For the second time in five years, a demolition request for the former blacksmith shop / Mill Race Inn in Geneva was denied.
The blacksmith shop, built around 1843, is a rare lasting example of structures built in early white settlements such as Geneva. While it was initially used for blacksmiths, the building's use evolved with the city of Geneva serving as a wagon repair and paint shop, cooperage, auto repair shop, and finally a popular restaurant, the Mill Race Inn.
When the building was first threatened with demolition in December of 2017, Preservation Partners supported local Geneva residents who wanted to landmark and protect the building. Despite the owner's opposition, the city approved the landmark, saving it, then, from demolition. In 2022, the owner again applied for a demolition permit. In months of public hearings throughout most of 2023 with the Geneva Historic Preservation Commission (HPC), the building’s owner argued that rehabilitation of the little limestone structure was prohibitively expensive and not in Geneva's best interest. Residents throughout the Tri-Cities disagreed, as too did a consultant hired by the city who found that rehabilitation would not inhibit profitability for the owner. In a short special meeting with City Council on September 26, 2023, the alderpersons unanimously agreed with HPC denying the demolition application. Subsequently, the city has been in adjucation with the building's owner regarding building code violations. The results of that adjucation is still pending.
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PHOTO: Blacksmith Shop/Mill Race Inn by Al Watts, 2021.
SOURCES: "Alexander Brothers Blacksmith Shop: 2023 Most Endangered Historic Places in Illinois," Landmarks Illinois, May 1, 2023, https://www.landmarks.org/preservation-programs/most-endangered-historic-places-in-illinois/alexander-brothers-blacksmith-shop-2023-most-endangered-historic-places-in-illinois/; Brenda Schory, "Shodeen Seeks to Raze 1846 Limestone Building at Former Mill Race Inn in Geneva," Kane County Chronicle, January 8, 2018, https://www.shawlocal.com/2018/01/05/shodeen-seeks-to-raze-1846-limestone-building-at-former-mill-race-inn-in-geneva/arvjwxk/; Brenda Schory, "Original 1846 Mill Race Inn Structure on Endangered List in Geneva," Kane County Chronicle, May 4, 2018, https://www.shawlocal.com/2018/04/30/original-1846-mill-race-structure-on-endangered-list-in-geneva/a4jf01s/; Brenda Schory, "Historic Geneva Blacksmith Shop Dodges Wrecking Ball," September 27, 2023, https://www.shawlocal.com/kane-county-chronicle/2023/09/27/historic-geneva-blacksmith-shop-dodges-wrecking-ball/.