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 Now in its 20th year, this statewide list calls attention to
threatened historic resources in need of assistance in the form of
responsible stewardship, creative reuse plans, and/or advances in
public policy. The slow economic recovery, state budget crisis, and
a lack of available financing continue to challenge historic sites
throughout Illinois.
“The sites named to the list, as well as the critical work of our
State Historic Preservation Office, are all exceptionally important
to not only local residents, but the local economy,” said Bonnie
McDonald, President of Landmarks Illinois. “By calling attention to
the potential for reuse and revitalization of these historic places,
we are encouraging job creation and economic development across
Illinois – something everyone can support.”
The properties on this year’s list are: the home of the Schwinn
Bicycle Company co-founder, a Lincoln-era home in Springfield, an
1855 Greek Revival house and barn, an iconic fifty-foot statue
located in a state park, vanishing mid-century modern houses, a
former state hospital’s main building, key projects in the expiring
River Edge state historic tax credit program, a vacant archdiocesan
school, a large-scale industrial bakery, a southern Illinois
“thatched cottage,” an early Chicago movie palace, and lastly, the
vital office that administers the State’s historic preservation
programs.
Since the inception of Landmarks Illinois’ Most Endangered list in
1995, a third of the listed properties have been saved, less than a
quarter have been demolished, and the rest are in varying stages
between being continually threatened and rehabilitation.
Landmarks Illinois has been working to protect historic places
throughout Illinois for over 40 years. The not-for-profit works with
citizens and communities to preserve historic places and promote
awareness about them through education and advocacy. Landmarks
Illinois preserves historic places that enhance communities, empower
citizens, and catalyze local economic development throughout
Illinois. In addition to the Most Endangered list, the organization
also sponsors an annual awards program, two grant programs and
various educational events, including the co-sponsorship of a
bi-annual statewide historic preservation conference. Landmarks
Illinois also is working with state legislators to enact a statewide
historic tax credit program – The Illinois Rehabilitation and
Revitalization Tax Credit Act (SB 1250).
The complete Most Endangered list, including individual property
press releases and photos, is available at www.Landmarks.org through
the “Press Room” link.
Landmarks Illinois 2015 Most Endangered Historic Places
(In alphabetical order)
Arnold-Crowe House
3329 W. Washington Blvd., Chicago (Cook County)
The Arnold-Crowe House in Chicago’s East Garfield Park neighborhood
is distinctive for its architecture and its connection to two noted
Chicagoans, but deterioration has left this 1904 mansion vulnerable
to demolition. Designed with Gothic and Moorish Revival influence,
the Arnold-Crowe House was a prominent home built at Washington
Boulevard and Garfield Park for Adolph Arnold, a successful
meatpacker and co-founder of the Schwinn Bicycle Company. The
mansion’s next resident was Robert E. Crowe, the prosecutor in the
dramatic Leopold and Loeb trial and co-counsel in the Iroquois
Theater Fire court proceedings. Later, the Arnold-Crowe House served
as the headquarters for a builders’ union and then became a church.
Vacant for many years, the home’s structural integrity is at risk
due to persistent water infiltration. A local restauranteur with a
strong investment interest in Chicago’s west side purchased the
house in 2011 with plans to rehabilitate it as his home.
Unfortunately, due to the high rate of foreclosures in the immediate
area, he was unable to secure the necessary bank financing. In the
meantime, a city inspection resulted in a demolition notice, despite
its significant rating in the Chicago Historic Resources Survey.
With a demolition hold in place, the owner has received offers for
the property, but fears for the house’s fate given the lack of
financing options as banks continue to be unwilling to provide
traditional financing in neighborhoods of disinvestment.
