No historic district coming to Ottawa’s South Bluff

The south side of Ottawa contains some historically significant homes – several could crack the National Register of Historic Places – but not enough to declare South Bluff a historic district.

“This may not be a definite no.”

—  Tami Koppen, community development specialist.

Wednesday, city officials learned the results of a survey funded by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources’ Historic Preservation Division. The key finding was that there was too much new construction and too many modern improvements to the homes for the neighborhood to be made a district – at least not at this time.

“This may not be a definite no,” cautioned Tami Koppen, community development specialist.

Mayor Robert Hasty said the survey results were not entirely expected but don’t represent a setback, either.

“We would have preferred for the entire region to be declared historic,” Hasty allowed, “but there are 13 eligible properties and I hope those homeowners will pursue it.”

The survey showed plenty of historic homes, but Lara Ramsey, a principal with Ramsey Historic Consultants, which conducted the survey, showed a too-high concentration of new construction as well as recent improvements to qualify the entire area as historic.

“This is the second time this has happened,” said Charles Stanley, a member of the city Historic Preservation Commission. “The other was what’s called the Streetcar District about 10 years ago.

“You just don’t know until you do the research and find out if it qualifies or not.”

Ramsey singled out a few standout homes that look like strong candidates for historic designation. These include the Fread house 215 E. Prospect Ave., the Strawn home at 417 E. Prospect, the Poundstone home at 322 E. Van Buren Avenue and the Pope house, 116 W. Prospect.

The survey focused on an area that includes 121 structures (all but five are single-family homes) on Prospect Avenue and Van Buren avenues flanking State Street.

More than a dozen of the structures were deemed significant – that is, they have architectural features deemed worth preserving – with many more that bear at least some features of note. Nevertheless, nearly a third did not meet historic standards – a figure deemed too high for immediate designation.

Ottawa already has three historic districts: Washington Park Historic District, Ottawa Commercial Historic District and Ottawa East Side Historic District. There also are historic structures dotting the city.