Welcome to Forgotonia

It’s that time of year for the announcement of the “Most Endangered” places in Illinois. This year, Rock Island makes the list again. (And on a related note, the Quad City Times reports that the house in Moline once owned by John Deere—about which I’ve previously posted— is “still of grave concern.”

Other than the Rock Island item on this year’s roster (a building used by the Elks Club), the closest place on the 2011 list is a bridge in Sangamon County.

(More, below the image).

Screen shot of Landmarks Illinois web site

A couple of places I’d like to add to the list, (or at least to a subcategory of places that need attention):

• The Macomb Maid Rite,
• The Randolph House on the Macomb Square,
• and what remains of the former Carthage College campus, (where the Circle K organization was started, among other historical tidbits).

So, what about you?

What other local landmarks in the general western Illinois region would you be sad to see destroyed?

List them below, or drop me a line.

As I mentioned quite awhile ago, I have a fondness for this place, especially knowing that my grandparents had their first date there so many years ago. (That in addition to my general fondness for all things vintage and endangered.) It’s just off the downtown square in Macomb, and as with the Standard Oil building a few doors down, it’s one last little bit of a time gone by that you pass on your way to the Wal-Mart.

So I was pleasantly surprised when I received a comment on my post from a former Macombie Homie who says he’d like to look into buying the building to see that it gets restored. How cool would that be?

I seemed to remember, from when I first noticed that the building was for sale, that some person or company I’d never heard of was the seller–someone who’d made a handmade For Sale sign (i.e., no Remax hot air balloon here). So, to try to help, I swung by the former diner on Monday and took this (snazzy) photo with my cellphone. And I have to say, from a marketing perspective, I’m a bit concerned with the, er, presentation. I couldn’t find a web site for said realtor, either.

But hey, at least I sent this former Homie the phone number. Let’s hope he’s got some extra funds sitting around!

Who can tell me anything about this sad cafe—which is apparently now home to a salvage yard and a rather…um, interesting used car business—along Highway 136 between Macomb and Carthage?

I’ve driven past it for years and finally stopped to take a picture on Labor Day Weekend. I was greeted by the property owner who, when I asked how long the cafe had been closed, said, “…’bout 10 years.” I beg to differ, however.

What’s the real story of the Midway Cafe?

You can see more of my photos of local stuff here.

I was intrigued to learn that one of the entries on the recently released list of the “10 Most Endangered” historical sites in Illinois is an old house in Moline.

I happened to be in the Quad Cities not long after I read about the home, so I got C-Nor, (a.k.a. my fiancee, Chris), to program the address into his GPS.

We navigated from Davenport (IA) to Moline, (with the British lady on the Garmin directing/annoying us the whole way), until we found the lonely structure that was once owned by John Deere (the man). Read about the history of the house here.

I’m not sure why the house and /or property are called “Red Cliff.” I definitely get the “cliff” part, and you will, too, if you check out the photos I took. But the house is, um, green. The house stands out literally and figuratively; it looks out over Moline from a dramatic little look-out point while the rest of the neighborhood is un-remarkable. Chris and I walked right up to the house and looked in the windows. There are some sawhorses and tools inside, not to mention a sign out front that says “Restoration in progress,” that hint at a promising future. But the “10 Most Endangered” list says the restoration effort has been abandoned and the property is now in foreclosure.

Play the slide show for more details, or view the pictures via Flickr to get all the cutline-y goodness.

P.S. On a related note: Time.com recently published a list of the 11 most endangered national places, on which some of the causes of “danger” are proposed Wal-Marts and condo developments. (I will try to think of something non-depressing for my next post!)

I have posted a couple of entries in the past about the Spoon River Bridge (located in an area made famous by the Spoon River Anthology) being listed as one of the “most endangered” historic sites in Illinois.

Two weekends ago, I set out to take in the sights of the bridge and anything else interesting along the way.

Taking in the turns (and the little towns) along Highway 136

As we left Macomb and headed into Fulton County, the charmingly self-contained, yet ghost-town-y feel of one of the first little towns on the way, Table Grove, IL, was heightened by the cold wind and gray sky.

