Aurora Masonic Temple endangered, preservation group says

SPRINGFIELD - Crumbling but historic suburban buildings in Aurora and Riverside were among those listed Tuesday in the 2009 report of the ten most endangered historic places in Illinois.

"Every year there are at least two sites that within a month find solutions," said Jim Peters, president of Landmarks Illinois, which issues the annual list. "I'm hoping the number here will be much greater this year."

The Aurora Masonic Temple, a 1922 Neoclassical building in downtown Aurora, made the 2009 list. The structure has suffered water damage and crumbling concrete since its closing in 2006. It was used as offices and a banquet hall after the Masons left in the mid-1980s.

"While city officials are very supportive of keeping the building, it too is a building that needs a new owner and substantial improvements," Peters said.

Also making this year's list was the Arcade Building in downtown Riverside. The 1871 building is one of the village's oldest structures, but is currently vacant following a never-finished 2007 restoration project.

"It is somewhat amazing that our premiere commercial landmark is in such a perilous state," said Aberdeen Marsh-Ozga of the Riverside Historic Preservation Commission.

Peters said the national economic downturn has been a mixed blessing for historic sites.

It is more difficult to get financing for renovations, such as the Arcade Building in Riverside, Peters said, but "we're finding fewer demolitions and fewer new projects that are eyeing some of these sites for new development parcels."

This is the 15th year of the "most endangered" list and less than 20 percent of the 153 listed sites have been lost. A quarter of the sites previously listed have been saved, while the rest are still in limbo, Peters said.

Also making the 2009 list of most endangered historic places in Illinois were: the Archer House, an 1841 hotel in Marshall; the Chautauqua Auditorium, a 20-sided building capable of holding 6,000 people in Shelbyville; the 1900 Davenport, Rock Island and Northwestern Depot in Moline; the 1915 interior of the Lewis Pharmacy in Canton; the Michael Reese Hospital campus in Chicago, facing demolition to clear space for the 2016 Olympic Village; 30 unique barns with porthole windows in Greene County; the 1975 Prentice Women's Hospital in Chicago, designed by Bertrand Goldberg, the architect of Chicago's Marina City; and the Shawneetown Bank in Old Shawneetown, a Greek Revival bank built in 1839 and the oldest bank building in Illinois.