Back in the early 1970s, the Burlington Railroad was threatening to tear down all three of the old railroad stations in Brookfield in favor of a new one at a central stop. The Congress Park and Hollywood stops would be totally eliminated.
Plans called for the new station to be located east of Salt Creek, directly across from the Brookfield Village Hall. Residents in Hollywood and Congress Park were not happy.
Hollywood citizens argued that people wanting to get off here to see the Brookfield Zoo would be greatly inconvenienced, having to walk way over east, down Brookfield Avenue and then up Hollywood Avenue to the zoo’s South Gate. Then, at the end of a full day of sightseeing, they’d have to walk all the way back again. The railroad reportedly believed that perhaps the Regional Transportation Authority would make this a part of a bus route. This never happened.
Neither Hollywood nor Congress Park residents liked the idea that they now were going to have to walk or drive to the new Brookfield station. Some feared the parking would be overcrowded, as well. Locally, emotions were coming to a boil.
In late 1976, Brookfield residents Gregory and Geraldine Gall became greatly concerned about the future of the stations, and had definite ideas about preserving them, and also the history of the village.
They contacted newspapers, radio, and television stations. Newspapers responded first, and the Galls gave interviews stating that anyone who was interested in forming an historical society for the purpose of historic preservation should contact them.
This first planning meeting of the Brookfield Historical Society was held on Sunday, July 17, 1977, at the home of Acting Director Greg Gall. The Galls had already been gathering information for some time, and were ready to propose ideas and answer questions.
A slate of officers was chosen, with Greg Gall installed as acting director. Acting secretary was Mary Ann Serenda. Acting curator was Julia Cihlar. In charge of public relations and special events was noted local artist Esther Cervak. Geraldine Gall, and two other persons who could not attend this meeting, Charles Feeley and Erwin Wagner, were to be the initial nucleus of the society.
During the second planning meeting, on July 31, the society’s mission statement was entered into the minutes:
“Members … described their wishes to strengthen their pride in the community’s present and past, to promote cultural values, to foster a sense of heritage, to acquire and suitably display historical items and artifacts, to preserve and enhance historic structures in the Village, especially those threatened with demolition. The first goal of members is to save one or more of Brookfield’s railroad stations.”
The first meeting open to the general public was held on Friday, Aug. 12, 1977. Those who paid memberships on this date became the charter members of the Brookfield Historical Society. Later that same month, a corporation charter was granted to the Society.
The Times newspaper published a mail-in ballot so readers could send in their answers by checking boxes next to four categories: “l. I support the action to save the Prairie Avenue Railroad Station; 2. I am not in favor of keeping the Prairie Avenue Station; 3. Other suggestions.; and 4. I would like to become a member of the Brookfield Historical Society, and assist with the above project.”
As a result of this poll, the society gained several new members, and the vote was overwhelmingly supportive of saving the station.
From the beginning, the society also sent out dozens of letters asking for support. If there was a source to write to, the society did not hesitate in taking up a pen or pounding on a typewriter.
Publicity was always of paramount importance. Articles appeared in the Times, the Sun, the Suburban Life and the Chicago Tribune newspapers. Some people were not supportive of saving the station, calling it “an eyesore,” and a waste of money to save. The society shrugged off those expressions of negativity and plowed forward towards their ultimate goal.
Petitions circulated and then presented to newly elected Village President Mylon Fisher and the Board of Trustees stated, “We, the undersigned registered voters of the Village of Brookfield request that the following proposition be put to the voters: ‘Shall the Prairie Avenue Station be restored?'”
Fisher had expressed his support several times before the election, and believed in the cause of preservation. But coming up with actual village money was another thing altogether. Some people were of the opinion that the village shouldn’t be giving money to a private group, no matter how laudable its goals were.
The Suburban Life summed it up nicely in November, 1977.
“Brookfield officials back the village historical society in its efforts to protect the Prairie Avenue train station from demolition. They will not contribute to its relocation, preservation, or maintenance, however.”
So it was all up to the society. Meanwhile, the railroad went ahead with its plans to demolish the Hollywood and Congress Park train stations, doing so in 1978 and 1979, respectively. Only the original 1889-built Brookfield station remained.
When the society asked if the station might remain on its original site, south of the tracks, the Burlington railroad replied with one dictum to the very end. It could not stay on the site. If it did, it would be demolished. If the society wanted the building, they could pay the railroad $1 for it, and then “move it or lose it.”
