Editor’s note: This is the second of three profiles of people who made an impact on Naperville in the last year.
Among the biggest Naperville stories in 2017 was the fight between those who wanted to save the old Nichols Library and the developers who sought to build a four-story commercial/office/residential complex on its site.
The preservationists won, with Charlie Wilkins and Barb Hower being lauded for their work in submitting the application to make the building a city landmark.
Wilkins said they are proud of their accomplishment and that the Naperville City Council saw the importance of protecting the 119-year-old building on South Washington Street.
“We both feel like it was important to landmark. If there was any building in town that should be a landmark, it’s old Nichols,” Wilkins said.
That said, “We both agree that we never want to submit a third-party nomination like this again,” he added.
Going into the process they knew there could be roadblocks and opposition, Wilkins said. In the future, he hopes the owners of other historic buildings will see the value of seeking landmark status for their own properties, he said.
Wilkins and Hower started working on the local landmark application when they learned owner and developer Dwight Avram planned to demolish it to make way for a four-story development with stores, restaurants, offices, condominiums and parking.
In compliance with a property deed proviso that said the library’s facade and interior vestibule had to be retained, Avram planned to incorporate both into the new building’s design.
The council vote could have gone either way. In the end, it passed 6-3, with Mayor Steve Chirico and councilmen Kevin Coyne and Benny White voting against landmark status.
“That night in the city council chambers where so many people were sitting in there with the ‘Save old Nichols’ buttons, I think that sent a strong message to the council members,” Hower said.
Initially, Hower said she wasn’t optimistic they’d be successful but gained confidence as time went on.
“There have been so many other buildings torn down, it seemed that’s the route the city was taking,” she said. “I really hope out of all this maybe it would have gotten some more people interested in preservation and preserving more buildings in great old Naperville.”
Getting residents to support saving the library played a role in the council’s decision, Wilkins said. “All the yard signs we saw throughout town and all the lobbying people did to city council members and emails and phone calls urging them to bestow landmark status was impressive,” he said.
Still, it would have been nice there had been more of an emphasis placed on how rigorous the local landmark application process is and how uniquely qualified old Nichols Library is for the status.
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“I wish it would have been made more aware to people what the requirements for landmarks designation were. I wish that people better understood exactly what that entailed,” Wilkins said. “There’s a strong burden of proof that you need to show.”