Pure Oil Building
Geneva
Preservation Partners of Fox Valley has a history of working to preserve significant buildings and objects such as the Riverbanks Lab and the 1893 Viking Ship. Most recently, PPFV worked to preserve the 1937 Pure Oil Station in Geneva, located at 514 W. State St. The owners of the building, the St. Charles Bank and Trust, pulled a demolition permit in February 2012 and the city agreed that the historic station was functionally obsolete and would stand in the way of economic development. Between February and August 2012, PPFV created an effort to save the building. They monitored all relevant hearings, formed advocacy partnerships, helped organize a citizens ad hoc committee, worked on publicizing the threat against the station, organized citizens to express support for the preservation of the building through letters or by attending city council sessions and contacted the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency to determine if this building was subject to Section 106 review due to it being listed on the National Register. In the end, through the efforts of PPFV, and the relationships forged, the city denied the demolition permit and the owners found a way to use the building as their drive through.