Weighing future of 'Munster mansion'

The home at 405 S. Seventh St. in St. Charles, a stunning Victorian style built in the 1890s, and the former Zimmerman home at the opposite corner have stood as twin pillars of that neighborhood. They are the anchors in what many would use to illustrate a St. Charles neighborhood of yesteryear.

When one thinks of South Seventh Street in particular, the "Eddie Munster Mansion" as the Victorian was often called, and the Zimmerman home most definitely come to mind. It is not surprising, then, that the St. Charles Historic Preservation Commission voted in favor of applying landmark status to the Victorian structure. The problem, however, is that owner Ann Shirley Bowie wants to sell it to a developer who has designs on using the spacious corner to build a few new homes.

As chairman of the preservation commission, Steven Smunt did what is expected of a person in his role. He saw the risk of losing a unique structure in one of the city's older neighborhoods, and he brought it to the attention of his fellow commissioners. He had, in fact, been trying for months to convince Thomas Bowie, who died July 23, to apply for that status.

However, Smunt is a neighbor of Bowie, so there is a level of "don't ruin my neighborhood" that doesn't take into account Ann Bowie's right and desire to sell the house and property for more than $700,000 and follow her plan to retire in Ohio and move closer to her son.

More troubling was Smunt's comment that Bowie "is not part of the community and has no intention to stay."

This was a cheap shot at a woman who, in fact, has had a connection to the home for nearly 15 years in her marriage to Thomas, whose family has owned the house since 1950.

Smunt would have been wiser to simply explain that because of her desire to leave the area, Ann Bowie does not fit the bill of what a landmark status home often needs -- a long-time resident of the city or a buyer with a passion for local history who would purchase the house and take on badly needed restorations.

This is how Geneva's historic districts have prospered. In addition to being designated as historic areas within the city, many of the homeowners are longtime Geneva families or those with a love for older homes of stature and character.

The home at 405 S. Seventh was "famous" in the neighborhood as a Halloween destination because of its haunted house look and feel, and the generosity of the family that lived there.

The city council will contemplate the fate of the house and, yes, there have to be far better reasons than a cool Halloween site for the aldermen to feel that Bowie should not sell her house, even if that sale means it will be razed.

If advocates of preserving the house as a landmark for future generations to admire what St. Charles was determined to save, then there must be a sincere effort to raise the money or find a buyer who will pay fair market value.

Otherwise, Ann Bowie has every right as a property owner to do what she feels is the best approach to reach her goal of moving to Ohio.