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===Historic buildings and structures=== [[File:Sanders School.png|thumb|right|Sanders School, 1900. George W. Maher, architect]][[File:Goldberg Heimbach.jpg|thumb|right|Dr. Aaron Heimbach House]] [[Bertrand Goldberg]] designed the [[Dr. Aaron Heimbach House]] (1939). The house is one of only six surviving residential designs by the architect, and is a designated landmark in the City of Blue Island.<ref>[http://www.blueisland.org/historic/landmark-tour/29-heimbach/ Blue Island Historic Preservation Commission Landmark Tour β Dr. Aaron Heimbach House]. Retrieved 10/30/2009</ref> In 2009, its owners received the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Award<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.landmarks.org/awards_2009_heimbach.htm|title=Landmarks Illinois: Preservation Awards|publisher=landmarks.org|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100113183135/http://www.landmarks.org/awards_2009_heimbach.htm|archive-date=2010-01-13}}</ref> from Landmarks Illinois<ref>[http://www.landmarks.org/index.htm Landmarks Illinois] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100125054159/http://www.landmarks.org/index.htm |date=2010-01-25 }}. Retrieved 10/30/2009</ref> for the outstanding quality of the restoration work performed on the house during the previous four years. Because of its long history, the [[built environment]] of Blue Island exhibits a broad range of [[architectural style]]s and periods. Although largely built in the [[vernacular architecture|vernacular]] tradition, the works of notable architects, including [[Adler & Sullivan|Adler and Sullivan]], [[George W. Maher|George Maher]], [[August Fiedler]], [[Office of the Supervising Architect|Oscar Wenderoth]], [[Robert Seyfarth]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.robertseyfartharchitect.com |title=Robert e Seyfarth Architect |access-date=2009-08-22 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715192216/http://www.robertseyfartharchitect.com/ |archive-date=2011-07-15 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.winnetkahistory.org/index.php?id=109|title=Winnetka Historical Society|publisher=winnetkahistory.org}}</ref> [[Perkins and Will]],<ref>{{cite news | title=Blue Island to Dedicate School, Wing β Hold Open House Today in Blue Island School| newspaper=Chicago Daily Tribune |date=November 11, 1956| pages=SW5}}</ref> and [[Bertrand Goldberg]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bertrandgoldberg.org/works/heimbach_house.html|publisher=bertrandgoldberg.org|title=Heimbach House period image|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080602123210/http://www.bertrandgoldberg.org/works/heimbach_house.html|archive-date=2008-06-02}}</ref> are featured throughout the community. The Bell/Hendriks house was designed and construction in 1947 for the Prize Homes competition which was sponsored and promoted by the ''Chicago Tribune'',<ref>{{cite news |last=McCutcheon| first=John Jr.| title=Dentist Turns First Spade at his Prize Home β 19 Other War Veterans Are in Tribune Plan| newspaper=Chicago Daily Tribune |date=June 16, 1946| pages=SW2}}</ref> and several thousand persons toured the "modified Colonial" home when it was built, with many of the visitors' comments reported in the newspaper during the month the house was open to the public for tours.<ref>{{cite news |last=Peck| first=Janet| title=Women Agree β Tribune Prize Home a 'Honey' β Admire Blend of Beauty and Practicality| newspaper=Chicago Daily Tribune|date=October 5, 1946| pages=S6}}</ref> Opening ceremonies were broadcast over [[WGN (AM)|WGN]] radio, and plans of the house and of the other twenty-three prize-winning designs from the competition were the subject of an exhibition at the [[Art Institute of Chicago]] the previous year.