Speaker tells about efforts to rebuild St. John's Church after a devastating fire
By STEVE EIGHINGER
Herald-Whig Staff Writer
St. John's Episcopal Church was a fitting backdrop for the program surrounding Thursday night's 19th annual Quincy Preservation Commission dinner.
Keynote speaker Walker Johnson of Chicago was one of the principal architects responsible for the rebirth of St. John's at 701 Hampshire after an August 2002 fire.
Johnson told a crowd of about 100 inside St. John's what he found upon initial inspection following the blaze.
"We found no ceiling or walls ... really, no record of what (had been) here," Johnson said.
Archives and all available information and pictures concerning the church were studied extensively.
"The research led to the late 19th century design that you see today," Johnson said.
Architechnics Inc. of Quincy and Johnson's Chicago-based Johnson Lasky Architects were the firms that worked on the rebuilding of St. John's, a project that took four years and $5 million to complete.
The architectural firms' work, coupled with that of A. Fischer Builders of Quincy, led to the rebuilt St. John's earning the Crombie Taylor Citation of Merit from AIA Illinois, a council of the American Institute of Architects.
Maintaining the church's intricate design and workmanship were paramount from the beginning. For example, all of the church's stained-glass windows were removed and warehoused in Peoria. They later were sent to a company in Fairfield, Iowa, to be cleaned and repaired.
Much of the church's interior and roof were destroyed, but the stone walls and bell tower were left standing. They served as the framework for the new church. The new pews came from a church in Joliet that had closed.
In addition to discussing the rebirth of the church building, another key element of the annual dinner was the presentation of local landmark designations by Janet Conover and Tom Fentem. This year's recipients were the:
* Martin/Rogers house, 133 East Ave., built in 1892, rebuilt in 1903 and owned by Nona Miller.
* Edward and Catherine Pfanschmidt house, 205 S. 16th, built in 1881, owned by John and Helen Cornell.
* John Willis and Helen Gardner house, 228 S. 18th, built in 1894, owned by Walter and Diane Giesing.
* St. Rose of Lima rectory building, 1111 N. Eighth, built in 1896, owned by Nicholas and Joyce Wellman.
* Albert C. and May King Fischer house, 221 No. 24th, built in 1914, owned by Todd Nelson and Jennifer Bock-Nelson. Former owner Pat Musick also was recognized.
* Miss Gertrude Peters house, 1124 S. Ninth, built in 1937, owned by Thomas VanderBor.
* Arthur O. and Roberta H. Lindsay Sr. house, 1805 Maine, built in 1922, owned by Kristopher Kutcher and Todd Shackelford.
* Dr. William H. and Florence B. Baker house, 1809 Maine, built in 1922, owned by Victor and Tina Wingerter.
Retiring Preservation Commission members Barb Cantrell and Jeff Stupavsky were recognized, as was Ardath Potts for spearheading a drive to provide a brochure detailing the south side of Quincy's German heritage.
Prior to the program at St. John's, the dinner itself was held at the Busy Bistro with music provided by Ben Bumbry and the Messengers.
-- seighinger@whig.com/221-3377