But all was not exactly going the railroad’s way, either. The new train station had increased cost problems, and having it located across from the village hall presented more problems than ever, especially in the matter of track and creek crossings. So the new station was set to be erected just east of the old one.
What would the new station look like? On May 23, 1979, the Sun newspaper published four designs, one of which would be chosen. They included a long, low contemporary design by Brookfield resident James Sedlar and three others drawn by the Chicago architectural firm of Bernheim, Kahn and Lozano.
These were of a stylistically Victorian design, an Underground station that some people said looked like a fall out shelter and a Colonial design that matched the look of the new Village Hall, north of Salt Creek.
The village chose to adopt the Colonial design, similar to the current railroad station south of the tracks. In its original concept, the station had one door, facing the tracks, directly underneath a sheltering canopy. What was subsequently built were two doors, under no shelter whatsoever. Every time it rains or snows, commuters and travelers step out of the station into the inclement weather.
But the Brookfield Historical Society was more concerned with saving the old station. Fundraisers, such as housewalks and auctions were held. Souvenirs were sold, and the society had booths (with the ever-present donations can) at local events to promote the society’s cause. Every avenue for raising money was explored. Grants were applied for, and donations of time, equipment and labor were actively sought.
In spite of its rundown and dilapidated condition, the station managed to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places on Dec. 12, 1980, but this designation had no power to stop the railroad’s demolition plans.
There was a deadline to worry about. In early 1981, the railroad told the society that the station would be demolished within 30 days of the new station becoming operational. The society had continued to ask the village and the railroad, time and again, if the station might be able to stay where it was, but the answer was always the same. It would have to be moved.
Preparatory measures for the move were coordinated by local resident Ann Egger. She had never guessed how involved she would become. Now her mind was fully occupied with the matters of building moving and renovation. She fretted over the details that could either make or break the effort to save the Brookfield station.
As if Egger and the society didn’t have enough to worry about, a car smashed into the rear enclosed staircase of the old station in late March, utterly demolishing it. The staircase, added on in 1941, was quickly removed, but it seemed an ill omen at the time. One resident in the March 28, 1981 Suburban Life said, “One more good hit and that building might go down before they can move it.”
March 27, 1981. A final secret ballot vote was taken at a Brookfield Historical Society meeting, to make the decision that would irrevocably bind them to the future. The members were asked one last time the question: “Should we move the station?” It was not a quick vote. Finally the results were tallied%uFFFD%uFFFD”11 voting “yes” and 4 voting “no.” There was no turning back now.
Members were asked if they would help support the move on a monthly basis for the next 12 months. Several members pledged amounts. The donors’ names appear to be lost to history, not even being known at time of the writing of the station’s history book, “A Handsome Depot,” published in 1990.
Money that had been appropriated by the Illinois Department of Transportation to demolish the station was, instead, given to save it. Private donors came forth with varying amounts. Some donated time, energy and equipment to aid the move.
On April 9, 1981 a large crowd of about 1,500 people gathered that morning to see the old 1889 brick structure moved at a slow walking pace across the tracks. From there it would go east on Brookfield Avenue, towards its new home on a prepared concrete foundation located where the old village hall once stood, at the corner of Brookfield and Forest avenues.
School children were walked over to behold the event, which would last from 9:45 to 10:45 a.m. But the greatest appeal was not the mere viewing of the journey, but to see the station fall apart while on its way. The chimney did fall off, scattering bricks and metal, no doubt causing some people to say to their neighbors, “You see? It’s only a matter of time now.”
But the station did not crack apart. There was a tense moment, however, that would’ve been reported all around the nation, had the worst occurred. The railroad had been alerted beforehand, and had stopped all trains on the line while the move was going on. Then, suddenly, a light appeared in the western distance.
The 92-year-old station was set on steel beams mounted on a long, low, many-wheeled trailer, and its engine cab was ready to cross the tracks. Suddenly the crossing gates lowered. The cab came to a stop, and an Amtrak train flashed by. The gates rose, and the station passed over the tracks without further incident. But many people wondered what would’ve happened if the station had been on the tracks, and the train had smashed into it.
Once the station settled on its new foundation, cement blocks were set in place, and the steel beams were removed. Next it was up to the Brookfield Historical Society to get the building back up to code. Sure, the deed was done, but that was only the first step on a long, long journey towards restoration.