<ref>{{cite web | agency = The Chicago Tribune | title = 1946 Exhibition History | date = January 1946 | publisher = The Art Institute of Chicago | url = http://www.artic.edu/research/1946-exhibition-history | access-date = 2013-02-16}}</ref> The oldest section of Blue Island's city hall, built in 1891, was designed by [[Edmund R. Krause]], who was the architect of the Majestic Building (along with its recently restored [[Bank of America Theatre]]) in Chicago's [[Chicago Loop|Loop]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.patsabin.com/illinois/majestic.html |title=Majestic Theatre, Chicago, IL vintage postcard |access-date=2008-06-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080703101818/http://www.patsabin.com/illinois/majestic.html |archive-date=2008-07-03 }}</ref> The first buildings of Northwest Gas, Light and Coke Company in Blue Island were designed by [[Holabird & Roche]]<ref>{{cite web | author = North Suburban Library System | title = Public Service Co., Blue Island, IL | publisher = V.O. Hammon Publishing Co. | date = c. 1909 | url = http://www.digitalpast.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/lakecoun004&CISOPTR=2337&REC=1 | access-date = 2009-02-16}}</ref> in 1902 (demolished). The city also has 22 houses known to have been built with mail-order kits sold by [[Sears Catalog Home|Sears Modern Homes]]. There is one building in Blue Island listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]],<ref>[http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/hargis/Reports/Reports.aspx?RefNumVariable=200317&FormType=Short National Register of Historic Places β Property Information Report β The Joshua P. Young House.]{{dead link|date=November 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Retrieved 4/22/2010</ref> 27 are included as part of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency's Historic Architectural and Archaeology Resources Geographic Information System,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.il.us/hpa/PS/haargishi.htm |title=Welcome to IHPA's Preservation Services Division |access-date=2008-07-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090513190325/http://www.state.il.us/hpa/PS/haargishi.htm |archive-date=2009-05-13 }}</ref><ref>[http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/hargis/Main.aspx?action=zoomcity&city=Blue%20Island Illinois Historic Preservation Agency β Historic Architectural/Archeological Resources β HAARGIS.]{{dead link|date=November 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Retrieved 4/22/2010</ref> and 41<ref>[https://archive.today/20110718052610/http://www.blueisland.org/historic/landmark-tour/ Blue Island Historic Preservation Commission β Blue Island Landmark Tour.] Retrieved 4/22/2010</ref> individual buildings and one district have been designated as local landmarks by the Blue Island Historic Preservation Commission. The city's newest development is Fay's Point, a gated community built at the confluence of the Calumet River and the Calumet Sag Channel on the site of the home of Jerome Fay, who had settled there in 1850.<ref>{{cite book |title= The first hundred years, 1835-1935: historical review of Blue Island, Illinois |last= Volp |first= John Henry|year= 1938| publisher= Blue Island Publishing |page= 75 }}</ref> The [[Libby, McNeill and Libby Building]], which operated as [[Libby, McNeill and Libby]]'s main Midwest processing plant from 1918 to 1968, is a prominent historic remnant of Blue Island's industrial heritage, located three blocks south of downtown Blue Island on Western Avenue.<ref name="NomForm">{{cite web|title=Request for Preliminary Determination of Eligibility: Libby, McNeill & Libby Canning Plant 13636 South Western Avenue, Blue Island, Illinois|url=https://las.depaul.edu/centers-and-institutes/chaddick-institute-for-metropolitan-development/research-and-publications/Documents/Libby%20McNeill%20%20Libby%20Canning%20Plant%20-%20PDIL%20Package%205-7-12.pdf|publisher=[[DePaul University]]: College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences|website=las.depaul.edu|accessdate=July 18, 2021}}</ref> ====The American House==== [[File:American House Hotel Blue Island.JPG|thumb|right|Drawing of the American House Hotel, modeled after a sketch that appeared in Ferdinand Schapper's 1917 manuscript ''Southern Cook County and History of Blue Island before the Civil War''.]] One of the oldest buildings in Blue Island, the American House was built in 1839 as the courthouse for [[Lake County, Indiana]]βa function it never actually had the chance to serve, as the county seat was moved from Liverpool to [[Crown Point, Indiana|Crown Point]] in 1840.