Daily Herald opinion: Sharing and honoring local history an important mission

This editorial is a consensus opinion of the Daily Herald Editorial Board.

Local history buffs might be drawn to regions of the country, or nations around the globe, where they can explore centuries-old buildings or walk among ruins of the past. After all, the suburbs have no equivalent to medieval castles or ancient pyramids.

But there is fascinating history to be honored here, as two weekend stories pointed out.

On Sunday. reporter Chris Placek spotlighted the role Rolling Meadows' Holiday Inn played in music history. The Who guitarist Pete Townshend, in his memoir, credited the hotel - now set to meet the wrecking ball - as the place where he received spiritual awakening and, possibly, wrote early versions of the rock opera "Tommy."

And on Monday, Katlyn Smith shared the fight to save the weathered Prince Crossing substation building in West Chicago, which is also slated for demolition. The structure - parts of which date back 121 years - served as a passenger depot and power substation for the electrically operated Chicago, Aurora & Elgin Railway.

The spot powered trains that frequently reached 70 mph while also providing electrical power to communities and industry along the railroad line - essentially serving as "the first large electrical utility in the western suburbs and DuPage County," said Brian Ostberg, who is trying to save the building.

That may not be feasible. Indeed, there are times when you must clear away the old to make way for the new. But it is at least worth exploring whether the former depot, on the grounds of Wheaton Academy, can be moved to another site where it might help a museum share a transformational chapter in suburban history.

In the case of Pete Townshend and the Holiday Inn, no one is fighting to save the hotel, but one local man is still working to honor its place in music history.

Townshend stayed at the Holiday Inn in 1967 after playing at The Cellar, a legendary Arlington Heights teen music club. During a tribute show this summer, Chip Brooks, owner of the Hey Nonny music venue in Arlington Heights, read passages from Townshend's autobiography.

"Why did God favour this particular place in America? Because it was so new? Because it was so sunny?" Townshend writes in the 2012 memoir, "Who I Am." "Suddenly it became clear that I longed for a transcendent connection with the universe itself, and with its maker. This was the moment I had longed for. My mind was being set alight by the psychedelic times, but revelation came to me in the quietude and seductive order of Middle America."

Brooks told Placek he believes there's "a bit of truth and a bit of poetry" in Townshend's account. But "The Story of 'Tommy'" - a book Townshend cowrote - contains photos of the Rolling Meadows hotel's letterhead upon which Townshend penned lyrics and a scene for "Tommy."

That's one reason why Brooks wants to weave something about Townshend into a permanent memorial for The Cellar.

Revisiting the history of that nightspot and other suburban landmarks is never going to replace the thrill of roaming the ruins of Pompeii or visiting Machu Picchu. But local history is important. And we're grateful to Brooks, Ostberg and others who fight passionately to preserve it.