Local Neighborhood Group Honors Mayor Schultz and the City of Joliet for Outstanding Preservation Efforts

The City of Champions is in its own right a champion according to a local neighborhood preservation group.

Joliet's Cathedral Area Preservation Association (CAPA) will present Mayor Arthur Schultz and the City of Joliet with its annual Preservation Award at the May 15 city council meeting.

The Preservation Award honors individuals and institutions that have played an outstanding role in preservation projects, either by actually doing the projects, being an advocate for them or setting public policy to facilitate preservation.

According to CAPA president Kurt Schackmuth, the city has come through in all three categories. "In the past year especially, we've found the city to be immensely supportive of our efforts."

The CAPA Board of Directors cited several examples for why the city deserves the award:

The purchase of the house at 816 Western Avenue. When a homeowner defaulted on the mortgage, the home was abandoned and left vacant for an extended period of time. It had become an eyesore for the neighborhood and because of all the red tape involved, any potential rehabbers were quickly scared away by the project.

The city came to the rescue by buying the house and then working to restore the exterior. Within the last few months, structural repairs have been made, a wrought iron fence has been installed and the house has been painted in appropriate historic colors, which were chosen with the help of neighbors and CAPA representatives.

The installation of historic street lighting along Black Road, Raynor Avenue and Western Avenue. Most of the lamp posts which create a very elegant feeling are up already. The balance will be installed within the next few months.

The transformation of Raynor Avenue to a boulevard with a center greenway, enhanced landscaping and year-round decorative lighting. This work was done after research showed that early city planners intended Raynor Avenue to be a grand boulevard.

Reinstalling historic street tiles at major Cathedral Area intersections. These tiles are embedded in the concrete at key corners for the benefit of foot traffic. The new tiles are identical to the original ones which were lost or broken over the years.

"I'm glad the city is supporting our efforts to help us preserve the elegance of the Cathedral Area," said board member Jan Quillman. "Each of these projects has had a tremendous impact on the appearance of our historic neighborhood."

The Cathedral area is roughly bounded by Jefferson Street, Reed Street, Black Road, Plainfield Road and Center Street. Most of that area is within District 2 which is Councilman Tim Brophy's jurisdiction.

According to Schackmuth, Brophy has been a huge advocate of the preservation projects underway in our neighborhood. "Tim has made a very concerted effort to direct Neighborhood Improvement Project monies to our area whenever appropriate."

The Preservation Award is presented in conjunction with National Historic Preservation Week which is May 13-19. Preservation Week is a nationwide celebration sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Past recipients of the award have been Joliet city planner Barbara Newburg and Russ+Carlson Architecture.

CAPA is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year and currently has a membership of more than 300 families.