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Calumet Region β Indiana's Last Frontier. Indiana Historical Collections, Volume XXXIX |last= Moore| first=Powell A. |year= 1959 |publisher= Indiana Historical Bureau| location= Indianapolis|page=72 }}</ref> In 1844, the building was disassembled, sent by raft up the [[Little Calumet River]], and reassembled in Blue Island. Once in Blue Island, the building originally stood on the west side of Western Avenue north of Vermont Street,<ref name="American House Hotel">{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=13 - American House Hotel {{!}} Blue Island, IL |url=https://www.blueisland.org/259/13---American-House-Hotel |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250406212308/https://www.blueisland.org/259/13---American-House-Hotel |archive-date=2025-04-06 |access-date=2025-04-06 |website=www.blueisland.org |publisher=Blue Island Historic Preservation Commission}}</ref> (where Three Sisters Antique Mall stands today). It was popular among Southerners who used it as a summer boarding house and with the contractors who built the feeder canal for the [[Illinois and Michigan Canal]]. After the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] it was used as a home for retired soldiers. Although it was built after the invention of [[balloon framing]], the building is constructed using the [[timber framing]] method, evidence of which is still clearly visible in the basement and attic. However, while its [[Greek Revival]] roots are discernible, the building is much remodeled and serves today as a private residence. Greek Revival was the architectural style of choice in the early years of Blue Island's history. Many of the buildings that remain from those days have been similarly remodeled, but some of the most well-preserved examples of the style, albeit in a vernacular form, can be seen either in the Walter P. Roche House on York Street<ref>{{Cite web |title=28 - Walter P. Roche House {{!}} Blue Island, IL |url=https://www.blueisland.org/274/28---Walter-P-Roche-House |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250406212342/https://www.blueisland.org/274/28---Walter-P-Roche-House |archive-date=2025-04-06 |access-date=2025-04-06 |website=www.blueisland.org}}</ref> or the Henry Schuemann House on Western Avenue.<ref>[http://www.blueisland.org/historic/landmark-tour/36-schuermann/ Blue Island Historic Preservation Commission Landmark Tour β Henry Schuemann House.] Retrieved 10/30/2009</ref> When the American House was dismantled in the 1890s, Jacob Link cut and relocated half of it to its current location on Collins Street, where he converted it into a residence.<ref name="American House Hotel" /> ====The Joshua P. Young House==== [[File:Joshua P Young House.JPG|thumb|The Joshua P. Young House, built circa 1852]] An ad appeared in the book ''Chicago and Its Suburbs'', which was published in 1874 in part to promote the interests of real estate developers in the Chicago area. Note the mention of the firm's holdings in [[Englewood, Chicago|Englewood]], South Lawn (later [[Harvey, Illinois|Harvey]]), [[Homewood, Illinois|Homewood]] and Washington Heights (later [[Morgan Park, Chicago|Morgan Park]]), the latter of which was purchased in 1869 for $150 per acre from the {{convert|1500|acre|adj=on}} tract that was then being developed by the Blue Island Land and Building Co. The house was built by Carlton Wadhams (1810β1891), who came to Blue Island in 1839 from [[Goshen, Connecticut]], and farmed on land north of the village until he opened the American House Hotel (building extant) in 1844. During his time in Blue Island, Wadhams made his first fortune as the owner of the hotel and as a cattle dealer, staying until c. 1857 when he sold his holdings and moved to [[South Bend, Indiana]]. In South Bend he was one of the founders of the Dodge Manufacturing Company and of the First National Bank, where he was a director until his death.