Historic Preservation Commission

Preservation Commission Meeting Agenda August 15, 2024 - 3:30 PM City Hall, Human Resource Conference Room, Lower Level (Basement) 1528 3rd Avenue, Rock Island, IL 1. Call to Order 2. Roll Call Alan Carmen, Bruce Peterson, Deb Kuntzi, Zachary Campbell, Jeffrey Dismer 3. Public Comment 4. Minutes a. Approval of the June 10, 2024 Meeting Minutes Motion: Move to approve the June 10, 2024 Meeting Minutes VV Voice vote is needed. 5. Other Business/New Business a. Election of the Subcommittee Chair. Motion: Move to elect the subcommittee chair. RC Roll Call vote is needed. b. Determination of Landmark Application completeness for 824 20th Street. Motion: Move to determine that the application for 824 20th Street is complete. RC Roll Call vote is needed. c. Recommendation regarding Landmark Application for 824 20th Street. Motion: Move to recommend the approval of the landmark application for 824 20th Street. RC Roll Call vote is needed. 6. Adjourn This agenda may be obtained in accessible formats by qualified persons with a disability by making appropriate arrangements from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday, by contacting the City Clerk's Office at (309) 732-2010 or visiting in person at: 1528 Third Avenue, Rock Island, IL 61201. Page 1 of 16  Rock Island Historic Preservation Preliminary Determination Subcommittee Meeting Minutes Lower Level (Basement) Conference Room, City Hall 1528 3rd Avenue June 10, 2024 3:30 PM Voting Members Linda Anderson Present Bruce Peterson Deb Kuntzi Staff Present Eunice Amissah-Mensah Tanner Osing Call to Order and Roll Call Chair Anderson called the meeting to order at 3:40 PM and read the roll call. Public Comment No members of the public were present for comment, so the meeting continued. Approval of the Previous Meeting Minutes Peterson moved to approve the meeting minutes for April 30, 2024. Kuntzi seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously on a vote of 3 to 0. Other Business/New Business a. Determination of Landmark application completeness for 839 23rd Street Chair Anderson asked for a motion to determine that the application for 839 23rd Street is complete. Peterson moved determine that the application for 839 23rd Street is complete. Kuntzi seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously on a vote of 3 to 0. b. Recommendation regarding Landmark Application for 839 23rd Street Chair Anderson asked for a motion to recommend the approval of the landmark application for 839 23rd Street. Kuntzi moved to recommend the approval of the landmark application for 839 23rd Street to the Preservation Commission. Peterson seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously on a vote of 3 to 0. Other Business None. Adjournment Chair Anderson asked for a motion to adjourn. Peterson moved to adjourn. Kuntzi seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously on a vote of 3 to 0 at 3:50 PM. Minutes submitted by Eunice Amissah-Mensah. Page 2 of 16  1 824 20th Street, Rock Island, IL 61201 Jill Potratz, Lowell Schneider 824 20th Street, Rock Island IL 61201 XX \ X x X Diane Oestreich 816 22nd Street, Rock Island IL 309 788-1845 Diane61201@gmail.com Page 3 of 16  2 Nomination Criteria & Significance The Smyth-Jackson House is worthy of landmark designation based on three criteria in the Rock Island Preservation Ordinance. Criterion 2: Associated with an important person or event in national, state, or local history. William Jackson, the second and longest term owner was an attorney and leader in his community of Rock Island. He was called the “Father of Rock Island Parks.” Criterion 3. Representative of an architectural and/or landscape type, which exemplifies a period, style, craftsmanship, method of construction or use of local materials and retains a high degree of integrity. The Italian Villa Style home is one of only two in Rock Island, and is unique in that the tower is original, rather than a later addition. It is also rare in that it is a high-style Italianate made of frame, rather than the locally more common, for the era, brick. Criterion 5: Identifiable as an established and familiar visual feature in the community owing to its unique location or physical characteristics. This house and its 20th Street neighbors are contributing structures in the National Register listing of the Broadway Historic District . Moreover there are several landmarks in the 700- 800 blocks of 20th Street as well as several others which would easily qualify for Landmark status. These two blocks are one of the most popular for walking tours as well. It is important both to the integrity of the Historic District and to the city of Rock Island as well. Page 4 of 16  3 Illustrations Title Page Figure 1. 