PRESERVATION AND CONSERVATIONASSOCIATION

Box 2555. Station A Champaign. Illinois 61825

"The <Past GHas cA GFuture"

Volume 10 Number 2March -April, 1990

Historic Preservation Week

Every American city, town and rural com-munity has a heritage. Each of us has afond memory or a special affection for alandmark that has played a role, howeversmall, in creating the maracter of theplaces where we live.

The evidence of our heritage may be foundin a small-town Main Street, an Art Decoskyscraper, a rustic log cabin, a weatheredbarn or an adobe mission. Or it might notbe a building at all that mtches the heart-strings of our memory, rather the fine

1ftsmanship of a tall ship, the sturdy.'-'rce of a steam locomotive, or the silentpresence of a Ovil War battlefield or theunspoiled landscape of a pristinemeadow.

KEEPINGAMERICA'SHERITAGE

ALIVE

PRESERVATION WEEKMAY 13-19, 1990

By drawing public attention to thisnation's remarkable built and natural en-

vironment, we are generating interest inhistoric preservation and demonstratingits importance in everyday life. Preserva-tion Week is not only a symbolic celebra-tion, but a call to action. It is an opportun-ity for each of us, joining together, todeclare our commitment to keepingAmerica's heritage alive.

J. Jackson WalterPresident

National Trust for Historic Preservation

Salvage Shindig

Salvage Chair, BobSwisher, has setSaturday, May 19as the date for theannual spring ''Warehouse Party."Beginning at 9:00 a.m., volunteerswill be asked to help organize andinventory the warehouse. Newlydonated items will be mtaloguedwith their "vital statistics" (item,size, wood type, etc.). ThiswillhelpPACA to efficiently serve its cus-tomers who are searmmg for aspecific item. As time and energypermit, nail pulling willalsobe doneon miscellaneous woodwork accu-mulated over the winter.

Mark your calendars for May 19.Allhelp is gratefully and cheerfullyappreciated and those working forfour or more hours willreceivea free"PACA RAT" T-shirt! CelebrateHistoric Preservation Week andhelp PACAat the same time.

SAVETHIS DATE,SUNDAY,MAY20,FOR CHURCHTOURII:HISTORICCAMPUSCHURCHES

1990 Illinois PreselVationConference

The annual statewide preservation confer-ence will be held this year in Decatur fromMay 31 to June 3. This year's theme isPreserving Illinois: The State of theFuture. The 1990s will offer a number of

challenges and opportunities to those in-volved in efforts to preserve the architec-tural, historical, and cultural heritage ofIllinois. The Tenth Annual Illinois Preser-

vation Conference provides an opportunityfor individuals in a variety of fields andprofessions to strengthen the role ofpreservation in the State. The conferenceoffers information on a variety of topicsand issues that are facing preservationtoday and is geared for varying levels ofknowledge and expertise.

PACA members are cordially invited toattend this informative conference and tomeet fellow preservationists from aroundthe state. Remember, Decatur is only 45minutes away!

New Officers Elected

At the March Board of Directors meeting,the following officers were elected:President: Kennedy Hutsoo, Vice-President:Steven RoemmeJ, Secretary-Treasurer:Nancy Delcomyn. Board meetings areheld on the second Monday of the month,beginning at 7:30p.m. PACAmembersareinvited to attend, please call the office forthe meeting place.

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Focus On: Leal SchoolArchitectural Project

Third and fourth graders in option 3/4C atLeal School received a Mini Grant entitled

"Children, Architecture and History: AChild's Walking Tour Guide of Urbana"from state funds through the Champaignand Ford County Regional Office ofEducation. The class of third and fourth

graders are using that grnnt to studyarch-itecture. The main purpose was to make achildren's walking guide to buildings andsites in Urbana.

To prepare for writing the book, the classtook architectural walks in the area of Leal

School, had architects come to speak with

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us, studied vocabulary, and took manytrips to the Urbana Free Library Archivesto do research on the buildings. We alsoused the grant funds to buy books andsupplies to help us understand the studyof architecture.

Some of the money was used for printingof the book, and for slide film to give apresentation to our parents and otherclasses at Leal.

(The above article was written by LizaWatson, 3/4-C Leal School. Illustrationsare by some of her classmates.)

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Orpheum Preservation Project

After months of waiting, the OrpheumTheater was finallyopened for viewing onMarch 30. The Gty of Olampaign allowedthe Orpheurn Preservation Committeeand the press to tour and photograph thetheater. Structurally, the Committee foundthe building in very good condition, al-though the lack of heat for the last fiveyears has taken its toll. Much of the painthas flaked off and a few pieces of plasterhave fallen. However, the roof was foundto be in good shape and no "surprises"were discovered.

Although the Gty will be disconnectingthe building's electrical service for fire

safety reasons, the Committee has beenassured that continued access to the the-ater will be allowed. TheCommittee plansto begin preparing detailed blueprints inthe near future.

The Committee is also in the midst ofchoosing a needs assessment consultantfor the project. The lllinois Arts Counciland the National Trust forHistoric Preser-vation have granted PACAfunds to hire aconsultant to determine the scope of usespossible for the theater. Inkind donationsof labor and time from Committee andPACA members are needed as matching"funds." Please callPACAif you can vol-unteer to help.

