Quincy, Illinois
Last week I had the good fortune to be the invited speaker for Preservation Week in Quincy, Illinois, which has always been a preservation mecca. Why is it such a great town for preservation? One reason is evident in the dinner where I spoke – the Mayor, John Spring was there, along with 90 people or so. Another reason is historical – Quincy was a prosperous Mississippi river town that grew up during the high tide of Victorian and early 20th century architecture that was not overcome by late 20th century urban renewal and demolition mania. Another piece is proactive – an active and invested citizenry who saved important old landmarks like the Dr. Richard Eels House, a rare documented Underground Railroad site, Continue Reading
Berwyn, Illinois
Lots of preservation issues in Berwyn – the local preservation movement there has been active for some time – our students did a survey of the village in 1999 and there has been some fascinating back-and-forth-and-into-the-bathroom-bribery-with-the-feds over the lovely Berwyn Bank Building, which is finally being saved.
There is the issue of the Spindle – centerpiece of a state marketing campaign, one of two Illinois sites in a recent tourism article in American Airlines magazine, the cover of a 1991 issue of Metropolitan Review, etc. This thing is an icon and it is so much more than 1980s irony in the middle of a shopping mall parking lot – but it is made of cars and it is in bad shape and needs an expensive fix. Continue Reading