1892 Sanborn Map. …………………………………..…………………………… 8 Figure 2. 1898 Sanborn Map……………………………..…………...…………………… 8 Figure 3. 1906 Sanborn Map……………………………….……….……………………. 8 Figure 4. Before Unveiling………………………………..……………………………... 9 Figure 5. During Unveiling…………………………….……. …………………………. 9 Figure 6. After Unveiling………………………......……………...…….………………. 9 Figure 7. 1888 Illustration…....………………………………………………………….... 10 Figure 8. 1940s Photo by John H. Hauberg……………………………………………….. 10 Figure 9. Front (East) Facade……………………………………………………………… 11 Figure 10. Front Door Detail………………………………………………………………. 11 Figure 11. South tower Detail……………………………………………………………. 11 Figure 12. Tower Stairway Detail……………………………………………………... 12 Figure 13. Tower Stairway Detail 2…………………………………………………………… 12 Figure 14. South Side….…………………………………………………………………. 12 Figure 15 West (Back) Side…………………………………………………………………. 12 Figure 16. North Façade, Rear……………………………………………………………... 13 Figure 17. North Façade Front ……………………………………………………………….. 13 Figure 18. Garage Front (East) Side………………………………………………………… 13 Figure 19. Garage North Side ………………………………………………………………. 13 Page 5 of 16  4 Contents Nomination Criteria & Significance 2 Illustrations 3 Contents & Legal Description 4 Land History 5 William Jackson 6 Architecture 8 References & Sources 14 Legal Description: (from Rock Island County Assessment website) THE SOUTH 96 FEET OF OUT LOT 3 EXCEPT THE SOUTH 2.5 FEET OF THE EAST 130 FEET IN J W SPENCERS 3RD ADDITION. SHEET 15 Page 6 of 16 Land History 5 Although the original abstract of property is not available, it is known that, until the Black Hawk Wars, when the previous owners, Indians, were outsted from their lands, it was occupied by the Sauk (village on Rock River) and Mesquakie (Fox; village in what is downtown Rock Island). In 1836, the federal government took over the land and one of the early landowners in this areawas John Spencer. He purchased a great deal of land, including much of what is now downtown Rock Island. Spencer was a pioneer settler and his own log cabin occupied the block that now holds the Rosenfield House and Coventry apartments, just north of 7th Avenue. Over the years, he subdivided lots and sold them. And he donated land, including a square block downtown for churches, which later became Spencer Square and now holds the post office. The first owner of this subdivided 2-acre lot, in 1867, was Edwin H. Smyth and his wife Anna. The Smyths had come to Rock Island from Oneida, NY in 1854. Mr. Smyth was a clothier and merchant tailor..Although Edwin spelled his last name with a “y”, his parents, grandparents, and siblings were named simply “Smith.” Smyth may have looked better on a clothing label. The name sometimes appears with a terminal “e.” Mr. Smyth sold off some lots along 8th Avenue, but maintained a large parcel of land for his homestead. In 1868, they built this house Early in 1873 he sold his business and made plans to move to California because of Anna’s failing health as well as a baby daughter’s death in 1868. (REFs 1,2) On April 26, 1873, the home was purchased by William Jackson who resided there until his death in 1925. REF 3. Interestingly, on the very same day, Jackson’s law partner, Edward Sweeney purchased an 80 foot lot from E.H. Smyth immediately north of the Smyth home and built a large brick home on that site the following year, 1874. That house is 816 20th Street, a Rock Island Landmark. William Jackson died in 1925 at age 91 and the house began a long, slow decline. By 1930, his home was owned by Nettie Dindinger, a widow, who ran a lodging house there. In 1940 and subsequently, City Directories show four apartments with no owner present. Sometime after the 1940s, the tower and porches were removed and the house covered in artificial siding. In 2007, after a long vacancy and subsequent deterioration, it was purchased by next door neighbors, Bryan Pattschull and David Cordes, who began the long slow process of restoration, inside and out. They sold it in 2022 to the current owners, who soon constructed a long front driveway (there is no alley access) and a new garage, complete with solar panels. Page 7 of 16  6 William H. Jackson (Following is from directly from Jackson’s obit, REF 4.) “Born in 1834 in Liverpool, England, Mr. Jackson was educated at an Episcopal school there and later worked as a grocer's appren- tice. But at age 17, he had larger dreams and, with his mother, set out in 1853 to make his for- tune in America. They arrived in New York City where his sister and her husband had come a year earlier. Soon thereafter, the entire family headed