If you ever ate at the Mill Race Inn, you may remember the Stone Room. It was the original 1840s limestone blacksmith shop, which, at that point, was nestled within the walls of the riverfront restaurant.

When the rest of the Mill Race Inn was demolished in 2017, only the blacksmith shop remained standing.

Now a new citizens’ group wants to restore the shop and turn the land around it into a public park on the Fox River. The group made its case at an Oct. 29 press briefing.

Meanwhile, the property’s owner is pursuing plans to build housing on the site.

A group of Geneva residents and preservation advocates has formed Friends of the Alexander Brothers’ Blacksmith Shop and the Geneva Riverfront. Its goal is to restore the building and keep the riverfront site open to the public.

“The pre-Civil War shop that the Alexander brothers built has long been an asset within our community,” group president Alan Leahigh said in a news release. “Restored to its 1845 appearance and repurposed, the shop and its site can continue as an asset for many decades to come.”

Geneva named the shop a local historic landmark in 2018. The statewide nonprofit Landmarks Illinois has twice put it on its list of the state’s most endangered historic places, and it backed the group at the briefing.

“Demolition would be a true loss for Geneva,” said Quinn Adamowski, the nonprofit’s director of public affairs.

The group pictures the restored shop as a rest stop at the midpoint of the Fox River Trail, which is paved 20 miles north to Algonquin and 20 miles south to Oswego.

The plan, the group says, could include public restrooms, possibly concessions, picnic tables in a surrounding park, and a launch for canoes and kayaks. Because the structure sits at the Route 38 entrance to downtown, it could also offer visitor information on local shopping, dining, and events.

“The survival of the blacksmith shop is a gift to our generation from the past — not a burden, but an opportunity,” board member Karen Londo said in the release.

In September, developer Shodeen filed plans for Mill Race Residences, a residential project that includes 84 units across three five-story buildings, per Shaw Local. City staff are still reviewing that proposal.

The “Friends” group opposes the project and says it would sacrifice the landmark and block public access along the river. To pay for its proposal, the group suggests that federal and state governments, along with private foundations, could provide funding for a recreational, adaptive reuse project like this one.

It also notes that the site is in a tax increment financing (TIF) district, a special zone where growth in property tax revenue is set aside for improvements inside that zone.

The building’s condition is the focus of a separate code dispute between the city and the developer.

The developer wrapped the structure in white plastic in April. The city wants the wrap removed, arguing that it doesn’t meet code and could speed up the deterioration process. The developer has argued that it complied with the city’s order to make the building weather-tight.

According to Shaw Local, a hearing officer sided with Geneva on Oct. 29 and kept a $750-per-day fine in place. That fine has been running for about two years and has now surpassed $500,000.

You can read more about the Friends of the Alexander Brothers’ Blacksmith Shop and the Geneva Riverfront at GenevaBlacksmith.org.

Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] with questions or comments.

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