Former BMO Harris Building. Photo by Jeff Knox, Daily Herald, February 4, 2021.
Historic districts and landmark designations help define the sense of place that makes the Tri-Cities communities unique. Local ordinances are in place to protect architectural heritage. But the ordinances only go so far—unless they are treated like living, breathing things that need regular health checks.
The former BMO Harris Bank building at 3 East Main Street in St. Charles (pictured above) is one example. The St. Charles Central Historic District was created in downtown St. Charles in 1995 and the BMO Harris Bank Building—that iconic mid-century gem right on the river across from the Municipal Building—had become a familiar sight to locals during its, then, thirty-five years. In 1995 it had yet to achieve historic significance and was appropriately labeled as “non-contributing.”
1952 Brownson-Bauman House
aka “Geneva Glass House”[2]
949 S. Batavia Ave., Geneva
Master’s Thesis project of famed architect Jacques C. Brownson. One of only three “pavilion” glass houses in the U.S.
Local historic landmark application submitted in September to be determined at the October 15, 2024 meeting of Geneva’s Historic Preservation Commission.
In 2021 a developer purchased the building with plans for significant renovations to breathe new life into the shuttered concrete cousin of the St. Charles Municipal Center. By then, the BMO Harris Bank Building was sixty-one years old and arguably historic with its celebrated mid-century modern architecture. Unfortunately, however, the building’s status had not been altered and was still listed as non-contributing. As a result, the city had little impact on the changes the developer wanted to make. Some of the alterations made to the building have negatively impacted the original mid-century modern architecture that could have been better preserved if a regular review of historic buildings had been done earlier.[1]
Time changes perspective. What was not considered historic in the past may be historic now. As our perspectives change, historic preservation ordinances need to be revisited to ensure their relevance and application.
Local icons like R. Harold Zook’s Municipal Building in St. Charles, Batavia’s Campana Building, and Geneva’s Brownson-Bauman House (see above) have been long recognized as valuable historic resources. But what about mid-century or even more recent past icons? In St. Charles, the discussion happened too late to save the BMO Harris Bank Building from insensitive alterations.
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[1] In 2023, the St. Charles Historic Preservation Commission completed a review of all buildings in its historic districts and updated the status of each building as to its significance.
[2] “Glass House is Suspended from Steel Frames,” Architectural Record Houses of 1956 119, No. 6 (Mid-May 1956): 206, https://www.architecturalrecord.com/ext/resources/archives/backissues/1956-05-RH.pdf?-431380800.