out west to Rock Island County, where they took up residence in Moline. “William worked at John Deere’s plow factory, and began study- ing law with Moline attorney H. L. Smith. He was admitted to the bar in 1860, just a year after his mother had died and two years after he became an American citizen. His first law practice was in partnership with James Chapman in Moline. In 1862, he moved to Rock Island where he quickly formed a law partnership with Ed- ward Sweeney. Sweeney had come to Rock Island in 1851 as a school principal, but, like Jackson, soon entered the study of law. He, too, was admitted to the bar in 1860. “Under the name Jackson & Sweeney and later Jackson, Sweeney & Walker, Jackson practiced law until leaving the partnership in 1883, and, from that point, practicing alone. In 1865 the well es- tablished young lawyer married teacher Jennie Sammis, who was then 25 years old. They had two daughters. Carrie was born in 1866 and Hattie came four years later……. “It is considered doubtful if any attorney in western Illinois has taken part in more cases than had Mr. Jackson. ……… “In his latter years he was in the court frequently and actively as the legal representative of trac- tion corporations such as the Tri-City Railway company and the Rock Island Lines. As a matter of fact, Mr. Jackson had been identified with some of the most famous proceedings in the histo- ry of Rock Island county courts, both civil and criminal. Among the more important of these was the long series of injunctions in Whiteside and Henry counties, affecting the removal of the head offices of the Modern Woodmen of America from Fulton to Rock Island. As associate counsel for the order, he was largely responsible for the vindication of the will of the order to transfer its headquarters to this city. To do so, he found it necessary to procure special legisla- tion and to triumph in a series of litigation that taxed some of the country's best legal minds. “When Mr. Jackson came to Rock Island from Moline in 1862, he opened a law office, and in January, 1864, he formed a partnership with E.D. Sweeney and afterward with Charles L. Walk- er. In the first instance the firm name was Sweeney & Jackson, afterward Sweeney, Jackson & Walker. This partnership continued until 1883, when it was dissolved, and Mr. Jackson retired on account of illness. “The two years of 1883 and 1884 constitute the only interval between 1860 and 1925 in which he was not in continual practice as a lawyer at the bar of this county. In 1885 he resumed his practice, and four years later he went into partnership with E.W. Hurst, under the firm name of Jackson & Hurst. This continued until 1903, when the firm was enlarged by the admission of John T. Stafford and Elmore H. Stafford, later being known as Jackson, Hurst & Stafford. That firm is now Stafford, Schoede & Stafford, although for several years Mr. Jackson has been as- sociated with his grandson, William P. Barth, as the firm of Jackson & Barth. Page 8 of 16  7 William H. Jackson (continued) “Held Public Office An appointment by President Grant in 1872 placed him in the office of postmaster of Rock Is- land, which office he held until 1876. In February, 1897, he was appointed by Governor John R. Tanner member of the board of managers of the Illinois state reformatory at Pontiac, and he held this office until March, 1901. During his days of activity, Mr. Jackson declined such places of preferment at the hand of his party as the mayoralty, and the state senate, and although fre- quently discussed in connection with the congressional nomination of the Republican party, he never gave encouragement to the suggestion. He chose to devote his spare time to civic endeav- or other than in governmental and legislative posts, and his refusal to accept them left him free to make the remarkable record of achievement that is his in the record of the city's park devel- opment. He had always been a Republican in politics, his first presidential vote being for Fremont and Dayton. His religious association had always been with the Methodist church. In England he was in the Wesleyan Methodist body, and in the United States he was identified with the Methodist Episcopal church, being a church member for 75 years. “At the first call to arms in the Civil war, Mr. Jackson joined the first military company that was organized in Moline under President Lincoln's first proclamation, in 1861, for 75,000 men. The company was not accepted, the state quota being filled, and he did not enlist again. Through the decades of his residence in Rock Island Mr. Jackson had been tireless in his efforts for the common good through improving in every