St. Charles church wants to demolish 100+ year old home

The Baker Memorial United Methodist Church in St. Charles is requesting permission from the city to demolish two homes on Cedar Avenue to make way for additional parking.

The church is proposing the demolition of the structures at 211-215 and 217 Cedar Ave. on the south side of Cedar Avenue just west of Third Avenue downtown, one block west of the church at 307 Cedar Ave. The church has owned the two properties since 1993.

The St. Charles Historic Preservation Commission reviewed similar plans in 2017, when they approved the demolition of the structure at 211-215 Cedar Ave. and all auxiliary structures at 217 Cedar Ave. but denied the demolition of the building.

The home at 217 Cedar Ave., known in the St. Charles list of historic buildings as the Barry House, was formerly owned by Judge William D. Barry in the mid 1800s. The home displays Greek revival architecture and Abraham Lincoln was said to have stayed in the home while visiting Judge Barry, according to records from the St. Charles History Museum.

The church is now requesting a Certificate of Appropriateness to demolish the homes in order to construct a lot of about 20 parking spaces, which would be made available for public use.

According to the church’s request to the commission, the condition of both structures has deteriorated to the point that they are uninsurable and have been the target of several break-ins, trespassing and vandalism in recent years.

The Historic Preservation Commission will review the proposal at their Oct. 2 meeting.