Black Hawk Statue
Lowden State Park, 1411 N. River Rd., Oregon (Ogle County)
Nestled within trees lining the east side of the Rock River, the
iconic Black Hawk statue stands nearly fifty-feet-tall on a high
bluff overlooking the beautiful landscape of Lowden State Park. The
statue is located less than one mile north of the city of Oregon and
twenty-five miles southwest of Rockford. Designed by noted Chicago
sculptor Lorado Taft, generations of Illinoisans have visited Black
Hawk during family vacations and school field trips since its
dedication in 1911. Despite several repairs and patches over the
decades, the now 104-year old statue is in desperate need of full
conservation – its concrete body in some places is so deteriorated
that if not addressed immediately there is a risk that the damage
will quickly accelerate and the majority of its original details
will be lost. Friends of the Black Hawk Statue Committee have
galvanized financial and pro-bono support for Black Hawk’s $825,000
restoration price tag. However, the bleak outlook for next year’s
IDNR budget, along with bureaucratic procedures that have slowed the
contracting process and elevated the budget, have already delayed
the scheduled restoration by nearly a year. A successful restoration
of this treasured Illinois monument will likely require pressure
from financial contributors, local officials, and the public.
Bowen Building, Peoria State Hospital
4125 W. Pfeiffer Rd., Bartonville (Peoria County)
The Bowen Building, the centerpiece of the National Register-listed
Peoria State Hospital complex, has been largely unoccupied since the
closure of the hospital in 1973. Sited on a hill in Bartonville, the
complex was the result of the Illinois General Assembly’s 1895
provision for a state insane asylum. Since the closure of the Peoria
State Hospital, efforts to rehabilitate the 1902, 3-story, limestone
Bowen Building have been unsuccessful. The non-profit Save the Bowen
Foundation has facilitated the reopening of the building in recent
years for group tours, but is unable to achieve a major
rehabilitation. The foundation needs to find a developer for the
project in 2015 to avoid condemnation and demolition. Eligible for
federal historic tax credits, the foundation is hopeful that the
iconic Bowen Building can be saved. Central Park Theater
3535 W. Roosevelt Rd., Chicago (Cook County)
The first of many large “movie palaces” built by the theater
corporation of Balaban & Katz, the 1917 Central Park Theater is one
of the earliest theater designs of the noted architecture firm Rapp
and Rapp. The Italian and French Renaissance-influenced 1, 780-seat
theater, located on the once-bustling Roosevelt Road corridor in
Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood, was designed in the style of
a European opera house. The model set forth in the Central Park
Theater soon became the norm in movie house design, but the theater
also served as a more traditional live performance venue – Lawndale
native Benny Goodman made his professional debut there in 1921. The
theater has weathered shifting neighborhood demographics and long
bouts of disinvestment, showing movies until 1971, when it was
purchased by the House of Prayer Church of God in Christ which
continues to worship there. The building is now in court for
numerous code violations and the small congregation cannot afford
the critical repairs needed. It is anticipated that the building
will soon be put on the market, thus facing the financing challenges
common throughout the Lawndale community.
 Condell House
605 S. 4th St., Springfield (Sangamon County)
Built in 1842, the Condell House is one of Springfield’s oldest
surviving structures but is currently facing a City-ordered
demolition unless a new owner can be found. The house originated as
a wing of the First Methodist Episcopal Church and was purchased and
moved to its current site in 1852 by John Condell, a prominent local
businessman. The house, located in the Governor’s Mansion Historic
Zoning District, features Greek Revival detailing and a deep setback
from the street. Despite its significance to the Springfield
community, the Condell House has remained largely vacant and a
victim of steady deterioration since 1985. In late 2014, the house
was placed on the City of Springfield’s “demolition delay” list,
allowing for a final period of time to find an alternative solution.
Local advocates, along with the Springfield Historic Sites
Commission, continue to seek a new owner with the capacity to repair
the historic house. The neighborhood surrounding the Condell House
has been the subject of large-scale reinvestment, highlighted by the
rehabilitation plans for the Executive Mansion and the redevelopment
proposal for an entire city block. The Condell House has the
opportunity to be a participant in this ongoing neighborhood
revitalization if a new owner is found to save this vital part of
Springfield’s history. William H. Coventry House & Barn
7704 Rt. 14 N., Harvard (McHenry County)
Currently for sale as part of a 287 acre, commercially-zoned tract,
the William H. Coventry House & Barn is located at Harvard’s
northern gateway. The 1855 house and its outbuildings were
rehabilitated in 1994 by Motorola as housing for visiting executives
to its Harvard manufacturing facility. Closed in 2003 and under
different ownership, the former Motorola campus and Coventry
buildings have deteriorated significantly, diminishing their
property value and placing the historic residence and barn in
danger. Local preservationists from the Harvard community have
voluntarily made minor repairs, but without full access to this
privately-owned property, any further stabilization is difficult.
