Architectural Model and Vision for 1845 Blacksmith Shop To Be Presented at Public Meeting on Jan. 8

A volunteer group of concerned Geneva citizens will preview for public inspection an architectural model of a landmarked 1845 foundry and blacksmith shop, once part of the Mill Race Inn restaurant. A developer is proposing its demolition to make way for an apartment and commercial complex on the Fox River, just east of downtown.

The model, which represents the shop as it appeared when new, including exterior, interior. and adjacent mill race, will be presented to the public for the first time from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 8, at the Comfort Inn & Suites hotel, 1555 E. Fabyan Pkwy, in Geneva.

The volunteer group opposing demolition envisions restoration and adaptive use of the structure that was built the same year Geneva was incorporated as a city, and later was enveloped by the former Mill Race Inn restaurant.

The developer, Shodeen Group, was denied demolition permits in 2017 and 2023. Last month, the Geneva Historic Preservation Commission voted unanimously to deny the developer’s third demolition request. The developer has appealed that decision to the city council. The appeal will be heard by the council at 7 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 12, at the city hall, 22 S. First Street in Geneva.

During the public showing of the architectural model on Jan. 8, members of the volunteer team that researched, planned and created it will suggest the potential adaptive use of the restored structure as a visitor’s information center for the Fox River Valley tri-cities of Geneva, St. Charles and Batavia.

“The Alexander brothers’ foundry and blacksmith shop could become a living, breathing place with immense historical, educational, commercial, recreational and tourism potential,” said Alan Leahigh, a resident of Ward 1, Geneva, where the structure’s ruins stand, who is an advocate of historic preservation.

Historic 1845 Limestone Structure Had Many Lives

The Alexander brothers , Julius and Edward, were experienced blacksmiths in their 20s when they settled in Geneva in 1837. The shop they built in 1845 was their third.

In 1849, the brothers sold the shop when one of them departed for the California gold rush.

Over the years, the limestone structure became a carriage and wagon repair shop, then a cooperage, a laundry, a paint shop, a machine shop, a plumbing and heating business and, in the 1920s, was an automobile sales and repair shop.

The shop’s use evolved with technology and the needs of the community.

The Mill Race Inn – a Popular Riverside Restaurant

In 1933, the building was purchased to become the Mill Race Inn tea room and café. The restaurant thrived and, over decades, multiple additions were added that eventually swallowed the entire original shop so that it was not visible from outside. The former shop became the “Stone Room” within the Mill Race Inn, one of the best-known restaurants in the western suburbs of Chicago.

The restaurant closed in 2011 and stood vacant for a half-dozen years. The Geneva City Council agreed in 2017 to demolition of the restaurant’s multiple additions, but on condition that the landmarked shop be spared.

Historic Landmarked Structure Needs Restoration – Not Demolition

When the restaurant’s additions were peeled away, the remains of the shop were seen for the first time in many decades.

There was no photography, of course, when the shop opened in 1845. The 4’ x 4’ diorama that includes the shop is based on measurements and analysis of the structure’s remains and historical records. Fabrication of the museum-quality model was guided by a task force of local volunteers and consultants who have expertise in pioneer-era foundries and blacksmithing, historic preservation and architectural modeling.

Landmarks Illinois twice has listed the shop among the state’s 10 Most Endangered Historic Sites.

A Vision for the Future

Most Geneva residents agree that the remnants of the early settlement-era shop, as viewed today at 4 E. State Street, are an eyesore that’s been allowed to deteriorate further by weather since exposed in 2017. That’s why the volunteers created a model to visualize the shop’s original appearance and its potential for restoration.

In the course of creating the model, concepts for its adaptive reuse emerged. These will be presented by representatives of the volunteer group at the public meeting on Thursday, Jan. 8.