W. Chicago school, McHenry camp among Illinois' 10 most endangered

A West Chicago schoolhouse and a former “fresh air” camp in McHenry County are among 10 locations Landmarks Illinois included in its list of the 10 most endangered historic places in Illinois.

Landmarks Illinois announced its list Tuesday morning. It includes Chicago's Uptown Theatre, a U.S. Marine hospital in Galena that was built in 1859 and a more than 125-year-old primary school in Otterville.

The group has released its annual list since 1995 hoping to call attention to the threatened sites.

Landmarks Illinois officials say that since it started the list designation, more than a third of the places have been saved.

The list also includes Hotel Belleville, a 1931 art deco building on the public square in the southern Illinois city. It also lists the Old Millstadt Water Tower.

Here's the list of the sites of Landmarks Illinois' most endangered places:

1. Camp Algonquin, 1889 Cary-Algonquin road, unincorporated McHenry County: The 116-acre camp was closed in 2011 and is one of four camps built during the “Fresh Air in the Country” movement started during the late 1800s.

2. Central Manufacturing District, Ashland Avenue and Pershing Road, Chicago: Founded in 1892 and considered one of the city's largest planned manufacturing areas.

3. Halsted and Willow Gateway, 1732 and 1800 N. Halsted Street, Chicago: The intersection is a largely intact, laWest te-19th century group of commercial buildings.

4. Hamilton Primary School, 107 E. Main St., Otterville: The school opened in 1835 and the current building was built in 1873 with most of the original building's limestone. It closed in 1971.

5. Hotel Belleville, 16 S. Illinois St., Belleville: The hotel is a 1931 art deco building on Belleville's Public Square.

6. McAuley Schoolhouse, 1820 W. Roosevelt Road, West Chicago: The building was a functioning one-room school when it closed in 1992. The frame, one-story building was built in 1913.

7. Old Millstadt Water Tower, Madison and Breese streets, Millstadt: The 'Tin Man' style tower was built in 1931.

8. Robertson Building, 118 Beardstown St., Virginia: Built in 1897 the building is in downtown Virginia and the Cass County Courthouse Square.

9. Uptown Theatre, 4816 N. Broadway, Chicago: The former movie palace closed in 1981. It is part of plans for an “Uptown Music District.”

10. U.S. Marine Hospital, 1304 Park Ave., Galena: The U.S. Treasury built the pre-Civil War hospital in 1859 as part of a federal health care initiative for sailors.

11. Special designation: Federal Historic Tax Credit Program.