Inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright then wronged by neglect, South Park Terrace heads for auction

A picturesque 121-year-old South Side courtyard building inspired by an historic Frank Lloyd Wright design — and featured in a 1995 Halle Berry movie — is now scheduled for auction.

South Park Terrace, a Prairie School-styled apartment building at 6116 S. King Drive, is set to be auctioned off Nov. 16-18, according to a marketing brochure by Frontline Real Estate Partners.

The opening bid is $100,000.

"We do expect it to go for significantly more than that," Frontline Principal Matthew Tarshis said.

Frontline was named South Park Terrace's court-appointed receiver, after the building was vacated under city order in 2025 due to its dilapidated condition.

Officials saw the situation as exigent enough that residents had to begin leaving the building with just two days notice.

The city’s Department of Buildings said in a statement at the time that the owners, listed then as Brooklyn, New York’s 6116 MLK, “completely abandoned the building, allowing the property to go into foreclosure, and conditions continued to deteriorate to the point of imminent danger to the community.”

Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times file

Frontline's 14-page marketing brochure touts the location of the two-story, 52-unit Washington Park building and its notable, park-like private courtyard.

South Park Terrace is on a major public transit route, is two blocks from a CTA Green Line stop and near the jobs-rich University of Chicago and medical complex.

Preservation Chicago placed South Park Terrace on its 2026 list of Chicago’s seven most endangered places, but there's cause for relief: The building is not being marketed as a tear-down.

"We believe that the highest and best use for the property is for somebody to come in, and hopefully inject fresh capital, renovate the property, and ideally lease it up and stabilize it," Tarshis said.

Me too.

What a great building. And its close to the Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvery Vaux-designed Washington Park and near more amenities and employment opportunities that you can shake a stick at.

And shame on every entity — public and private — that let such well-designed, affordably priced housing fall into ruin. If any building deserves a second chance, it’s this one.

Built in 1905 for developer Thomas E. Wells — you can see his initials molded into terra cotta medallions on the building’s entry arch — South Park Terrace was designed by Harry Hale Waterman, an associate of Frank Lloyd Wright.

In the 1995 film “Losing Isaiah," Halle Berry’s character, Khaila Richards, lives in the building. The exterior and the courtyard are prominently seen in the movie.

Waterman patterned the building after Wright’s Francisco Terrace Apartments, built in 1895 at 253-257 N. Francisco Ave.

Gilman Lane, photographer. Historic Architecture and Landscape Image Collection, Ryerson and Burnham Art and Architecture Archives, The Art Institute of Chicago. Digital File #67365

Wells must have liked the design: He hired architect Douglas S. Pentecost to give South Park Terrace a twin, Washington Park Terrace, which was built in 1909 and still stands at 6160-6212 S. King Drive.

The three buildings sought to give natural light, fresh air, greenery and good design to their working class tenants — a mission that’s as important now as it was 120 years ago. Maybe more so.

Francisco Terrace was wrecked in 1974. It’s time to make sure the same fate doesn’t befall South Park Terrace. It needs a buyer who won’t let demolition by neglect happen somewhere down the road, or alter the building in some way that diminishes its beauty and importance.

Given South Park Terrace's design and pedigree, a city and the landmark commission must soon consider a designation that would protect the main elevations and courtyard.

Maybe a two-for-the-price-of-one deal that also includes its street mate, Washington Park Terrace.

While we're at it, the city would also do a lot of good by stepping in after the sale and working with the new owners to keep rents in the building affordable for working class folk.

Preservation Chicago Executive Director Ward Miller said, "We are hopeful that a new good steward would come forward to purchase and restore this amazing building."