St. Charles’ Barry House safe from demolition once again

After months of consideration, St. Charles City Council members have denied the owners’ request to demolish a 181-year-old downtown building.

The house at 217 Cedar Ave., known as the Barry House, was built in 1844. Owners have been seeking permission to demolish the home for years to convert the property to a parking lot.

Judge William D. Barry owned the house in the mid-1800s. Abraham Lincoln was said to have stayed there while visiting Barry, though the history museum’s archives show no record of such a visit from the former president.

The Baker Memorial United Methodist Church in St. Charles, located across the street from the Barry House, has owned the property since 1993 and has been seeking permission to demolish it since 2017, arguing that it has become a liability and financial burden.

Because the property is in a historic district, the church must receive a certificate of appropriateness from the city before planning the demolition.

Residents concerned with preserving the home’s history attended meetings to protest the proposed demolition. It appeared on the 2025 list of the Most Endangered Historic Places in Illinois.

The topic has been debated at length at several meetings over the past year, with public comment from both sides.

Historic Preservation Commission members denied the church’s certificate of appropriateness request last October. However, members of the city’s planning and development committee recommended approval in May.

On Monday, the city council voted 7-3 to deny the certificate of appropriateness request. Alderpersons Ryan Bongard, Bob Gehm and Steve Weber voted in favor of the certificate.

Alderpersons Jayme Muenz and Vicki Spellman spoke before the vote, citing concerns that condemning the Barry House would set a precedent that would put the city’s historic districts at risk.

Church representatives attended the meeting. But they made no public comment before the vote and left shortly after it.