Wednesday, Jul. 15, 2009

Old Belleville YMCA nominated for National Register of Historic places

BELLEVILLE -- Judy Belleville was delighted to get a letter from the state saying the old Turner Hall/YMCA Building on North First Street in downtown Belleville passed the first step in the process of joining the National Register of Historic Places.

The first step was taken by she and fellow city resident Robert Brunkow as private citizens to protect what they think is a local treasure, she said.

"Anybody can nominate if the building is publicly owned," she said.

The payoff is federal tax benefits, including as much as 20 percent in tax write-offs for potential investors. Any investor would have to continue the process of getting on the national register.

Some people believe the designation prevents demolition of buildings, but only in the sense that it makes them more valuable to preserve than destroy, she said. The Web site of the National Register of Historic Places points out that designation to the register does not prevent demolition.

Jack Le Chien, chairman of the Old YMCA Study Committee appointed by Mayor Mark Eckert to help determine the fate of the city owned building, said the committee had always figured that national register recognition would play a part in the potential renovation of the building. He also has an opinion from the state that the building qualified as part of a proposed larger preservation district.

The committee has advertised the building in Preservation, the national magazine of the historic preservation society and is getting some interest from prospective developers. It also is seeking development proposals from local people.

The city has determined that there are problems with the building, including air quality and asbestos, and it would cost $500,000 just to demolish.

The written opinion is from Andrew Heckenkamp, national register coordinator for the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, the guy in charge of the first step, reviewing potential applications. He recommended the building for its social history and its architecture -- art deco.

Belleville wrote a statement of integrity stressing the architectural aspects of the building. Brunkow researched and wrote the statement of significance with the history of the building.

Some of his findings included that the original building was completed in 1923 by what used to be the Belleville Turnverein, German heritage citizens who stressed physical and mental health. After World War I, the group became the Belleville Turners. By the mid-1920s it had the second largest membership in the American Turner Association.

At the time, the new gym was the largest Turner gym in the country. It could be converted into an auditorium and, along with other large rooms, could be a meeting center for civic groups and dances.

It also became the armory for Company D, 4th Infantry of the Illinois Reserve Militia, which provided home defense and disaster response after the Illinois National Guard was inducted into federal service during World War II.

It remained an armory after the war, housing Battery B of the 209th Artillery Battalion, 44th Division of the Illinois National Guard until 1952.

In the 1950s, it was shared by the Belleville Playground and Recreation Department and the Belleville Family Young Men's Christian Association until the YMCA bought it outright in 1959.

Belleville said the gym's local history alone makes it a treasure.

"For Belleville to have a treasure in its midst and to tear it down is foolish. It's downright foolish," Belleville said.