<ref>{{cite book |title=South Bend and the Men Who Have Made It. |last= Anderson and Cooley|year= 1901 |publisher= Press of the Tribune Printing Company |location= South Bend|page= 95}}</ref> Wadhams sold the house along with all of the property on which it was located, which included the American House and all of the land between what is today Western Avenue, Maple Avenue, Burr Oak Avenue and Vermont Street to Joshua Palmer Young (1818β1889),<ref>{{cite book |title=Dedication to Benjamin Harrison, Christian gentleman; patriotic citizen; brave soldier; wise statesman and 23d President of the United States |last= Old Tippecanoe Club of Chicago |year= 1899 |publisher= Press of the Peerless Printing Co.| location= Chicago|pages=218β219 |url=https://archive.org/stream/dedicationtobenj00oldt#page/218/mode/2up |access-date=December 11, 2010}}</ref> who, by himself beginning in 1848 and in a partnership with John K. Rowley that was established in 1866, played an important role in the development of the Chicago communities of [[Beverly, Chicago|Beverly Hills]], [[Morgan Park, Chicago|Morgan Park]],<ref>{{cite book |author=Everett Chamberlin |title=Chicago and its Suburbs| publisher=T.A. Hungerford & Co.| location=Chicago|orig-year=1874 β reprinted 2010 by [[BiblioBazaar|Nabu Press]] |pages= 369, 407, 470 |isbn= 978-1-142-31955-7|date=January 2010}}</ref> [[Near West Side, Chicago|Near West Side]], [[Washington Heights, Chicago|Washington Heights]] and [[Englewood, Chicago|Englewood]],<ref>{{cite book |title=Album of genealogy and biography, Cook County, Illinois: with portraits β Eighth Edition, Revised and Extended |year= 1897 |publisher= Calumet Book and Engraving Co.| location= Chicago|pages=500β501 |url=https://archive.org/stream/albumofgenealogy1897calu#page/500/mode/2up |access-date=December 11, 2010}}</ref> as well as the suburban communities of Blue Island, South Lawn (now [[Harvey, Illinois|Harvey]]),<ref>{{cite book |title=HISTORY β the City of Harvey 1890β1962 |last= Kerr| first= Alec C.|year= 1962 |publisher= First National Bank in Harvey|location= Harvey| asin=B001J34JEK |page= 15}}</ref> [[Homewood, Illinois|Homewood]] and [[South Holland, Illinois|South Holland]]. Young operated the hotel for a time and was otherwise active in local affairs. He served from 1878β1880 as the president of the village board, and was a founder of the Congregational church (now Christ Memorial United Church of Christ). He was one of the incorporators, a director and secretary of the Chicago, Blue Island and Indiana Railroad Company (now part of the [[Grand Trunk Railway]]), whose charter was approved by the state of Illinois on March 7, 1867.<ref>{{cite book |title=Private Laws of the State of Illinois passed by the Twenty-fifth General Assembly β Convened January 7, 1867 β Volume II|year= 1867 |publisher= Baker, Bailhache & Co., Printers|location= Springfield|pages=545β548}}</ref> The house is listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Cook County, Illinois|National Register of Historic Places]] and is included in the State of Illinois' Historic Architectural and Archaeology Resources Geographic Information System. ====USS ''Blue Island Victory''==== On December 28, 1944, 91 days after her keel was laid, the USS ''Blue Island Victory'' was launched from the [[Bethlehem Fairfield Shipyard|Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard]] in [[Baltimore]], Maryland. Dubbed "the Ugly Duckling of the [[United States Merchant Marine|merchant marine]]" by President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], [[Victory ship]]s were armed cargo ships that were built during [[World War II]] to transport troops and supplies wherever in the world their services were required. Of the 550 or so built,<ref>[http://www.shipbuildinghistory.com/history/merchantships/wwii/victoryships.htm Shipbuilding History.com β Victory Ships] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080820074721/http://www.shipbuildinghistory.com/history/merchantships/wwii/victoryships.htm |date=August 20, 2008 }}, accessed January 28, 2009</ref> 218 were named after American cities. The USS ''Blue Island Victory'' was a type VC 2-S-AP2, which was {{convert|455|ft|m}} long, {{convert|62|ft|m}} wide, and had a {{convert|25|ft|m|adj=on}} [[Draft (hull)|draft]]. It was equipped with a {{convert|5|in|mm|adj=on}} gun on the stern for enemy submarines, a {{convert|3|in|mm|adj=on}} [[anti-aircraft gun]], and a 20 mm cannon. The ''Blue Island Victory'' served variously as a troop ship<ref>[http://www.jefferson.k12.wi.us/jms/LibraryHomePage/WartimeRemembrances/Buelowdon/buelowdon.htm "Wartime Remembrances" β Don Buelow interview] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061003080622/http://www.jefferson.k12.wi.us/jms/LibraryHomePage/WartimeRemembrances/Buelowdon/buelowdon.htm |date=October 3, 2006 }}, School District of Jefferson, Wisconsin. Accessed 8/15/2008</ref> and as a cattle transport ship,<ref>[http://www.photosig.com/go/photos/view?id=1910411&forward=viewportfolio Blue Island Victory] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090615212652/http://www.photosig.com/go/photos/view?id=1910411&forward=viewportfolio |date=June 15, 2009 }} β Photosig.com. Accessed 9/15/2008</ref> and saw service in the [[Korean War]]. It was scrapped in 1972. ====City hall==== The oldest portion of Blue Island's city hall was built in 1891 and designed by Edmund R. Krause, a prominent Chicago architect who among other buildings designed the 20-story Majestic Theatre building in [[Chicago Loop|Chicago's Loop]] at what is now 22 W. Monroe Street (the theater, whose interiors were designed by [[Rapp and Rapp]], has been [[Naming rights|renamed]] several time in the last fifty years β most recently in 2015 when it became the [[PrivateBank Theatre]]). An annex to city hall was built in 1925 according to plans by the Chicago architectural firm of Doerr, Lindquist and Doerr.<ref>{{cite web |last=Curt Teich & Co. |author2=North Suburban Library System |title=Postcard depicting Blue Island's City Hall, Police Dept. & Fire Dept. |publisher=Aero Distributing Co., Chicago, IL |year=1951 |url=http://www.digitalpast.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/lakecoun004&CISOPTR=5032&REC=3 |access-date=2009-02-16}}</ref> The design for the annex was apparently a conscious effort to complement the post office building across the street and built using similar brick and a closely related architectural style, although not on as grand a scale. The Blue Island Post Office was designed by [[Oscar Wenderoth]] and built in 1914. Wenderoth was associated with the building of many government buildings of the period, including the Senate and House Office Buildings in Washington, D.C.<ref>{{cite news |title=Wenderoth Selected to Succeed James Taylor as Architect of the Treasury Department |newspaper=The Cincinnati Enquirer |date=June 7, 1912 |pages=3}}</ref> Beginning in the 1870s, the water supply for Blue Island was supplied by three [[Artesian aquifer|artesian wells]], whose water was pumped by a windmill to a {{convert|10|ST}} storage tank that sat on top of a {{convert|50|ft|adj=on}} high stone tower behind the City Hall building.<ref name="Spears 9">{{cite news |last=Spears |first=Charles|title= La Julia Rhea Gets Singular Recognition|newspaper=Pittsburgh Courier|date=October 30, 1937|page=9}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Miniature Water-Works |newspaper=The American Architect and Building News |volume=III |issue=112 |date=16 February 1878 |pages=60}}</ref> The city began to receive its water from [[Lake Michigan]] in August 1915 after the water from the wells began to acquire a gaseous odor whose source was apparently the Public Service Company whose facilities were located about a quarter mile to the southwest,<ref>{{cite journal |title=Chemical Character of Chicago Waters β Niagara Formation β Local Supplies β Vicinity of Chicago β Blue Island |journal=The Illinois State Geological Survey: The Artesian Waters of Northeastern Illinois |volume=34 |year=1919 |pages=102β3}}</ref> and the tank was subsequently removed.
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