It is a non-descript building in a south Chicago neighborhood. But for some local residents, 832 East 57th Street, in Hyde Park, is anything but ordinary.Ronald Reagan lived here before he was president.“President Reagan fondly recalled living there. He spoke about the gaslit streets and borrowing (toy) soldiers from his neighbor.So he had these fond memories of being there,” said Susan Davis, who lives in Hyde Park.She wrote a book on the neighborhood's historic structures and says most people don't know that Reagan lived here in 1915.“It actually wasn’t discovered that he did live here until the ‘80s,” she said.Which is partly why the home was ignored.That is until the University of Chicago purchased the property with plans to tear it down to make way for an expanding medical campus.The Commission on Chicago Landmarks refused to grant the building landmark status, clearing the way for its demolition.Those with ties to the 40th president oppose the decision.“This is an opportunity to have this home as another tourist destination for them,reflecting the history of the only president born in the state of Illinois,” said Ann Lewis,who is on the board of directors of the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home and Museum in Dixon, Illinois, about 160 kilometers west of Chicago.Reagan spent most of his formative years there."He would be honored to have something in Chicago that reflected his name and part of his legacy in the state of Illinois,” Lewis said.
