Welcome to the LaSalle County Historical Society’s website.
Dear Society Members,
This year the board of directors will be embarking on a very ambitious project of renovating the old Utica Elevator Complex, which includes the old lumber yard and office building. The first project to be completed will be the lumber yard facility. The purpose of completing this building will be to generate rental income for years to come as an open air market. This building will be resided and reroofed with period color steel. The inside of this building is divided into 26 inside openings. We will concrete the floor of these inside lumber bays, making them handicapped accessible. The front of the building will also have an office area, and a small store space.
This open air market will have 26 inside booths and 28 outside booths, for a total of 54 spots. In the future, we may even expand booth spaces to spots along the canal. These spaces will be rented out, with the inside booths bringing a premium price. Yearly income projections, with 1 to 2 markets per month May through October, will net funds for the daily operation of the LaSalle County Historical Society. These figures could be enhanced if the facility could be used for additional shows or events on a rental basis.
We also will be working on renovating the old two story Utica Elevator office building. After renovating this building, we will realize an additional 6200 sq.ft. of exhibit display area between both floors after accounting for an additional staircase, elevator, handicapped accessible restrooms on both floors, an office, a breakroom, and storage area to protect collections now stored in the basement of the main museum building. With the additional exhibit display area, we will be able to display many of the items now packed away in storage boxes. With increased exhibits, we should be able to increase visitor interest, and possibly increase our museum revenue.
Our goal is to have the lumber yard open air market operational by sometime in June. Our hope is to have the two story building operational by Burgoo. These projects will have many phases that could be completed by volunteers. Any financial or physical assistance will be greatly appreciated!
As you can see, our main emphasis is on generating a steady cash flow to fund the operations of the society. We will keep you posted on our progress in our newsletter as well as our website.
