Farm House Facing Death In Belleville

I have been conducting an architectural survey at Scott Air Force Base and passing back through Belleville. Last week, just east of town I came across this 19th century brick farmhouse on Highway 161 east of town. The rest of the farm -- a clay tile silo and some outbuildings -- are well under demolition, but work has yet to really start on the house. A porch and the roofing have been removed, but the old building is painfully still able to be saved. The demolition set me to thinking.

I know, I know. Illinois is full of these one-story brick center-hall houses, with their two-over-two wooden windows and simple brick cornices. Yet that's really the point: these vernacular houses give the state's rural areas unique architectural character compatible with the rich and lovely landscape upon which they reside.

Besides, this house has an interesting hipped roof, and lovely cast stone porch columns (definitely not original, but certainly a historic alteration). With a new Wal-Mart and strip retail in this vicinity, I think I know what happens next to this farm. Even if one does not see the folly of the wasted building, what about thinking through losing soil that has fed people for over 100 years?

St. Louisans should think about these things too. What happens in Belleville matters to St. Louis. The loss of good farm land and usable farm building stock within 100 miles weakens our renewing regional food economy. We lost much of the good farm land in St. Louis and St. Charles counties, but we still have a lot left across the river. Some talk about "balancing" the region's sprawl, but without regional growth that is tantamount to doubling the waste: settled and unsettled areas, wasted. When do we stop?

Arts Center Proposal for Belleville YMCA Gaining Momentum

Over the weekend, the Belleville News-Democrat carried a story by Laura Girresch entitled "The old YMCA building: Is it worth saving or will it be a money pit?". Title aside, the article reports that St. Clair County Historical Society member Larry Betz' proposal to turn the former Belleville YMCA into the Belleville Arts and Cultural Center is gaining traction.

Belleville officials are hopeful that Betz' plan can come to fruition. A lot of work lies ahead but the city government's attitude now seems firmly supportive of preservation. One of the issues ahead: how to fund mothballing the building as Betz raises money for the center.

Arts Center Proposed for Belleville YMCA

Today the Belleville News-Democrat reported on an effort to turn the old YMCA building in Belleville, Illinois -- originally the Belleville Turner Hall -- into an arts center.

The story included some good news in the saga: members of a city committee charged with selling the city-owned building are impressed with the plan. After a lackluster response to a city-issued Request for Proposals (RFP) last year, Belleville officials have began mentioning demolition as a possible outcome. In February, I joined Belleville preservationists in urging the city to re-issue the RFP, which lacked important information on the building and mostly consisted of a report and asbestos in the building.

Proponents of the arts center have launched a Facebook group for supporters.

Harter's Hobby House Sign Removed

For decades, Harter's Hobby House at 1001 West Main in Belleville beckoned hobbyists with its colorful sign, which resembled a blue pin-striped stick of dynamite with a starlight mint-like pinwheel fuse. The sign is no more, having been replaced recently with a simple new sign.

The old sign was a complex metal sign with three plastic back-lit name boards, an enameled body and neon tubing on the pinwheel. The letters in the possessive "Harter's" were proper cursive fit for business, while the words "Hobby House" had a carefree lettering somewhere between kindergarten script and a typesetter's mistake.

Where did the sign go? Anyone with information is welcome to post in the comments section or email the editor, who missed the changeover.

More Time Needed to Market Belleville YMCA Building

On December 5, the Belleville News Democrat carried an article with the title "Reality check for old YMCA building: 'Unless money is found, nothing's going to happen'". The article contains disturbing news from Belleville's effort to market the historic downtown YMCA building, originally the Belleville Turner Hall (see ""Old Belleville Turner Hall Could Be Yours", August 7, 2009). From the article:

Jack LeChien, alderman in Ward 7 and the chairman of the YMCA committee, has favored using the building rather than tearing it down; after all, he's a member of the Belleville Historic Preservation Commission. But he thinks anyone with a strong proposal and adequate financial backing likely would have stepped forward by now.

Alderman LeChien had had a tough job, and has done it well. LeChien reached out to historic preservation blogs, magazines and other publications to carry the Request for Proposals issued by the city. However, the timing of Belleville's quest to sell the YMCA building has been a problem. Belleville picked the worst possible time for developers to get financing for a large project like the YMCA building. As I wrote to Alderman LeChien in June: "One thing to consider is that the lending climate is still emerging from stagnation and many developers who might be interested could need time to close on financing."

The fact is that the market is still slow and recovery is not complete. Belleville needs more time to sell the YMCA building, and its leaders should not rush to any conclusions about lack of responses to the RFP.

Also, the RFP posted on Belleville's website this year was not very strong. The document consisted of a short cover statement and a lengthy report on asbestos issues -- not a great marketing package. All old buildings have some asbestos, but not all old buildings have the reuse potential, location and cool interior spaces that the Bellevilel YMCA has. More time and a better RFP are needed.

Old Belleville Turner Hall Could Be Yours

The city of Belleville, Illinois has extended through August 30 the period for its Request for Proposals for the old city-owned Belleville Turner Hall. Located just north of the bustling Main Street business district at the southwest corner of 1st and A streets, the large building enjoys strong architectural and social significance.

The RFP can be found online here with instructions on how to contact the city for interested developers. This is a great opportunity: a large mixed-use building adjacent to a commercial district that seems to add new shops and pedestrians every week.

The Belleville YMCA used the building from 1960 through 2005, so the building is most commonly called the Old YMCA Building. Hence, the advocacy website for the effort to preserve the building is called Y Save the Y. That site has a lot of historical information as well as photographs.

Designed by Julius Floto and completed in 1923, the Craftsman-influenced Turner Hall features a wooden bow-truss gymnasium and a theater on the second floor with storefronts below. The 20,000 square foot building combined the large spaces required by the Turners with space for small businesses along the downtown the sidewalk. To this day, the building remains remarkably intact (inside and out) and the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency has determined that the building is individually eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. Citizens have submitted a nomination that is pending.

There is an interesting architectural connection between the Belleville Turner Hall and Frank Lloyd Wright: Julius Floto, an structural engineer by training, was the structural engineer for the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. After the hotel survived the 1923 Tokyo earthquake, Floto published the article "Imperial Hotel, Tokyo, Japan" in the February 1924 issue of Architectural Record. The article detailed the structural properties that made the hotel survive the devastation.

Lofts on the East Side

Lofts outside the big city: 'The best of both worlds' - Shane Graber (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 30)

Good news for Alton, Granite City and Belleville: downtown urban living is arriving.

Downtown Belleville

Downtown Belleville woos the young and hip - Doug Moore (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 1)

This story isn't news to anyone who has ventured to lively, urban Main Street in Belleville lately. There are some lessons that St. Louis could take from that Main Street to older commercial streets like Cherokee, 14th Street and Broadway in Baden and Carondelet.