- This event has passed.
Architectural Walking Tour
May 28, 2022 @ 9:30 am - 10:30 am
The Western Illinois Museum announces a new walking tour to explore turn-of-the-century architecture in Macomb. The one-hour walking tour will be offered on Saturday, May 28th at 9:30 am. The tour departs from the Western Illinois Museum and heads east on Washington Street for just under half a mile. There is a suggested $5 donation at the door.
Each neighborhood has its own history, and the architectural styles of the houses give a visual clue about the time they were built and even about the people who built them. This walking tour explores the near-east side of Macomb’s downtown to learn about the features found in early 1900s Four-square, Colonial Rival, Queen Anne, and other architectural styles. The tour guide, Jaan Sturgis, owns a home on Washington Street and has researched seven homes for the tour. His studies in historic preservation and experience giving architectural tours will bring insights about architectural trends of the time, explain what features are indicative of each style as well as what makes these buildings important historical homes in our community.
The distance of the tour from the Museum and back is about one mile. The tour does not include any indoor access to the homes; guests are encouraged to respect the homeowner’s private property and stay on the sidewalk. Cancellations due to inclement weather can be found on the Museum’s website and social media pages or by contacting the Museum.
The Museum is located at 201 South Lafayette Street, one block south of Macomb’s courthouse square. For more information, contact the Museum by phone at 309.837.2750, by text at 309.837.2613, or info@wimuseum.org, or visit the website at www.wimuseum.org.
About Tour Guide Jaan Sturgis
A recent newcomer to Macomb, Jaan Sturgis has always had a passion for historic preservation. Jaan has owned over 50 historic rental properties over the years. With his interest in old houses, he took courses in historic preservation including architectural history and interior design at Savannah College of Art and Design in the early ’80s. Later, Jaan graduated from Tennessee State University with a major in art history and public history that included courses in historic preservation. He later attended Middle Tennessee State University in historic preservation.
After returning to the Quad Cities in 1989, he became very active in the Rock Island Preservation Society where he nominated five houses as local landmarks. Additionally, he headed up a trolley tour in the Old Chicago neighborhood (near downtown) and helped with another tour in the Longview neighborhood. Later he chaired a tour where five neighborhoods were linked to their surrounding neighborhoods.
Jaan was on the board of Neighborhood Housing Services in Davenport and headed up three of their Neighborhood Again tours, one of which, surprisingly, brought out over 1,000 people!
An area of special interest to Jaan is upper-middle-class Mid-century Modern homes. He is currently one of three coordinators presenting a tour in May 2022 of 24 homes in this style in the Oak Hills Addition neighborhood in Rock Island.