New Lenox home demolished to make way for safer corner
New Lenox officials took another step toward straightening the S-curve intersection of Cedar Road and Haven Avenue by demolishing the two-story blue house that sat on that southwest corner for 171 years.
The village bought the home at 102W. Haven in 2003, with an eye toward making that busy corner easier to navigate. It housed the village’s cable TV studio until the current Village Hall opened in 2007, and the home has been vacant since then. The house was demolished lastweek.
Mayor Tim Baldermann said he is talking to the owner of the brick building on the northeast corner about purchasing that parcel, where Monica and Brian Karne boge have operated a speech pathology clinic.
With the blue house gone, the village could make that intersection “a bit straighter,” but itwould not be much of an improvement, Baldermann said.
“If we can acquire the other building, we will see what is the best design” for that corner, he said.
Several months ago, Baldermann floated the idea of installing a roundabout — a circular intersection— at Cedar and Haven, but now that is only one option, he said.
“It is up to the engineers,” he said.
While the intersection is heavily traveled, drivers tend to be cautious through it. There have been no serious crashes, but those unfamiliar with it may find it confusing, Baldermann said.
“It is something we would like to fix, but it is not a pressing priority,” he said.
Several months ago, the village awarded a contract for $15,700 to Bechstein Construction Co., of Tinley Park, to demolish the home.
Baldermann said he offered the home to the New Lenox Area Historical Society, if it could move it, but the historical society did not want it.
The home, which had been vacant for many years and had not been maintained, had problems with water seepage and mold, said Lori Lindberg, historical society chairman. She was able to salvage some decorative bookcases and an old-fashioned mailbox, she said.
According to the historical society, the home was built in 1847 by Daniel Ticker and acquired by blacksmith John Salisbury nine years later. New Lenox developed around this corner, and the area is home to some local landmarks.
The home west of it, and the old Haven School across the street, have been designated as Will County historic landmarks. The historical society owns two other buildings on that block: the Hazel Francis home and the Methodist Episcopal Church.