Jacksonville Main Street has been awarded the highest preservation award the state of Illinois has to offer.
The Richard H. Driehaus Award, presented through the statewide group Landmark Illinois, honors communities for the protection of historic properties.
Program Manager Judy Tighe says Jacksonville Main Street earned the award from the hard work put forth on the Downtown Turnaround project.
“We now have all three phases complete. That project is a preservation project. The square was returned to almost the original size, within a few inches. The traffic pattern was restored as much as possible for today’s standards,” says Tighe.
Tighe says the Downtown Turnaround project was a group effort from the entire community.
“The engineers, contractors and the community has taken part in this project. Everybody had a say, input and showed support to make this project happen. It is nice to be acknowledged at a state level that we are doing some great things in Jacksonville,” says Tighe.
This is the third Driehaus Award that has been handed down in Jacksonville, with the others being restorations to Hamilton’s Catering and the Pink Palace.
An award ceremony will be held in Chicago on October 17th.