2018 Preservation Heritage Grant Recipients

Lincoln Central Association - Halsted-Willow Gateway, Chicago

Grant Amount: $2,000

The Halsted-Willow Gateway in Chicago’s Lincoln Park Neighborhood was listed on Landmarks Illinois’ 2014 Most Endangered Historic Places in Illinois due to development threats. The four Victorian-era buildings located at three of the corners of the intersection form the Willow-Halsted Gateway. Fortunately, the owner sold their property due to pressure to not redevelop this significant corner. The new owners, along with the alderman, and two community organizations — RANCH and Lincoln Central Association — are working together to protect the area through designation as a Chicago Landmark district. The group plans to hire a consultant to complete the City of Chicago Landmark designation for this corner.

Society of Architectural Historians - Charnley Persky House, Chicago

Grant Amount: $2,000

The Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) has been the stewards of the Charnley Persky House since the 1990s. The house was designed by Louis Sullivan with the assistance of Frank Lloyd Wright 1891-1892. A Conservation Management Plan was completed by Harboe Architects in the fall of 2017. SAH is using this plan as its guide in determining the priorities for the building’s preservation. The group will use the grant funds to address the first priority — to tuckpoint and repair the four original chimneys.

Tri-Taylor Community Association - Claremont Cottages, Chicago

Grant Amount: $1,500

The Claremont Cottage District (S. Claremont Ave. between Taylor and Grenshaw Streets), in Chicago, consists of 17, one-and-a-half story Queen Anne Cottages built in 1884. Despite alterations made to the exterior of a handful of cottages, they all retain the physical characteristics that define their architectural significance, making the block a rarity in Chicago. The cottages are contributing structures within the Tri-Taylor National Register Historic District, which offers no protection. The district’s proximity to the Illinois Medical District and the increasingly high market values of the larger University Village area have made the cottages vulnerable to demolition and development. Fortunately, the alderman, the Tri-Taylor Community Association and residents of the block recognize its historic and architectural value and its contribution to the character of the Tri-Taylor District and have worked to halt development plans, temporarily. Threats continue to emerge as three cottages have been recently put up for sale. The only way to guarantee that this rare surviving group of Queen Anne cottages remains safe from development is to designate it a City of Chicago Landmark District.

Historic Marbold Farmstead Association - North annex, carriage house, smokehouse and wash house, Greenview

Grant Amount: $2,000

Marbold Farmstead was listed on LI’s 2012 Most Endangered Historic Places in Illinois. This ornate brick farmhouse and its many outbuildings once stood at the heart of over 4,000 acres of Marbold family holdings in Menard County. Vacant for over 10 years and stripped of its interiors, a group of local citizens have raised the money to purchase the farmstead and its remaining 10 acres from an out-of-state owner. With previous LI Preservation Heritage Fund Grants, the Historic Marbold Farmstead Association secured the house from water damage and made masonry repairs to the smokehouse and a portion of the north annex. They will use the latest LI grant funds to install a gutter system to the north annex, carriage house, smokehouse and wash house.

Springdale Historic Preservation Foundation - 1866 Union Civil War Monument, Peoria

Grant Amount: $2,500

The 1866 Union Civil War Monument was Peoria’s first war memorial and is documented to be the first of its kind to be authorized and dedicated in Illinois for the Union Civil War. After standing for nearly 100 years, the monument was dismantled and readied for relocation when the courthouse in front of where it stood was set to be demolished. At that time, the eagle, which topped the monument, was broken. The remaining nine pieces were left on the lawn of the courthouse for more than a year, when it suddenly disappeared. The pieces were found by the railroad tracks In the 1990s — 30 years after they went missing. Nothing was done to restore the monument at that time, and two more pieces have since gone missing. Fortunately, the Springdale Historic Preservation Foundation has stepped in to re-erect, restore and rededicate the memorial just inside the gates of the Springdale Cemetery and Mausoleum in Peoria.

Previous 2018 grant Recipients

Bolingbrook Historic Preservation Commission - Boardman Cemetery, Bolingbrook

Grant amount: $1,300

The Bolingbrook Historic Preservation Commission (BBHPC) was established by the Village Board in 1993 to preserve Bolingbrook’s rich heritage. In addition to collecting information and artifacts, the BBHPC is restoring headstones, grave markers and plaques at Boardman Cemetery, which was established in 1832. LI awarded BBHPC a Preservation Heritage Grant in 2017, which was used for Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) to identify unmarked burial locations and archaeological features. The BBHPC will use the new grant funding to continue this project and complete restoration of several headstones through a workshop training volunteers in the work.

