor their loved ones by transforming "sorrow into opportunity."
As the structure's physical presence disappears, the conflicting emotions among those touched by the tragedy are palpable, a night that saw E2 transform from joy to terror remains ingrained in the memory of survivors like Alexceon Myers, who made it out, but whose brother did not. This Tuesday's demolition coincides with the birthday of the brother he lost.
While the future of the site as a memorial for the E2 nightclub victims is yet to be realized in concrete form, the commitment to ensuring their names are not erased stands firm.
