Elgin parks to get major makeover

Fountain Square and Advocate Park in downtown Elgin - little-known but historic sections of the downtown - are undergoing makeovers as crews progress on the city's $31.5 million street resurfacing and streetscape project.

Both of the tiny parks immediately southwest of East Chicago at South Grove Avenue and Spring Street are still under construction and will feature other upgrades appearing elsewhere in the spruced up downtown, including brick pavers, more trees and planting areas. But the parks will feature even more amenities, including special low-voltage lighting, raised planting beds and extended seating walls at different heights, said Shelley Costello, the project's construction engineer with TranSystems.

"What we are hoping to accomplish in general is make these spots more pedestrian-friendly, so people will want to come downtown, sit for a while, maybe go out for dinner, and walk around," said Costello. "We want the downtown to be more inviting for people to come and stay for a while."

Ray Moeller, director of economic development and business services for the city, said the new perks at Fountain Square will look even more appealing once RSC & Associates completes the second phase of the Fountain Square condominiums and townhouses.

"Once the townhomes are built there, the new park will serve as an entryway into a plaza within the Fountain Square development," he said. "(The new park) is a nice amenity now but it will look even nicer once that second phase is built."

While Fountain Square has taken on various configurations over the decades, its history dates to 1854, when the triangular-shaped intersection of East Chicago Street, Grove and Douglas avenues had become Elgin's main town square of sorts. Farmers would bring their produce and livestock to sell, and the area was known as Market Square. Horses, however, need water, and a fountain was added in 1873 and the area became known as Fountain Square. In its heyday, Grove Avenue extended through East Chicago Street.

Fountain Square was a favorite gathering spots for public events and during World War II, it featured an appearance from movie siren, Dorothy Lamour, who appeared in person at the square to auction off a sarong to the highest war bond subscriber.

Advocate Park is one of the tiniest parks in Elgin, according to E.C. "Mike" Alft, an Elgin historian. He said a weekly newspaper, called the News-Advocate, was published in Elgin from 1871 to 1918 along with the Elgin Daily News. The brick building from which the paper was published, which had three sides and three towers, was called the News-Advocate Building and faced the corner of Spring and East Chicago streets.

When the building was demolished for a parking lot, the city renamed one tiny section of it after the newspaper. Part of the park sits on right-of-way of railroad tracks which once ran through the down from the site of the Fulton Street parking deck to north of the Gail Borden Public Library.

Costello said the newly revamped Fountain Square and Advocate Park, which will also feature open plazas, benches and new trees, will compliment other upgrades on nearby East Chicago, including new planting beds and trees on both sides of the street. The coming changes are more dramatic near the Chicago Street bridge.

"There is a lot of pavement near that intersection that is not warranted for the traffic patterns there," she explained.

Crews will widen the sidewalks slightly and bump out the ends, thereby eliminating the left-hand turn lane from East Chicago onto North Grove and Douglas, she said. Once the new sidewalks and curbs are poured, crews will also rip up and replace East Chicago Street from near the bridge to Spring Street, and North Grove and Spring to Highland Avenue. Real bricks will replace painted concrete walkways installed this fall.

"As you come off the bridge from East Chicago, there will be an entire look and feel to downtown Elgin," said Costello.