Media Contact:
Kaitlyn McAvoy
Communications Manager
Landmarks Illinois
kmcavoy@landmarks.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 30, 2023
Golconda & Murphysboro preservation projects awarded funding through the Landmarks Illinois Banterra Bank Preserve Southern Illinois Grant Program
CHICAGO – Landmarks Illinois has awarded grants to fund historic preservation projects in Golconda and Murphysboro through the Landmarks Illinois Banterra Bank Preserve Southern Illinois Grant Program. The matching grants will support projects at the Riverview Mansion Hotel in Golconda and a commercial building in Murphysboro’s Main Street corridor, sparking local economic development and reinvestment in our historic places in Southern Illinois.
Golconda grant
A $2,500 Landmarks Illinois Banterra Bank Preserve Southern Illinois matching grant was awarded to the owners of the Riverview Mansion Hotel in Golconda to help make necessary exterior repairs to the 129-year-old building. The Riverview Mansion Hotel is a Victorian-style home built in 1894 for John Gilbert, Jr., who served as the city’s mayor. It has operated as a hotel since the mid-1920s, providing overnight accommodations and bringing economic activity to the city in Pope County.
The stately structure features a dozen stained glass windows, including a Palladian-style window on the front elevation that is in need of repair. Riverview’s owners Anthony and Beth Eckert will use the grant to help pay for exterior maintenance to the window.
Murphysboro grant
Jamie and Shannon Green, owners of the historic building at 1330 Walnut St. in Murphysboro, will use their $2,500 grant through the Landmarks Illinois Banterra Bank Preserve Southern Illinois grant program to help cover the cost of installing new windows on the second floor of the commercial building. The first floor is home to two local businesses (White House Salon and Yoga on the Block), and the second floor is being rehabilitated for residential use. The structure is one of six commercial properties in Murphysboro’s Main Street corridor that the Greens have purchased and are restoring in an effort to increase activity in downtown. Jamie also serves as Director of Murphysboro’s Main Street program and is a steering committee member for Revitalize 62966, which is dedicated to revitalizing Murphysboro through project development and community input.
Read more about each of these grant projects at the Landmarks Illinois website.
Landmarks Illinois and Banterra Bank will host check presentations with both grant recipients in May. The public and the press are welcome to attend. More details will be announced at a later date.
About the grant program
The Landmarks Illinois Banterra Bank Preserve Southern Illinois Grant Program provides monetary assistance to preserve or rehabilitate historic structures in downtowns and other commercial corridors of Southern Illinois to support economic development. Launched in the spring of 2022, this is the first grant program Landmarks Illinois has targeted to a specific Illinois economic development region and is also the organization’s first grant program offered to private building owners, developers and for-profit business owners.
Grants are awarded on a matching basis and range from $500 to $2,500 each based on project need. Grants are distributed twice a year. Grant application deadlines are January 1 and July 1. Commercial property owners, nonprofit organizations or governmental bodies are encouraged to apply. Visit our website to read detailed grant guidelines and to submit an application.
About Banterra Bank
Founded in Southern Illinois, Banterra Bank approached Landmarks Illinois with the grant program concept, because they saw a need for preserving the region’s historic downtown buildings and supporting small business development in the area. Banterra began as a single bank in Ridgway, Illinois in July of 1975. Today, Banterra has $2.7 billion in assets and is ranked in the Top Ten Percent of U.S. Charter Banks and Top Five Percent for Illinois Charter Banks by asset size. Banterra has almost 40 locations in Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri and Utah, as well as a specialty lending division that serves customers nationwide. For more information, call 866-BANTERRA (226-8377) or go to www.banterra.bank.
About Landmarks Illinois
We are People Saving Places for People. Landmarks Illinois is a membership-based, historic preservation nonprofit organization serving the people of Illinois. We inspire and empower stakeholders to save places that matter to them by providing free guidance, practical and financial resources and access to strategic partnerships. For more information, visit www.Landmarks.org.
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LEARN MORE ABOUT THE GRANT PROGRAM