(Paul Clark)

Dear Preservation 911,

The Concerned Citizens of Knoxville, Ill., need your help. An elegant building, built in 1910 as an elderly women's home, is currently owned by the P.E.O. Sisterhood, a national, nonprofit service organization. P.E.O. closed the home in 1999, but it has been maintained in good condition.

Now, after the P.E.O. Sisterhood has been unable to find a buyer during the past two years, they have petitioned to have the building demolished rather than continue their search for a suitable organization to reuse the building. The City of Knoxville does not have the funds to maintain the building and has not been able assist our cause. Our group has filed a petition to stop the demolition, but a Knox County judge will rule on December 28, 2001. Time is running out for this lovely, historic home. This is truly a 911!

The three-story, 60-room building is elegant and majestic and is located on Main Street in Knoxville, a rural community of 2,000 people. The home was built with locally made brick and is constructed to stand for a thousand years. It is full of beautiful stained glass windows, oak doors and woodwork, chandeliers, and tile floors. The P.E.O. Sisterhood has a salvage company standing by, anxious to rip these lovely fixtures from their home.

We, the Concerned Citizens, feel it would be a crime to destroy this lovely building so we are looking for interested parties who can help with our cause. Two engineering companies who have inspected the building and have found it to be in good condition agree it would be unfortunate if it were destroyed. An independent consulting firm has identified senior or subsidized housing as one possible reuse option.

We feel the P.E.O. Sisterhood has not exhausted its options. Please help.

Sincerely,

Paul Clark
Gilson, Ill.

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