May 21, 2012

Historic Architectural Resources – Geographic Information System

Click here to USE HARGIS

HARGIS update launched:

A greatly improved and updated on-line mapping and research tool for information about the historic resources in Illinois is now available. The “soft launch” of HARGIS took place on May 14, 2012. The new system is fully available to the public, but during the “soft launch” period we are asking users to comment on the features and effectiveness of this new system. At the end of the initial use, we will be able to do some final corrections on the system operation.

What information is available online?

Data and scanned photographs and background documentation for almost 78,000 buildings, structures, objects, sites, and districts in Illinois has been logged into HARGIS. These properties were surveyed either as part of a National Register nomination, through the Illinois Historic Structures Survey, the Illinois Landmarks Survey, the Illinois Department of Transportation’s Historic Bridge Survey, and the Chicago Historical Resources Survey. There are many other additional surveys that need to be added to the HARGIS database and there are many older listings where properties have changed or been demolished, which have not been updated on this system.

Special note for Archaeology

HARGIS does not identify specific known archaeological areas, which are exempt from general public access under the state Freedom of Information Act. (They may be accessed at our offices in Springfield by professionally qualified archaeologists for legitimate research purposes or by property owners.)

Special note about Chicago:

The City of Chicago online Zoning Map includes the city’s landmarks and survey information. The data on the city’s map is more recent than the data on HARGIS and is also integrated with more city information than HARGIS.

May 1, 2012

May is Preservation Month: “Discover America’s Hidden Gems”

Each year, the National Trust for Historic Preservation selects a theme for preservation month as a promotional tool for local communities and preservation organizations across the country. This year’s theme, Discover America’s Hidden Gems, invites communities to recognize special resources in their communities. Landmarks Illinois, as the state-wide advocacy organization for preservation in Illinois, has created a special Facebook page for you to reveal your own “hidden gems.” Please share your stories about “Hidden Gems” in Illinois. A “hidden gem” recommendation from the IHPA staff: The Cloud State Bank in McLeansboro IL.

Designed by the architecture firm of Reid & Reid of Evansville, Indiana, the building features elaborate ornamentation and complexity beyond the confines of the florid Second Empire style it was designed in. Among the more prominent details are “blocked” or banded columns, a segmental central pediment, round-headed windows, use of red brick and white stone, richly ornamented frieze and several cornices, outward-splaying chimneys, and a Mansard roof pierced by dormers and topped by a “bull’s eye” clock tower covered with zinc shingles and crowned with wrought iron work. Inside, an ornate vault, which at one point was the only enclosed room in the entire bank, still remains. Of added importance is that the iron, tin and zinc work were executed by the company of J.B. Mesker & Son of Evansville, Indiana, whose sons later created their own companies, George L. Mesker & Company and Mesker Brothers Iron Works, and popularized galvanized sheet-metal cornices and entire building facades throughout America’s small towns, including McLeansboro. Built entirely by private funds, the building has served the public almost continuously since its completion. Few small towns in Illinois can boast of such a monumental and elegant commercial building. The Cloud State Bank was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

Celebrate Earth Day – April 22nd; New evidence: Old is the New Green.

This spring, the National Trust for Historic Preservation released a major technical report on Building Reuse, which provides in-depth information on the environmental benefits of reusing existing buildings. The study, entitled “The Greenest Building: Quantifying the Value of Building Reuse,” applies modern Life Cycle assessment (LCA) methodologies to this topic. The study compares the reuse of an existing building with the construction of a comparable new building for six different building types in four different weather zones. The results vary somewhat, but the overall conclusion is that it takes decades for a new building to save enough resources, particularly energy resources, to make up for the resources required to construct it in the first place. If anything, the study methodology errs on the side of new buildings, so that critics of building preservation can’t pick at the details. The historic preservation community has needed this study for years, as the topic was last explored back in 1980. Kudos to the National Trust, the Preservation Green Lab, and the consulting team for this timely and impressive report. “The greenest building really is the one that already exists!”

April 15, 2012

Preservation Tax Incentive in Illinois - 2000 - 2012 $ 2.3 Billion Dollars invested

Historic properties in Illinois received more than $ 2.3 billion dollars in reinvestment from 2000 to today for owners who utilized the federal rehabilitation tax incentives. In 2011, Illinois was first in the nation with more than $ 365 million in certified rehabilitation expenditures. This investment was stimulated by $ 460 millions in federal tax credits. Based upon recognized national models, this investment created more than 37,000 jobs. The attached report highlights some of the projects from around the state. Historic Rehabilitation projects in Illinois 2000 - 2012

Richardson Building Project
201 W. State Street
Rockford Illinois

Project Cost $ 1,000,000, completed 2006

Roll over the picture to the left to view the results of the restoration.