The Walgreens located in the Noel State Bank building at 1601 N. Milwaukee Ave. on the corner of North and Damen in Wicker Park will close at the end of January. The building was constructed in 1919 and had housed a number of banks throughout the 20th century. It was designed by Gardener Coughlen in the Classic Revival style. Walgreens opened the store in 2012 after two years of restoration. The bank interior is unique because it captures both the old and new beautifully. An example of this is how the bank vault was turned into a vitamin vault. And appropriately, when you first enter the building there are signs reading “on the corner of yesterday and today” depicting how the interior looked then and now. The building is a part of the land marked Milwaukee Avenue District, so any new owners will be required to preserve its historical features.
