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.

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!)

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)?