Riverside’s Scout Cabin could become the village’s latest local landmark.
Following an application made by Aiden Veltman and Alex Schrier, two Troop 24 Eagle Scouts, in August, the village will hold a public hearing at the preservation commission’s Dec. 10 meeting on the matter before the village board considers an ordinance landmarking the building, located at 417 Fairbank Ave. in the First Division.
Community Development Director Anne Cyran said the proposal began at the behest of Village President Doug Pollock, who asked the preservation commission to consider landmarking the building.
“It’s a community asset, similar to the trolley shelters and the stone gutter that were landmarked earlier this year,” Cyran told the Landmark. “The preservation commission felt that it had merit.”
The stone gutter is located in Harrington Park. One trolley shelter is located at Des Plaines Avenue and Northgate Road, while the other is on 26th Street near Harlem Avenue.
Before the public hearing in December, the planning and zoning commission and the historical commission will review the application, too.
Cyran said adoption of the Scout Cabin as a local landmark will require any work done to the cabin’s exterior or interior, “including routine maintenance,” to be approved beforehand through a certificate of appropriateness issued by the preservation commission.
“It was built in 1928, and there was an addition in 1945. It’s served generations of local Scouts, so its significance to the village lies largely in its history and its role in the community,” Cyran said.
Construction of the building began in June 1928 by “expert log cabin builder” Gus A. Muller after a proposal by Scoutmaster Eugene P. Eckman to the village board in 1927, according to the two scouts’ application. The building was completed in September 1928 and has often been a site of maintenance and improvements by Scouts for their Eagle Scout or other service projects.
“For generations, the Scout Cabin has hosted scouting events, summer camps, community events, and countless youth activities, creating lasting memories for thousands of Riverside residents,” Veltman and Schrier wrote.
Even in 2026, the Scout Cabin remains an important community institution in Riverside, including for use in village parks and recreation programs like goat yoga or its annual haunted house. The area surrounding the Scout Cabin has also been the site of workdays hosted by the Olmsted Society.
“The status of the cabin recognizes its importance to the village,” Cyran said. “It’s certainly still used by the Scouts, but it’s also a community gathering space. I know a lot of folks have a great affection for the cabin.”
