Municipal League Had a Soft Spot
for the Old Downtown Building

In renovating the newly dedicated Sargent Building for its statewide headquarters, the Illinois Municipal League put its money where its mouth is.

The three-level brick and stone building at 500 E. Capitol Ave. once housed the Sangamo Club and dates from 1912.

Since the Sangamo Club moved to another location in the early 1930s, the building has seen a variety of tenants — including the Municipal League, which rented offices there from 1935 to 1942. By the late 1980s, when the league bought the building, it had seen better days.

In fact, Springfield Mayor Ossie Langfelder credits the league with saving the building.

"If it hadn't been for the Municipal League, I was afraid this building might have been destroyed or demolished," Langfelder said. "I would say mostly at the behest of Steve Sargent, they moved in. When they first came in here, it had deteriorated substantially. I don't know what it cost to renovate, but it's an extremely gorgeous facility. It will serve us well."

Acquisition and renovation cost was in the neighborhood of $1.3 million — not bad for an association headquarters only three blocks from the Statehouse.

Sargent said Municipal League members, largely mayors and village presidents, were primarily interested in being near the seat of state government.

But he said they also had a soft spot in their collective heart for an old building — especially an old downtown building.

"Mayors throughout the state of Illinois are very conscious of their downtowns, central business districts and what have you," he said. "We've all, throughout the state, had difficulty with that."

With their own problems in mind, Sargent said they were more than happy to renovate an older building and thus give a boost to Springfield's downtown historic preservation efforts.

"They thought it was the right thing to do for downtown Springfield," he said. "This is a nice building, but it was a disaster when we took it over."

Inside the Sargent Building, offices and board rooms are equipped with fireplaces and oak paneling over white plaster walls. It is functional, too, with about twice the floor space as the league's old headquarters on South Seventh Street.

On the second floor is a small office, overlooking the Statehouse, for use by visiting mayors. Sargent said it has proven useful to them, as much for the location as the desk and telephone.

"We wanted a presence near the state Capitol, not only for the legislature and the state agencies but more importantly for the mayors to have a location to talk to the legislators and representatives of the governor's office or whatever," he said.

As a non-visiting mayor, Langfelder said the Municipal League headquarters will benefit not only the league but also Springfield.

"As far as the city is concerned, it enhances the entire area," Langfelder said. "This particular block has always been beautiful."

Langfelder said he appreciates the Sargent Building for what it is, but he also appreciates it for what it isn't and what it nearly became — another downtown parking lot.

"Being this close to the governor's mansion, one thing we don't want to see is any more parking lots," he said. •

January 1990 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 7