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August 2005
August 16, 2005 Tuesday 6:30 PM There is no formal agenda for this RIPS meeting. (Note time change from our usual 7 pm start) This meeting will serve as "rehearsal" for our upcoming tour (see below) and provide an opportunity for our volunteers to see and hear all of the tour information. We will begin and end at Broadway Presbyterian at 6:30and return about 9:00. At 7:00 we will go to the Church of Peace. At 7:30 Wayman AME. At 8:00 Sacred Heart. At 8:30 St. John's Lutheran. Jaan has asked the church volunteers to appear at their appointed times on this day. This is a "dry run" and script will be provided as well as placement of our volunteers.
September 20, 2005 Tuesday 7:00
October 18, 2005 Tuesday 7:00 PM Comments and suggestions for Society activities are always welcome, now and in the future! Remember to keep the third Tuesday of each month marked on your calendar for monthly RIPS meetings and activities. TOUR YESTERDAY: CHURCH AND NEIGHBORHOOD The Rock Island Preservation Society proudly announces Tour Yesterday: Church and Neighborhood, where visitors will view four central city Rock Island churches. This tour is done in conjunction with Neighborhood Partners, and is funded by a grant awarded by them. The four churches open for viewing on Saturday, August 20th from 1:00 to 4:00 are Church of Peace at 12th Street and 12th Avenue, Broadway Presbyterian at 23rd Street and 7th Avenue, Sacred Heart Catholic at 28th Street and 5th Avenue, and St. JohnÕs Lutheran at 45th Street and 7th Avenue. Inside each church parishioners will tell about the history of the church along with some of their own memories. Additionally, a guide will describe the exterior and interior architecture. Also, a neighborhood representative will talk about his/her neighborhood. We will be talking about the ethnic roots of each neighborhood as well. Tourgoers may either drive their own cars between locations or take one of the two mini-busses which will circulate between the churches. On the mini-busses, trained tour guides will discuss the churches, their history and architecture, as well as two of their architects: famed RI architect George Stauduhar and Olof Cervin. Tickets are only $2.00 each and may be purchased at any church. For the admission price a participant gets an 8-page color tour brochure to take home with them. RIPS members are needed to be volunteers for 1-1/2 hours, either 1:00 to 2:30 or 2:30 to 4:00. We still need people to describe the architecture of the churches from a prepared script as well as ticket takers. If you can do either of these duties, Please contact or phone Linda Anderson 786-7917 or cell 349-1312 or Jaan Sturgis - email peterjaan37207@yahoo.com BEFORE the August 16 meeting if you want to volunteer. CHANGES COMING TO OUR HISTORIC DOWTOWN When the Jumer's riverboat is relocated, the City of Rock Island has an opportunity to redevelop the river area near the Armory. Several concepts have been developed and input from all citizens is solicited -- what do you like and what don't you like. You can see various proposals online at http://www.rigov.org/. At the top of that page, under Headlines, the information can be found under "City Seeks Feedback on Armour park Concepts." Those of us with slow connections sometimes have trouble reading the ".pdf" files. If so, instead of clicking on the headline, right-click your mouse and select "save target as". This will save the information to your computer -- but be sure to remember where you saved it!
ÒIF WALLS COULD TALKÓ If you have a story like this or know of someone who lives in or has restored an old house, please contact Kate Fitsgerald of High Noon Entertainment AS SOON AS POSSIBLE at: KFitzgerald@HighNoonEntertainment.com or 303-712-3351. In 2002, producers from this program visited Rock Island and filmed episodes at three homes (Dave & Carla Dacon, 842 19th Street; Jeff & Martha Dismer, 817 23rd Street; George & Zen Henning, 741 34th Street). This was a fun activity that brought some terrific publicity to Rock Island. It would be great if we could add some more local buildings to that program!.
REVISIT THE BEAUTIFUL INTERIORS OF THE VILLA DE CHANTAL The Rock Island Preservation Commission will sponsor a viewing of the video at 6 p.m. on Thursday, August 25 at the Rock Island Public Library Community Room, 401 19th Street, Rock Island. It will be followed by a short photo documentary of conditions after the fire. The Villa de Chantal was designated a Rock Island Landmark by the Preservation Commission in 1994. Sacred Heart Church in Rock Island enjoyed a close relationship with the nuns from the time they arrived in Rock Island in 1898. The Villa school was first established very close to Sacred Heart Church and next to the old Cable mansion at a home known as the Reynolds Homestead, a building the Visitation Sisters called "2939." The community stayed there for more than two years while looking for a site more suited to their needs. In March 1901, their first building at the hilltop Villa de Chantal on 16th Avenue was dedicated. When the nuns left Rock Island nearly 100 years later, they donated their statue of "The Sacred Heart of Jesus" back to the church community that had supported them so steadfastly in their early years. That statue rests today at a prominent place on the lawn of the church rectory. "The Villa De Chantal: A Historical Walk, 1900-1992" is a one-hour video prepared by Tim Smith, who was a college senior at the time and a member of Sacred Heart parish. The nuns desired to make a video record of the beautiful building they were about to leave. It offers a rare glimpse of areas of the buildings that were almost never open to the public or even Villa students. Statues, artwork and furniture are also shown. The video contains extensive footage of the stained glass and the chapel interior. Virtually all video images of the central and west wings show items that were removed by the Sisters in 1992 or building features that were destroyed by the July 14, 2005 fire. "The video is certainly not professional quality," says Mr. Smith. "But the nuns felt it was important to take a historical record of how the Villa looked with them for posterity."
Rock Island Preservation Society |