The “Antiques” shop had (for some reason) a sheet of plywood nailed above the door with the hand-stenciled words BOYCOTT SPEED LUBE. But it and most of the other stores around the small square seem to be abandoned and /or filled with loose junk, the kind of which that might be left over after a garage sale. The little store advertising “The future of TV” on its sign appears to have ceased operations decades ago, at least judging by its storefront contents. Only the bar, Rick’s Place (with its marquee outside stating “It’s mushroom time,” which the locals understand), appeared to be open and drawing customers.

See some highlights below from this mini-venture into our “forgotten” land.

(Or check out this and other Forgottonia-region shots on Flickr.)

The latest installation of the Ten Most Endangered Historic Places in Illinois was released last month, and once again there are a bulk of Chicago area sites but at least one local landmark, too. (See my previous post about local endangered sites, including the Bernadotte Bridge.)

You can see the full 2010 list here.

The most local site is something in Moline, IL called Red Cliff, a dramatic, Italianate-style house built in 1874, which you can see a picture of and read about here. The property was once owned by John Deere—as in thee John Deere, after whom the company would be named—but it’s now in foreclosure. It seems like another example of something we take for granted every day that might seem insignificant, but would be a minor tragedy if it were destroyed. At least that’s how I feel—each loss of this kind just chips away at authenticity and character, and adds to strip-mall-y-ness, of our communities. (Which, I mean, I like my Borders and TJ Maxx as much as the next gal, so call me a hypocrite. But …can’t we have it both ways?)

While the rest of the sites fall outside Forgotonia, another item on the list is the entire Main Street Program, which affects the whole state because it is one of the many victims of the state budget crisis. (Thanks again, Blago’ and all y’all.)

Have you been to Red Cliff? Do you live in any of the communities mentioned on the list? Got any ideas of what else should be listed (locally)?

I misspoke the other day when I mentioned that the Bernadotte Bridge is on the list of endangered places in Illinois. I might have made it sound like the bridge was just added to 2009 list (which was released just this week). But it turns out that’s OLD news, yo. The Bernie Dot bridge is endangered, but it’s on the “archived” list.  The new addition for this region is in fact an old-fashioned, family-owned pharmacy in Canton. After reading about it (see an excerpt below), I hope both it and the Bernie Dot Bridge can be saved!

2009 Ten Most Endangered Historic Places

Lewis Pharmacy

“The interior of the historic pharmacy remains virtually unchanged from its opening in 1915, when it was termed the finest drug store in Illinois. The shop retains its original cabinetry, booths, soda fountain, checkerboard floor and decorative art glass. The pharmacy was operated by the Gustine family until 1937, when it was sold to the Lewis family who operated it for an additional 72 years. An elderly Edward Lewis, Jr. finally retired and closed the pharmacy in February. The hope is to find a new owner that would like to preserve this historic institution, but if an appropriate buyer can not be found, the furniture and fixtures will soon be sold at auction. While Canton is an Illinois Main Street community, it does not currently have a local landmark program to protect historic buildings from demolition.”

For a detailed list of all 155 sites, visit the “Ten Most” Archives.

(P.S. This makes me wonder about the old soda fountain in Macomb’s Ford Hopkins drug store on the square. Anyone know how much of the soda fountain counter in there is original?)

(P.P.S. Sadly, here is a list of places already lost.)

According to an Associated Press story yesterday, something in Fulton County has been named to the watch list of endangered historic places. The story had about a sneeze’s worth of information, though, so I went in search of some more deets.

Apparently (according to this site) the item in need of preservation is the bridge in Bernadotte—pronounced by the locals sometimes as “Bernadette,” like as in Bernadette Peters, or “Bernie Dot” (which totally just makes me giggle every time I hear it).

But giggling aside, I hope the old bridge can indeed be saved, because, for among other reasons,

“…It spans the Spoon River in an area that gained notoriety after poet Edgar Lee Masters’ Spoon River Anthology was published 1915.”

PS: Thank Wikipedia for this helpful bit of history:

The unincorporated village of Bernadotte, in Fulton County, which is four miles north of Ipava on the Spoon River, has the distinction of having once been considered as the site for the capital of Illinois, prior to the capital being located at Vandalia in 1820. Vandalia was selected over Bernadotte by the difference of one vote.

(But Vandalia, of course, got the boot, too.)