New and dedicated ownership is needed of this historic parcel, which
can be divided from the larger campus. The City of Harvard, Harvard
Economic Development Corp. and the McHenry County Historical Society
are working together to identify possible buyers or solutions that
would ensure the preservation of the historic Coventry property.
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Historic Properties in the River Edge Redevelopment Zones
Elgin Tower Building, 100 E. Chicago Ave., Elgin (Kane County)
The Hobbs Building, 2 N. River St., Aurora (Kane County)
Madison Theater, 500 W. Main St., Peoria (Peoria County)
The Murphy Building, 234 Collinsville Ave., East St. Louis (St. Clair County)
Ziock Building, 416 S. Main St., Rockford (Winnebago County)
Set to expire on January 1, 2017, the River Edge Redevelopment Zone (RERZ)
Historic Tax Credit was created to revive and redevelop challenged historic
properties in five river-adjacent Illinois cities: Aurora, East St. Louis,
Elgin, Peoria, and Rockford. SB 1642 - the River Edge HTC extension bill – calls
for the extension of this critical financing program. If not extended, many
historic buildings in these cities will never have the opportunity to be
redeveloped and put back on the tax rolls. The five buildings highlighted
represent the variety of historic commercial buildings that are important to
their business districts, but all require the RERZ incentive to make good
financial sense for rehabilitation. The extension bill would allow the credit to
sunset in January of 2022. The historic tax credits offered in the RERZ
districts have made huge strides in downtown revitalization in Rockford and
Peoria, but more time is needed for other critical projects to be completed.
Mid-Century Modern Houses
Statewide
The staggering number of mid-century modern houses up for sale and vulnerable as
tear-downs in the Chicago area and or unable to sell throughout Illinois
underlines the challenge of marketing these unique homes built from the
1940s-1970s. Communities continue to lose architecturally significant homes from
this period to demolition. Often, these homes contain open floor plans, small
kitchens, seemingly outdated materials, and design features such as windowless
or full-glass walls that lead many realtors to view them as less desirable and
list them for their land value. Many nationally significant architects who were
based here designed these homes, including Edward Dart, A. James Speyer, and
Keck & Keck. The increasing loss of mid-century modern residential buildings
will continue unless they are identified and protected by local landmark
commissions. Greater understanding of their design qualities and use of
available incentives for their rehabilitation will also help these misunderstood
gems continue to sparkle for their communities.
Schulze Bakery
40 E. Garfield Blvd., Chicago (Cook County)
Once the highest-producing baking company in the country the Schulze Bakery
building in Chicago’s Washington Park neighborhood was built in 1914. Local firm
John Ahlschlager & Son designed the plant to efficiently accommodate the
programmatic requirements of large-scale industrial baking while still employing
highly decorative terra cotta ornament and detail on the exterior. While the
building retains a high degree of its historic integrity, it has stood vacant
since 2005, leaving it prone to deterioration and damage by vandals. The owners
are committed to renovating and reusing the building – potential reuse plans
have envisioned mixed-use retail and residential or a data center – but without
the assistance of a state historic tax credit (SB 1250), the financing continues
to be very difficult and the owners may need to sell the historically rich
plant. Further, the plant is situated next to a vacant lot and in close
proximity to the expressway and heavily trafficked arterial streets, making it
an attractive location for strip-mall or big-box development. The Washington
Park community is deeply committed to saving the building, and the Local Support
Initiatives Corporation (LISC) conducted a Quality of Life plan for the
neighborhood in 2009 which largely centered on retention and rehabilitation of
the Schulze Bakery. For large-scale historic buildings like Schulze, an added
financial incentive for rehabilitation is greatly needed.
