Grayslake to pay $260,900 to maintain iconic smokestack
Work has begun to keep one of Grayslake's oldest icons standing well into the future as village contractors do maintenance work on the old Grayslake Gelatin Factory smokestack.
Over the next several weeks, crews will do masonry repair, steelwork and tuckpointing, Assistant Village Manager Brett Kryska said. The village agreed earlier this month to pay Gerard Chimney Company $260,900 for the work.
The smokestack is the last standing structure from the Grayslake Gelatin Factory, which opened north of Center Street and the railroad tracks in 1922 and closed in 1982.
When the village bought the 10-acre site for $30,000 in 2015, the smokestack was the only salvageable structure.
The contractors tasked with making sure the smokestack is standing for another century aren't the only people hard at work at the old factory site.
Earlier this year, the village approved a $2.5 million plan to turn the land into a community park. The goal is to have the park ready in time for the annual Color Aloft Balloon Festival on Aug. 25.
Mayor Rhett Taylor said he isn't sure if the smokestack will look significantly different after the project is done, but the maintenance is needed to preserve the structure.
"Whether it looks brand new after it's done, I just don't know," Taylor said.
Kryska said the contractor will wash and clean the tower.
The area at the base of the smokestack also will get some attention.
The plan calls for the installation of what is tentatively called the Smokestack Green and Garden, an oval shaped patch of grass and plants that will surround the smokestack. The area also could include informational signs about the history of the Grayslake Gelatin Factory.