way the city's park system. That it has come to be as fine a system as that of the parks of any American city of Rock Island's size, while not due entirely to his efforts, is nevertheless in great part attributable to the spirit he had shown and the energy he had expended to make it so. “Pushed Park Work His title, "Father of the Rock Island Park System," refers to the fact that he was the head of the original Citizens' Improvement association. As such he inaugurated the movement for park de- velopment. Through the furthering of the plans he proposed, in which project he labored inde- fatigably, Spencer square and Garnsey square were transformed from bogs, neglected and avoided, into garden spots fitted with handsome accessories and adorned with turf, flowers, shrubs, and trees. He alone raised $6000 for the improvement of Spencer square, and obtained practically all of the features that distinguish it. He gave the incentive for what was done in a similar way for Garnsey square. As president of the park board, which office he held until his death, and in cooperation with other public spirited citizens, he raised most of the $16,000 which was contributed for the beautification of Long View park. The improvements were made under his immediate direction, and for all time the name of Jackson will be associated with the park system of Rock Island.” Page 9 of 16  8 Architecture This high styled Italian Villa may have been designed by local architect Isaac Holmes, who is known to have designed several local front gable Italianates. However there is no documentation to prove this speculation. The house first appears on Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps in 1892. Although built much earlier, the 1886 Sanborn maps did not go this far into the edges of the city. This 1892 shows a frame house with a three-story tower in front with one-story open porches surrounding the tower. There were multiple outbuildings, most small, but with a larger two story one denoted as a stable by the “X” on the top. Fig. 1. 1892 Sanborn The 1898 Map is identical except for depicting a larger single story porch on the south side. Fig. 2. 1898 Sanborn Map By 1906, two of the tiny outbuildings had disappeared and the front porch is shown as continuous. Whether this means there was a change in the porch or just a correction in the drawing is not known. Fig.3. 1906 Sanborn Map Page 10 of 16  9 Architecture (continued) Sometime—probably during the 1950s or 1960s—the house was mutilated by removing the upper portion of the front tower and the front porches. The remaining outbuidings were also removed. It was then covered in vinyl siding. Finally, after it was vacant and nothing was happening to it except continuing deterioration, neighbors Patschull and Cordes decided to purchase it for restoration. Since it was unknown what lay under the new siding, a first project was a Great Unveiling. Enlisting Broadway neighbors in 2008, the house was Unveiled. That was the easy part. After Unveiling, the true scope of exterior work was revealed. And that’s not considering the effort needed to restore the abused interior. Fig. 4. Above, Before Unveiling Fig. 5, Right, During Unveiling Fig.6, Left, After Unveiling Page 11 of 16  10 Architecture (continued) Since the original tower was a defining feature of this Italianate House, Cordes and Patschull decided to recreate it. But what did it look like. At the time they began their restoration/ renovation, there were no photos of the house with a tower, only a line drawing from an 1888 book, Rock Island Illustrated. After the tower was rebuilt, an un- dated photo taken by John Hau- Fig.7. 1888 Illustration berg in 1940s was discovered when it was donated to Augustana College by his descendants. It shows the tower had already been modified by window shortening and the porch had indeed been en- larged slightly and wrapped around the tower. The first story bay window on the south had been extended to the second story. Finials atop the gable peaks were missing as well. It is extremely rare that such finials or any rooftop ornamentations survive a reroof- ing. Fig.8. 