St. James Academy
220 Illinois St., Lemont (Cook County)
The historic St. James Academy (now known as St. Patrick School) exemplifies the
growing number of shuttered archdiocesan schools. Built in 1883 in a simple
Italianate style, the school is one of just a dozen Joliet-Lemont limestone
structures still standing in Lemont, a town where quarrying
was the major industry from 1850-1900. Students from 1st through 12th grades
attended classes at the original St. James school building (renamed St. Patrick
School in the 1890s) until 1963, when a new school building was constructed
nearby. Low enrollment later prompted the Archdiocese to merge St. Patrick
School into another school in Lemont in 2003, so that both the old St. James and
newer school buildings were left without a purpose. When the newer school
building was converted into a parish center and meeting space, old St. James
remained vacant. Periodic inspections by the Archdiocese revealed structural
support problems, but these have not been addressed in at least a decade. As a
result, breaches in the roof have allowed water to enter the interior, which has
become severely deteriorated. Although the Village of Lemont designated St.
James Academy a local landmark, the parish today views the historic building as
an unusable drain on their budget. Aside from the roof structure and interior
deterioration, the school exterior is stable and retains a high degree of
historic integrity. Local preservationists are working with the Village to
explore opportunities for the right developer to rehabilitate and reuse the
building.
State Historic Preservation Office
Springfield
Governor Rauner’s proposed FY2016 budget zeroes out funding for the Illinois
Historic Preservation Agency (IHPA) Preservation Services Division, our State
Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). What we do not know at this point is if
funding will be restored, if the Division will be moved to another agency, or if
the administration proposes to cut preservation altogether. The federal
government requires each state to have a SHPO to manage federally-mandated
programs like Section 106 regulatory review, Certified Local Government (CLG)
grants, the National Register of Historic Places and the administration of the
Federal Historic Tax Credit program that requires staff design review of
rehabilitation projects on behalf of the National Park Service. Federal funds
flow into Illinois to pay for these services. Landmarks Illinois is advocating
to restore state funding for the SHPO and maintain or grow its capacity to
manage these vital regulatory review and incentive programs. The SHPO staff last
year alone assisted private developers and property owners with Federal Historic
Tax Credit rehabilitation projects totaling $726.6 million in private investment
– a higher total than in any other state. That translates to approximately 3,600
Illinois construction jobs. A loss of staff and budget to the SHPO will slow
down project reviews and have a major impact on the real estate development
community, job creation and put Illinois at risk of losing matching Federal
funds and millions of dollars in private investment.
Thatchcot House
515 S. 13th St., Herrin (Williamson County)
The charming and unique Thatchcot House in Herrin has fallen on difficult times
since a fire in 2000 severely damaged its interior, but its storied history and
significance in the community bolsters hope that a preservation solution remains
possible. Originally a traditional bungalow constructed in 1915, early owners
Hal and Violet Trovillion and local builder J.H. Kuehner collaborated to
transform the house into a whimsical interpretation of an English thatched
cottage, dubbing it “Thatchcot.” In addition to serving as their residence,
Thatchcot was home to the family’s printing company, Trovillion Press, which
published high-quality editions of short books through 1963. The house, which
was to be a showpiece for the Trovillion’s fine art collection, was adorned with
leaded-glass windows, exotic wood paneling, a flagstone terrace, and an iron
prow from a 19th century Venetian gondola mounted to the exterior chimney. Equal
care was taken in creating the rich landscape, which featured exotic plantings,
a vine-covered stone fence, and a spherical sundial from Sweden. The devastating
fire in 2000 severely damaged Thatchcot’s interior and the current owners have
been unable to restore the house while the insurance payment remains disputed.
The landscape has also suffered from the loss of many original plantings and the
theft of the metal sundial. Until sufficient funding is acquired or an
alternative solution determined, the charming “thatched cottage” of Herrin
remains vacant, boarded, and threatened by continued deterioration.
[Bonnie McDonald, President,
Landmarks Illinois]
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