Elmhurst Art Museum - McCormick House, Elmhurst

Grant amount: $5,000

The Elmhurst Art Museum oversees the McCormick House (1952) designed by Mies van der Rohe. In the early 1990s, the Elmhurst Art Museum moved the house to its current location to become part of the new art museum. The house was physically connected to the existing museum building. The Museum currently wishes to detach the two buildings and restore the original entry to the McCormick House. In June 2018, the full exterior of the McCormick House will be visible for the first time in over 20 years, complete with its original carport and new front door, allowing its unique features to be better recognized.
(photo credit: Alex Chitty)

Center for Women’s History and Leadership - WCTU Administration Building, Evanston

grant amount: $5,000

The Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) Administration Building is part of a complex of buildings associated with women’s suffragist Frances Willard. The earliest portion of the building was constructed in 1910 with later additions in the 1920s and 1940s. The building was essentially abandoned in 1996 when the WCTU moved its offices and has since fallen into disrepair. The Center for Women’s History and Leadership (CWHL) has a management agreement with the WCTU, which owns the building, to maintain the buildings on this site. It is the intention of the CWHL to rehabilitate the building and reuse it as office space for women entrepreneurs and create co-work space. A recent conditions assessment prioritizes building code and life safety issues. The CWHL is requesting funds to make these necessary repairs.

Kane County - Amasa White House, Geneva

grant amount: $6,000

The Amasa White house, built circa 1841, is the most substantial example of early settlement housing in Kane County and was included on LI’s 2018 Most Endangered Historic Places in Illinois. Today, the Amasa White House is owned by Kane County. Though the property sits vacant, the county has taken care to keep the house closed and secure. In 2007, the county published The Fabyan Utilization Study that identified the area of the Amasa White House as a possible historic settlement that would be a location for county historic buildings and educational programming. However, after the economy faltered, no pursuit of this recommendation was undertaken. To date, there is no approved reuse for the property. The primary threat to the house is water penetration through the roof.

McKee Preservation Group - McKee House, Churchill Woods Forest Preserve

Grant Amount: $2,000

The Colonial Revival McKee House built in 1936 is being managed by the Village of Glen Ellyn. Under the Village’s lease with the Forest Preserve Board, it must raise $400,000 by October 2019 to restore the historic structure or it will be demolished. The McKee Preservation Group was created to raise necessary funding for preservation of the McKee House and will use the LI grant funding to help re-roof and stabilize the structure. LI included the McKee House on its 2017 Most Endangered Historic Places in Illinois.

St. John’s United Church of Christ, Maeystown

grant amount: $2,500

The church was built in 1866, and the congregation has proven to be good stewards to their historic church building and property, having received a Preservation Heritage Fund Grant from Landmarks Illinois in 2015 to restore the stone wall on their property and in 2017 to repaint the frames of the art glass windows. The congregation is currently seeking funds to assist with the painting of the 1859 school house. This structure was the first church building for the congregation and remains the oldest place of worship in the State of Illinois.

City of Moline - Prospect Park Grand Pavilion, Moline

grant amount: $5,000

The Moline Community Development Corporation, Moline Parks, Historic Preservation Commission, Moline Preservation Society and community partners are working together to raise the necessary funds to restore and repaint the Grand Pavilion at Prospect Park. The two-story, timber frame open air Pavilion constructed in 1891 was sold to the City in 1911. It has served as a meeting and gather place for generations hosting weddings, reunions and proms. Local landmark designation has been approved by the Moline Parks Board, but is currently tabled by the City Council pending completion of the necessary repairs. Moline Parks has committed $335,000 to repair the pavilion. The final restoration includes repainting the pavilion to its original color scheme.

Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County - Governor John Wood Mansion, Quincy

Grant Amount: $2,500

The John Wood Mansion, built in 1835-37, was designed by architect John Cleveland and hand built by John Wood, the first settler of Quincy, along with a group of German immigrant carpenters and craftsmen. The Greek-Revival style home has been owned by the Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County since 1906. The Historical Society keeps the house open for tours, educational programming and special events. The Historical Society will use LI grant funding to repair and paint the home’s wood siding.

Shelbyville Chautauqua Auditorium Preservation Committee - Chautauqua Auditorium Building, Shelbyville

Grant amount: $5,000

The Shelbyville Chautauqua Auditorium, located in Shelbyville’s Forest Park, is a circular-shaped, wood-clad building with 20 sides and a 150-foot diameter clear span with a patented radial roof truss system. The auditorium, built in 1903, is the largest building of its kind in the world. The Chautauqua Auditorium Preservation Committee has been working recently to determine the specific needs and priorities to repair the building. The most immediate need is to shore up the southeast corner of the building in preparation for the roof restoration project planned for later this year.

More Preservation Heritage Grant Recipients

Support our advocacy

Be a voice for the future of our communities by supporting Landmarks Illinois. Our work enhances communities, empowers citizens, promotes local economic development and offers environmentally sound solutions.

Become A Member