1940s Photo by John H. Hauberg The tower was rebuilt on the ground to precise measurements, then lift- ed to its truncated base with a large crane. The process can be seen on You Tube. youtube.com/watch? v=xFEy8w0pQJ4 Page 12 of 16  11 Architecture (Continued) The central tower defines the style as Italian Villa. The tower is more commonly tucked into the corner of an L-shaped building. REF 5 There is only one other Italian Villa in Rock Island, the Landmarked Philemon Libby and Catherine Mitchell House at 1131 2nd Avenue. However that tower is documented as being added onto the original simple shallow-hipped roof Italianate. The tower on the Smyth-Jackson House is clearly original. It contains the home’s main staircase—a walnut spiral. The front façade of the house is symmetrical. A single front door with a sidelight may not be original, but it is very old. The glazing in both the door and sidelight have an exceptionally wide bevel at the edge. The front entry is topped by a large semi-circular transom. Front windows are paired with the first story having a double height lower sash surmounted by a shorter upper sash. The windows are within inches of being floor to ceiling in height. The second story windows are shorter with sashes of equal size.The tower has paired double-hung on the second story with a single Gothic window on the third story. With the exception of the Gothic framing around the tower, window frames are simple and unornamented. Although the house itself has a shallow, side-gabled roof, intersected by a similar one at the back, the tower has a Mansard roof with exaggerated gables on each side. Throughout, there are massive single brackets beneath the eaves. The tower, however, has paired brackets. Fig. 9, FThe two years of Fig. 10, Front Door Detail Fig. 11, South Tower Detail Page 13 of 16  12 Architecture (continued) Fig. 12. Tower Stairway Detail Fig. 13. Tower Stairway Detail 2 Fig. 14. South Side The south façade has a two-story bay in the front, with the long, narrow, uneven sashes in the lower bay and standard double hung above. The windows in the rear all have small paned sashes. The only window In the tower is at the attic level. Additional windows would not accommodate the spiral staircase. Behind that, and slightly recessed under a side gabled roof of the rear portion, is a two-story open porch. Fig.15. West (back)_Side At the back of the house, there is a large open porch, with a vintage door leading into the house. A single window above is asymmetrically placed and there is a small centered attic window as well. Page 14 of 16  Architecture (continued) 13 The two story rear of the north façade holds a one-story bay at the first level, with an additional side window and three symmetrically placed windows above. Fig. 16. North Façade, rear Fig. 17. North Side (front part) The front part of the north façade is similar to that on the south, except the bay with long narrow windows is only a single story. Because there is no alley access, owners constructed a driveway and garage at the SW corner of the property in 2023. It has a steep gable roof with metal roofing and is covered with Hardi clapboard. Recently solar panels, nearly invisible from the street, have been added to the south gable. They are seen on one photo. Fig.18. Garage, Front East Side (below) Fig.19 Garage, North Side (above) Page 15 of 16  14 References and Sources Newspaper and City Directory references which are incorporated into the text are not re- peated here. REF 1 City Directories, also the following from Janet Pease’ index of newspapers at RICHS RI & Moline Daily Union, 2 April 1868 E. H. Smyth is building a residence on the south end of Madison Street RI & Moline Daily Union, 25 Oct 1869 Anna Dudley Smythe, infnt daughter of Edwin H. & Anna C. Smythe died Oct 24, age 2 months, 12 days. Funeral today from the residence on Madison Street. RI Evening Argus 13 Apr 1870 E. H. Smyth has sold 2 lots on Guyer (8th Ave) between Cherry & Madison to Mrs. Ames and to Robert F. Reed. Daily Argus, 22 April 1873 Mr. and Mrs. Smyth are going to California because of her ill health Daily Union Feb 9, 1873 Smyth came from Albany NY on Feb 6 1854. Opened readymade clothing shop with John J. Knox in a rented bldg adjoining RI National Bank on the 22nd of May that year. Stayed here two years, then moved to corner store where now located. In 1856, Herman A. Smyth joined the firm; name changed to Smythe Bros. & Co. Began doing merchant tailoring in 1860. In 1861, E.H. bought out Knox and in 1862 bought out Herman. By close of war was doing $50k in annual business. Business expanded about a year ago into former H. C. Blackburn’s bookstore. Sold business on Feb 1 to Dodge & Walker. 1870 Census Edwin Smythe, clothier age 41, Wife Anna, keeping house, age 40, both born in NY; children Emma age 12, Newton (?) age 9, and Charlotte or Charlotta age 2, all children b. in Illinois. Herman not listed. REF 2. Findagrave.com REF 3. RI Daily Union, 26 April 1873 Wm. Jackson has bought the house of E. H. Smyth on Madison Street REF 4. Rock Island Argus, September 16, 1925 REF 5. McAlester, Virginia & Lee, “A Field Guide to American Houses,” Alfred A. Knopf; 1996 Page 16 of 16