The Warehouse, the birthplace of house music and a center of music culture in Chicago, just officially received its final landmark recommendation from the city’s landmarks commission.
The building is located in the West Loop on Jefferson St. and was a small dance club in the 70s and 80s where DJ Frankie Knuckles experimented with disco, funk, and soul records to create a new sound for the dancefloor.
The music, which served as a center for acceptance for the Black and gay communities, spread through the city like wildfire with fans calling it “Warehouse Music.” Eventually, the name was shortened to just “house music.”
Frankie Knuckles would later be dubbed the “Godfather of House Music” and The Warehouse would become a legendary location for dance music fans all across the globe.
In March of 2023, a petition on Change.org was launched to save the building from future destruction by making it a landmark, eventually reaching more than 14,000 signatures.
Landmark status means that The Warehouse should be maintained in or as close to its original state as possible to preserve the historical significance of the location.
Check out Chicago DPD’s announcement below of the landmark recommendation for The Warehouse in Chicago:
The Warehouse, the birthplace of house music, received a final landmark recommendation from the landmarks commission. The West Loop building at 206 S. Jefferson St. was a dance club in the ’70s and ’80s where DJ Frankie Knuckles created a genre that gained global popularity. pic.twitter.com/tFMIuTDBuI
— Chicago DPD (@ChicagoDPD) June 8, 2023
Featured image credit Serhii Chrucky
