City's buildings come with stories
Chicago Heights' tour shows humble, 'beautiful' sides
StoryDiscussionAnn Lamparski - Times Correspondent | Posted: Sunday, October 11, 2009 12:00 am
CHICAGO HEIGHTS | The people and places from Chicago Height's past were brought to life during the See the Sites
in the Heights Historic Bus Tour on Saturday.
"You can see the pride people had in the beauty of the buildings in Chicago Heights," said Mike Bonhart, a member of
the Chicago Heights Historic Preservation Advisory Committee. "They weren't rich. They were just regular working
people, but they really created some beautiful structures."
The building at the corner of 22nd Street and Union Avenue in The Hill area of the city was constructed in 1924 and
started off as City Auto Sales and Services. The terra cotta finish, though deceptively obtained by builder Dominic
Passarelli, is one of the city's most famous buildings.
"Passarelli worked for the Advance Terra Cotta Company and used pieces of terra cotta that he liberated from the
factory," Bonhart said.
Passarelli's sneaky plan to get free materials was discovered when company officials recognized their product on the
building. Passarelli was made to pay between $300 and $500 for the stolen pieces.
The building was rumored to have been a bootlegging ground for notorious gangster Al Capone.
"Legend has it that this was an area for bootlegging, and the repair shop was used to augment cars with shocks and
parts to support bootlegging," Bonhart said.
A drive through the Euclid Historic District showed participants the stunning Victorian homes. Many of the homes were
built in the late 1800s. Queen Anne, Italianate, European Revival and Bungalow style structures adorned the most
breathtaking part of town.
Ray Berry, of Crete, joined the tour group for the sake of history.
"Chicago Heights is filled with history. There were all kinds of famous people and it was once a thriving community. The
construction is fascinating," he said.