Historical Profile

Memorial Hall, a building dedicated to the memory of the region's soldiers, was finally approved for construction in 1900. The $65,000 project was awarded to W. H. Cook, a general contractor from Chicago. President Theodore Roosevelt attended and dedicated the building's unveiling on June 3, 1903.

In 1990-1992, a major renovation to Memorial Hall was awarded to, then NIBCA member, Reitzel Construction Company, located in Loves Park. As work progressed, general contractor Bill Reitzel and his crew often became more archaeologists and historians then renovators. During work on the great hall, they discovered a mural under a decades-old wall covering. After many hours of delicate restoration and consultation with experts proved ineffective in salvaging the mural.

Another memorable incident exemplified that the unexpected becomes commonplace in restoration projects. During the restorative phase on the first floor, a particularly intractable door was carefully opened only to have a weighty cannonball spill forth and tumble past a shocked tradesman, down a stairwell and onto the wooden floor below. Fortunately, neither the floor nor the cannonball was seriously injured.

"Preserving our heritage becomes a passion for a builder who is fortunate enough to earn the privilege of working on a project such as Memorial Hall," commented Bill Reitzel at an award ceremony in 1992.