Gustave Koerner House Restoration
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Gustave Koerner House Restoration |
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| 2009 To Date |
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Another dust eater day was held Saturday, November 7, 2009. General hauling and clean-up continues as reconstruction progressed and we prepared for Koerner's 200th Birthday Party held November 20th. Four dust eater volunteers continued Koerner house clean up on April 18, 2009. Rough plaster debris from demolition was removed from the front two bedrooms on the second floor. The third room on the second floor had piles of plaster that accumulated from removal of a 1980s closet, part of the remodeling when the building was divided into four apartments. Volunteer Jennifer Marquis found a piece of loose masonry that had a chunk of horse hair sticking out. Horse hair was used as a binder in that era of construction. Another dust eater opportunity will be scheduled in October. Architect Dave Leonatti visited the Koerner house in April. He reviewed the work accomplished by contractor Stan Erlinger. Molly Mc Kenzie talked with Leonatti and Erlinger about preparing specifications for rebuilding of the cellar entrance and a new wood door. In May, the three met again to discuss renovation of 28 windows. Leonatti noted the condition of, and work that would be necessary for, each window. Bid specifications will be prepared. Some windows need minor repairs; others may have to be partially or completely disassembled and renewed. Some window sills will be replaced. Lead paint will be scraped from all windows and frames. Exterior windows and frames will be painted a color appropriate to the era as identified in our Historic Structure Report. |
| 2008 To Date |
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Volunteers hauled building materials from the Koerner House on April 5th and 12th in preparation for Spring reconstruction. Foundation work was completed in 2008. The basement has a new support wall and the cistern on the east side was excavated and concrete poured. Part of the foundation was tuckpointed. Very generous donations are asked to bolster the fund raising efforts estimated to reach $750,000 overall.
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| 2007 Year End Report |
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Our fundraising year started with a February 3 Trivia Night and Silent Auction at McCormack Center in Belleville. (Read more below). Our application for the Save America's Treasures federal grant was not successful. [this note appended 3/2008]. Two dust eater days were held in April when volunteers remove the 1985 remodeling of the Koerner house into four apartments. Most of the wallboard and framing was hauled to the landfill but additional work to remove plumbing and electrical services remains. Dust eaters will be asked to report again in April 2008. In March we learned we had 30 days to prepare a detailed application for the federal Save America’s Treasures matching grant. Our consultants, Fever River Research and architect Dave Leonatti of Springfield, met with us and prepared figures for stabilizing the foundation, weatherproofing windows and doors, repointing the foundation, installation of a new metal roof and construction of a new side porch. The application requesting $165,000 was submitted April 24. Our match is made up of two state grants totaling $115,000 and $50,000 from our savings account. Grant awards are usually announced in November, but apparently congressional delays in passing budget bills has extended the usual process. We await word on the awards. Foundation stabilization work on the east side and front of the house was discussed in October with Mayor Mark Eckert. Bids will be taken in the coming months, regardless of the outcome of federal matching grant. Future use of the house was explored by committee members when they met with our consultants July 10 and September 7. Use of the building is controlled by its physical layout and traffic flow, plus requirements of the American Disabilities Act (ADA). Several members thought a visitors center for Belleville tourism would be a good use of the main floor. Other ideas presented were a Koerner museum, German heritage center, depository for Civil War records (Illinois' 43rd Regiment was named for Koerner) and meeting rooms for community groups. A plan discussed November 9 would use the front two rooms as display areas, the third room for conferences, and rear room as a combination food prep room for catered events and bathroom facilities. Second floor use, still under discussion, is confined to non-public activities because of ADA requirements. Dorothy Ebsen, widow of actor and Belleville native Buddy Ebsen, donated items for our second 2007 fundraiser, Visions of Old Belleville art sale held November 10. Area artists donated and sold art to benefit our campaign, raising $10,500. Special thanks to Patty Gregory for her assistance in making our event a success.. Patty leads the annual Belleville Art on the Square show, recently ranked number one in the nation by Art Fair Source Book. See additional details about our Events, thanks to the efforts of webmaster Diane Walsh. Our sincere appreciation to all who support our project. Jack LeChien
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©June 2005 Gustave Koerner House Restoration Committee. All rights reserved.
The St. Clair County Historical Society is a non-profit, tax-exempt (501(c)(3) organization.