Call goes out for Historic Preservation Recognition Awards in Wilmette

Updated: September 10, 2012 12:51PM

WILMETTE — Roemer Baseball Park, nestled between Glenview and Old Glenview Roads just west of Centennial Park, is a green-swarded mirror of Wilmette’s 1950s past.

The tiny concession stand, painted bright “Roemer green,” opens onto a cheerful patio paved with memorial bricks, bright with flowers, and surrounded by a whimsically designed fence, to offer hot dogs and other dishes at near-1950s prices.

When the Wilmette Baseball Association decided to improve the property, “they wanted to keep the spirit of Roemer Park,” architect David Roberts said last week, during a tour of the park. “It would have been easier to tear down the concession stand, but they were committed to keeping that spirit alive.

“The village liked that.”

By that, the Wilmette resident means the village’s Historic Preservation Commission honored Roemer Park’s restoration in 2011, with an award for its restoration of open space.

Preservation Commission chairman Senta Plunkett agreed: “The park is part of Wilmette history.”

The baseball park project was one of five properties that received a recognition award last year; other winners made additions to their homes that upheld the building’s historic nature, or built new construction that was sympathetic to the historic nature of their individual neighborhood.

This year, the preservation commission is again calling for award nominations, and urging Wilmette residents to consider nominating properties they think merit recognition. Winners will be honored Nov. 4 at the Wilmette Historical Museum.

“You can nominate your own property, you can nominate your neighbor’s, although it’s good manners to let them know you’ve done it,” member Robert FitzGerald said.

Residential, commercial, public and religious buildings are eligible, as are landscapes. An independent panel of preservation specialists judges each one, and winning properties will be recognized by the village board.

Categories are:

Stewardship — anyone who has owned a property for five years or longer can be honored for sensitive maintenance and the use of traditional materials and techniques to keep up their property.

Restoration — awards will go to buildings, gardens or landscapes returned to their historic appearance. Projects can include an entire building or only a portion of property.

Sympathetic addition — awards honor alterations or additions to existing buildings that are still sensitive to their historic nature. They need not match an existing structure exactly. A new garden or landscape would also be eligible.

Streetscape compatibility — winners would be exceptional new construction that are sympathetic to their settings in terms of size scale, style and choice of materials.

For more information on the awards, and to download a nomination application, visit the village of Wilmette website at http://www.wilmette.com/, and go to the community development page, which includes a link to the awards. Nomination applications are also available at Village Hall, 1200 Wilmette Ave.

Nominations must be submitted by Aug. 24. For more information contact Erika Fabisch at 847-853-7522 or at FabischE@wilmette.com.

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