Alton Area Landmarks Association

Reimagining Places of the Past: Historic Preservation Lecture Series

The Genealogy & Local History Library is partnering with Alton Area Landmarks Association (AALA) this winter to bring back our three-part Saturday lecture series in January, February, and March. AALA is dedicated to educating, promoting, and saving the architectural heritage of the Alton area. Feel free to register for one talk or all three.

Seating is limited. Register at 1-800-613-3163.

Part 1: Plotting a Future for Historic River Towns with Dean Klinkenberg

Genealogy & Local History Library

Saturday, January 18, 10:00 a.m.

In the Midwest, we built our earliest communities along big rivers. Many of those places, however, have been declining for decades, even though they still have “good bones.” What can we do to help our river towns turn things around? In this presentation, Dean Klinkenberg offers a brief history of the economies of river towns along big Midwestern rivers. He’ll overview some forces that have hurt them, specifically, the post-WWII suburban development pattern and consolidation in agriculture. He’ll highlight a few communities that have breathed new life into their towns, describe assets common to many river towns today, and offer thoughts on steps that anyone in a town of any size can take today to improve the place where they live.

Dean Klinkenberg has been exploring the backwaters and back roads of the Mississippi River Valley since 2007, from the Headwaters in northern Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico. His Mississippi Valley Traveler guidebooks and other non-fiction books detail local and regional histories for the people and places along the river. In addition, he writes mysteries set along the Mississippi that feature hard-luck travel writer Frank Dodge. Klinkenberg has also written for publications including Smithsonian Magazine, The National, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and the Minneapolis Star Tribune. His newest book, The Wild Mississippi: A State-by-State Guide to the River’s Natural Wonders, goes deep into the river’s natural history and includes descriptions of 166 places where we can experience the river’s world directly.

Part 2: Saving the Best of Southwest Illinois: HeartLands Conservancy

Genealogy & Local History Library

Saturday, February 15, 10:00 a.m.

Laura Lyon, Vice President of HeartLands Conservancy, has decades of experience in Laura Lyon, Vice President of HeartLands Conservancy, has decades of experience in community planning, urban design, conservation planning and design. As part of her role, Laura leads The Mounds – America’s First Cities, the effort to elevate and create the Cahokia Mounds Mississippian Culture National Historical Park or National Monument. Laura has a Master of Architecture degree from Washington University St. Louis. She and her husband also have an architecture firm, Studio Archaeos. They moved to Alton in 2012 to restore a house in Christian Hill.

As a steward of distinctive and dynamic places of ecological, cultural, and community value, HeartLands Conservancy is southern Illinois’ largest conservation nonprofit. For over 30 years, the organization has been an advocate for the protection of important places and the solutions that balance conservation strategies with economic sustainability and human well-being. Laura and her team will bring us up to date on their ongoing watershed planning, conservation work and projects, especially the Cahokia Mounds initiative.

Part 3: Arches, Mounds, Domes and Bucky Fuller with Benjamin Lowder

Saturday, March 15, 10:00 a.m.

World renowned inventor Buckminster Fuller spent 10 of his most productive years as a professor at Southern Illinois University. Benjamin will share the fascinating history of the miniature-earth dome that Buckminster Fuller designed for the SIUE campus. He will also take us on a virtual architectural tour across Southern Illinois and St. Louis sharing the rich architectural history of the region. The triangle-faceted geometry of Fuller’s geodesic domes, that are scattered across this region like precious gems, has also inspired Benjamin to create a series of artwork that has been exhibited from New York to Los Angeles.

Benjamin Lowder is the Director of the Fuller Dome, Center for Spirituality and Sustainability on the Southern Illinois University campus in Edwardsville Illinois. He also serves on the board of directors for the historic Buckminster Fuller Dome Home located in Carbondale, Illinois.