PACA Receives Two Grants

The Community Foundationof O1ampaignCounty recently awarded PACA a grant todocument the historic theaters of Cham-paign County. This is a very timely grantsince the future of the Orpheurn Theater isbeing debated now, the future of theVirginiaTheater is in doubt, and the RialtoTheater has been moth-balled for years.Other historic theaters are rapidly fadingfrom memory and need to be documentedbefore they disappear entirely. PACAplans to videotape and photograph the in-teriors and exteriors of the theaters andcopies of the documentation will be givento the Champaign County HistoricalArchives.

PACA was also awarded a PreservationServices Fund grant from the NationalTrust for Historic PreseIVation.This grantwill be used in conjunctionwith the DlinoisArts Council's grant to fund a consultantto study the feasibility of reusing theOrpheurn Theater. The Preservation Ser-vices Fund helps non-profit organizationsgain technical expertise to plan historicpreservation and design projects.

Champaign Comprehensive Plan

fhe Planning Department of the Gty ofChampaign conducted V neighborhoodmeetings in April in an effort to solicitpublic participation in the development ofa new Comprehensive Plan. The Gty isgathering input on neighborhood issuesand on likes and dislikes about the com-munity in general, in order to identify theissues which the Comprehensive Planshould address.

Comments from the meetings, as well ascomments from questionnaires and phoneconversations, will seIVe a significant rolein establishing issues and priorities whichwill guide the city's growth and develop-ment. These comments will be compiledby the Planning Department and presentedto the Gty Council.

PACA is asking our Champaign membersto please take a few minutes to give yourinput to this important city effort. As a

PACA member, we hope you will giveconsideration to historic preseIVationissues: historic neighborhoods, brickstreets, historic street lighting, theOrpheurn Theater, the train station, ahistoric preservation ordinance to provideprotection to historic landmarks and dis-tricts, and others.

Call the Planning Department at 351-4486as soon as possible to ensure considerationof your comments. We appreciate yourinput.

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r Membership Application P.A.C.A.MEMBERSHIP CATEGORY:

INDIVIDUAL

o Adult . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. $10.00 0 RENEWAL o NEW MEMBERSHIPo Student (Ih time or more) ................... $ 5.00

o Senior Citizen . . . . . .. . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. $ 5.00 0 Add.ti I C . trib ro .. lona on ulonFamily (mcludes all members of a household

with no more than two members being NAMEover age 21) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. $15.00

CIVIC ADDRESSDOver 100 members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. $100.00

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o 50-100 members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. $ 75.00o Up to 50 members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. $ 50.00 City State ZipCORPORATE

0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. $ 50.00

Make checks payable to: PACA, Box 2555, Station A, Champaign, Illinois 61825 ,..'.

Contributionsare taxdeductibleto the extentallowedbylaw. ,

New & Renewing Members

Sharon IrishDr. & Mrs. Robert SuttonMr. & Mrs. Richard PorterMr. &Mrs. Peter KrirnbelDr. Norah McOintock GradyDavid GamerNorman & Carolyn BaxleyNOrIDanBaxleyAssociatesEllen BrinGeorge & Sandra BatzliScott &Annabelle AndersonJeff MellanderJerry O'BryanArchitectural SpectrumMary B. AltenberndPeggy Shaw & AIFriederichBillKruidenierMark ReplogleMrs. F. F. WienardMarian & George GaytonHarry &Pat JensenSteve &Melanie Tyner-WilsonMichael LacyFamilyStephen P. DickersonMr. &Mrs. Richard AtterberryMrs. Ralph W. BarrymoreGary Olsen

PRESERVATION AND CONSERVATIONASSOCIATION

Box 2555, Station A, Champaign, Illinois 61825

PACA Newsletter

Published by the Preservation andConservation Association

Kennedy Hutson, PresidentSteven Roemmel, Vice-President

Nancy Delcomyn, Secretary-Treasurer

328-PACA

Please submit material for publication in thenext newsletter before 15th of month

Linda JensenGene StokvisMr. &Mrs. Arthur BartellChampaign-Urbana Visitors&

Convention BureauRamona T. BryantMrs. Irene SlottowMr. & Mrs. Frederick SeiboldJack S. BakerMr. &Mrs. Louis B.WetmoreDannel McCollumMichele AugustiRichard CannonEllaC. LeppertBernadine Evans StakeCharles W. CasadBruce StoffelMr. & Mrs. Allen S. WellerGary PerkinsThomas Guback &SylviaLinde-GubackMrs. Helen LevinPatricia MillerPatience KirbyJohn HustonWalter AllenKevin CullenLaura Kovarik

Sharon RappJames FallonDorothy RemackArt Zangerl

Volunteers in PreselVationMark ReplogleBob SwisherRexKummerHank Kaczmarski

Salvage DonationsUniversity of IllinoisManssour Moeinzadeh

Sullivan Plumbing

FOR SALE: Century-old house.Hardwood floors,originalwoodworkand brass light fixtures, 1600sq. ft.,3bedrooms, 2baths, 2out-buildings,gardens. New mechanicals. Sidney.384-1978.

?~NON-PROmORG.

u.s. POSTAGEPAID

GlAMPAIGN, ILPERMIT NO. 133

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