not to be demolished
for Colvin House
Dear Colvin,
Love makes us that way.
Sure, we get a little crumbly.
A little loose in the tiles, a little cracked
up top from the weight of time passing, but
when a loving hand touches the very heart of us
then refuses to let go,
we cannot be demolished.
Dear Colvin,
The loving hand that refused to let go? Mine.
You had me at “for sale.”
The second I saw your picture online, I fell. Hard.
I wanted to kiss your columns right then
but I waited until the paperwork was official, until
you were mine. Then I leaned in for a long one.
I couldn’t stay away.
Even before renovations began,
I would stop by to say hi, and always
birds were singing, bunnies hopping
around the grounds, flowers
blooming wild and free. Always, I felt at peace.
Do you remember what I whispered to you when
the lake breeze found me on your lawn?
“I can’t wait to share your magic with everyone.”
Dear Colvin,
You are a Chicago Landmark
and I am a woman who loves houses.
The daughter of an architect.
You are in my blood, Colvin, every tulip and triangle,
every 1920s redesigned-for-the-second-time nuance.
Even the disrepair of the last 20 years
didn’t turn me off.
Just the opposite.
I feel electric when I’m around you.
Dear Colvin,
At last, I get to share your magic with everyone.
May every person who passes through
your lovingly restored doors feel
the warmth, the beauty,
the endless possibility of you
as they co-work and co-play,
co-meet and co-make.
Thank you Colvin,
for this journey of a lifetime.
History has her best dress on tonight, and
it’s our first dance as landmark and owner.
Let the celebration begin.
written by cin salach and commissioned by Angela Valavanis,
on the occasion of the grand opening of the Colvin House, October 2017