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Now that the Arcade Building has a new owner, students who worked on its murals have some ideas on what to do with the panels — and with the building.
Amanda Gregus, a junior at Riverside Brookfield High School, suggested selling the panels and funneling the money back to the building, located at 1 Riverside Road.
“Riverside doesn’t have a big business district. The money raised could help that, or go the restoration of the Arcade Building,” Gregus said. “The whole point of the mural was to give the building rebirth, and make it wanted again. The fact that it did get sold, if we then auctioned off the pieces and donated the money to the refurbishment of the building, it would all come full circle.”
Gregus said she would like to see businesses in the Arcade Building that complement the rest of town.
“I love the downtown feel of Riverside, and don’t want to change that,” Gregus said. “I’d love to see a cafe or sandwich place move in — somewhere that can become iconic, like The Chew Chew Cafe and Grumpy’s are to people here.”
Anne Sventy, also a junior, said she would like to see the panels come back to the high school to honor the students’ work on the project.
“I want to still see the murals,” Sventy said. “Every time I drive past the building, I get to see it and say, ‘Oh, I did that,’ which is pretty cool. I think we should have them at the school because it was a big project the school worked on, and that way, they would stay in the community.”
Sventy and other students called for local eatery Grumpy’s to move back into the Arcade Building. Grumpy’s moved out in 2009.
“The ice cream shop was really popular,” Sventy said. “I’d like to see that brought back in. It would be nice to have a place for teenagers to hang out — somewhere kids can go that is a safe place.”
Jonathan Grice, the fine arts chairperson and one of the art teachers at RB, said some of the faculty has been looking for space, should a few of the panels come to RB.
“There’s some space in the hallways that could hold one panel,” Grice said. “There’s a larger hallway on the second floor that could hold three panels — you’d get the whole effect and the continuation of one of the seasons. It would be fantastic if some sort of book would be able to be published, documenting the murals.”
Now that the Arcade Building has a new owner, students who worked on its murals have some ideas on what to do with the panels — and with the building.
Amanda Gregus, a junior at Riverside Brookfield High School, suggested selling the panels and funneling the money back to the building, located at 1 Riverside Road.
“Riverside doesn’t have a big business district. The money raised could help that, or go the restoration of the Arcade Building,” Gregus said. “The whole point of the mural was to give the building rebirth, and make it wanted again. The fact that it did get sold, if we then auctioned off the pieces and donated the money to the refurbishment of the building, it would all come full circle.”
Gregus said she would like to see businesses in the Arcade Building that complement the rest of town.
“I love the downtown feel of Riverside, and don’t want to change that,” Gregus said. “I’d love to see a cafe or sandwich place move in — somewhere that can become iconic, like The Chew Chew Cafe and Grumpy’s are to people here.”
Anne Sventy, also a junior, said she would like to see the panels come back to the high school to honor the students’ work on the project.
“I want to still see the murals,” Sventy said. “Every time I drive past the building, I get to see it and say, ‘Oh, I did that,’ which is pretty cool. I think we should have them at the school because it was a big project the school worked on, and that way, they would stay in the community.”
Sventy and other students called for local eatery Grumpy’s to move back into the Arcade Building. Grumpy’s moved out in 2009.
“The ice cream shop was really popular,” Sventy said. “I’d like to see that brought back in. It would be nice to have a place for teenagers to hang out — somewhere kids can go that is a safe place.”
Jonathan Grice, the fine arts chairperson and one of the art teachers at RB, said some of the faculty has been looking for space, should a few of the panels come to RB.
“There’s some space in the hallways that could hold one panel,” Grice said. “There’s a larger hallway on the second floor that could hold three panels — you’d get the whole effect and the continuation of one of the seasons. It would be fantastic if some sort of book would be able to be published, documenting the murals.”
Village President Michael Gorman said the murals are a part of Riverside, and he is glad the village will be able to keep them.
“The murals will get a second life, and owner (Joe Zapani) has told us he will donate them to the village,” Gorman said. “The library is talking about planning an exhibit with a few of the panels, and others might go to residents or local businesses.”
Gorman said Zapani plans to continue with the already-approved plans on the building, and will begin exterior work — completing some tuckpointing work and reinstalling the windows — after speaking with the Preservation Committee May 13.
Timeline
The Arcade Building, which was constructed in 1871, has spent the last few years in limbo before a new owner was found.
APRIL 2006 Restoration begins on the Arcade Building, and the building is temporarily closed
MAY 2007 The Arcade Building developers, Wexford Development Group, receive a tax break because of the historic nature of the building
AUGUST 2008 The Arcade Building falls under the ownership of the Dewey and LeBoeuf law firm following a lawsuit
JANUARY 2009 Grumpy’s Cafe moves out of the Arcade Building to a location on Burlington Street
AUGUST 2009 The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sues WexTrust Capital, owner of the building, for an alleged Ponzi scheme that began in 2005
MAY 2009 The Arcade Building is put on Landmarks Illinois’ “10 Most Endangered Historic Places” list of 2009
APRIL 2009 The bid process opens for the Arcade Building
JUNE 3, 2009 PrinsBank, the Minnesota bank holding the deed, receives no acceptable bids for the building
JUNE 17, 2009 LM Realty is named as the Arcade’s real estate agent, and the building goes on the market for $2.5 million
JULY 2009 Riverside’s Preservation Commission starts searching for a buyer
SEPTEMBER 2009 Riverside Brookfield High School students begin work on the Arcade Building mural
NOVEMBER 2009 The mural is installed at the Arcade Building
DECEMBER 2009 The Arcade Building mural is unveiled at the start of Riverside’s holiday festival
FEBRUARY 2010 Riverside officials lobby to keep the Arcade Building on the “10 Most Endangered Historic Places” list
APRIL 2010 The Arcade Building is sold to Joe Zapani, a suburban contractor, for $1.3 million
