Illinois Hall Sees the Light
By Margaret Foster | Online Only | Apr. 21, 2009
With a $55,000 grant from Partners in Preservation, the city of Aurora, Ill., has restored the stained-glass windows of its G.A.R. Memorial Hall.
Credit: Jan Mangers
The most beloved building in downtown Aurora, Ill., is getting a makeover, thanks to a program called Partners in Preservation.
The Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Hall, opened in 1878, was designed as a library, museum, and memorial to Civil War soldiers. It became one of Aurora's most important venues, drawing notable visitors, including John F. Kennedy, who spoke from its front steps during his presidential campaign. But in the 1960s, the city announced plans to demolish the Gothic Revival building for a parking lot.
"People rallied around that building and said, 'No, you can't destroy it,'" says Jan Mangers, director of Aurora's preservation commission. The city compromised, demolishing an addition to the building and later establishing a historic preservation ordinance.
In 2006, citing the limestone building's structural problems, the city closed the National Register-listed structure. A year later, G.A.R. Memorial Hall was one of 15 Chicago-area sites to receive a grant from Partners in Preservation, a collaborative program between the National Trust for Historic Preservation and American Express. With a $55,000 grant, the city restored the building's eight-foot-tall stained-glass windows. It's now working to replicate four windows that were removed in a 1904 renovation.
"We're about halfway through [the project]," says Mangers, who is overseeing the restoration program. The building has been stabilized, and its basement has been transformed into a visitors center. Mangers says the hall will be fully restored by 2011.
Through Partners in Preservation, now in its fourth year, American Express has distributed $2.4 million to historic sites in San Francisco, New Orleans, and Chicago.
Last week, Partners in Preservation launched its Boston initiative, inviting people to cast their votes for 25 historic sites in and around that city. Voting ends May 17, and American Express will announce the 15 winners this summer.
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