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A gift from Norway during
the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, this Viking ship replica
sailed across the Atlantic and served as a major attraction during the fair.
For many years, the ship was in dry dock in Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo but
it was eventually relocated to its current site in Geneva’s Good Templar
Park during the mid-1990s. After more than a century of exposure to the
elements and numerous relocations, the ship was in need of a more permanent
preservation solution. In the winter of 2006-07, the Viking ship was named
to both the Fox Valley and Landmarks Illinois’ statewide list of endangered
historic resources. Soon afterwards, the ship was
selected as one of 25 candidates to compete in the Chicagoland Partners in
Preservation Grant challenge, which was co-sponsored by American Express and
the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The online voting process
lasted four weeks and prompted a creative “Get out the Vote” campaign by
this local grassroots organization. Finishing in 2nd place, the Viking Ship
stabilization effort was awarded 100% of the requested $52,000, which have
been used to rebuild the structural support system, repair cracks in the
wood, and provide a secure shelter and viewing platform for the vessel. The
jury remarked that “without the work of the Preservation Partners of the Fox
Valley, the fate of this rare and invaluable historic resource would still
be in jeopardy.”
Photo credits 3: Andrew
Woods; 4 (left) Perry Shaw, (right) Elizabeth Safanda; 5 Karla Kaulfuss; 6
(left) Elizabeth Safanda, (right) Mary Bencini
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