Viking Ship could again be seaworthy
Restored glory may be on the horizon for Geneva's Viking Ship.
The 114-year-old replica of a 9th-century seafaring craft is one of 25 things or places competing for part of $1 million in grant money, courtesy of American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
The potential recipients were announced Thursday.
An ad hoc group is asking for $55,000 to stabilize the Viking Ship, now stored at Good Templar Park.
"The Viking Ship story is a rich story. It's sort of been kicked around the city," said Royce A. Yeater, Midwest director for the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
That's something of an understatement.
The 75-foot-long wooden boat was made in Norway and sailed to Chicago in 1893 for the World Columbian Exposition, which celebrated the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' landing in the Americas. The idea was to show that long before Columbus, Scandinavian sailor Leif Erikson could have made such a journey. Scandinavians have long said that Erikson landed in what is now Newfoundland around 1000.
The ship was displayed afterward on the fairgrounds. From 1919 to 1994, it was displayed under a shed in Lincoln Park in Chicago. In 1994, the Chicago Park District wanted it removed to make way for an expansion of Lincoln Park Zoo. It sold it to the Scandinavian Council of America for $1, with the proviso that if the council couldn't maintain it and find a home for it, ownership would revert to the park district. According to a 2000 Daily Herald article, the council went bankrupt.
For a few years, the boat was stored in a warehouse in West Chicago. When the warehouse changed hands, the owners gave the boat the boot, and the local lodge of the International Order of Good Templars, a temperance organization headquartered in Sweden, agreed to house it at its private park in Geneva.
"It is very much a national treasure, a Chicago treasure and an international treasure," said Liz Safanda, executive director of Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley. She wrote the grant proposal.
Earlier this year, the boat was listed as one of 10 most endangered landmarks in the state by Landmarks Illinois. Exposure to the elements, especially when the tarp blows off during storms, is ruining it. The boat sags in the middle, and they fear it may crack. The plaster figurehead and tail were removed 30 years ago and are stored at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.
The Norwegian National League, based out of Chicago, recently became interested in the project. President Lorraine Straw has also been working with Safanda and representatives of the IOGT, the City of Geneva and Kane County. She praised Safanda Thursday, saying her connections in the historical preservation community and her knowledge of how to write grants were instrumental in being considered for the American Express money.
Safanda said that since the boat made the endangered list, she's received calls and e-mails from around the country and from Scandinavian countries asking how they can help save the ship.
The ad hoc committee -- which plans to register as an IRS 501c3 not-for-profit organization -- has a three-phase plan. First, hire a conservator to figure out exactly what needs to be done to the boat. Secondly, use the $55,000 from American Express to clean it, repair it, make the tarp covering more secure and fix the fence around it. Thirdly, find a place to display it permanently.
Vote early, vote often
Playing on Chicago's reputation for (sometimes) corrupt politics, the Partners in Preservation Program handed out buttons and materials Thursday with that slogan in a campaign to get the public to vote for their favorite projects.
But in this case, it's kosher to vote more than once. You can vote once per day per e-mail address. If you happen to have two or more addresses, it's OK to vote once from each.
To vote, go online to www.partnersinpreservation.com