Sheridan Reserve Center
Fort Sheridan Historic District | |
Location | Fort Sheridan, Illinois |
---|---|
Coordinates | 42°12′45″N 87°48′38″W / 42.21250°N 87.81056°W |
Built | 1889 |
Architect | Holabird & Roche; Office of the Quartermaster General |
NRHP reference No. | 80001379 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | September 29, 1980[1] |
Designated NHL | April 20, 1984[2] |
The Philip H. Sheridan Reserve Center is the former Fort Sheridan now in
In celebration of the 2018 Illinois Bicentennial, Fort Sheridan was selected as one of the Illinois 200 Great Places[6] by the American Institute of Architects Illinois component (AIA Illinois).
History
The
In 1888, Ossian Cole Simonds was hired to create a site plan for Fort Sheridan which was to include a parade ground for drills. Simonds used a natural ravine to border the meadow created for the purpose. A scenic drive was incorporated into the plan which showcased natural vistas and brick and stone officers' housing. The effect of the plan was lauded as picturesque and charming.[7]
Fort Sheridan became a mobilization and training center beginning with the
The 94 buildings in the Historic District, built between 1889 and 1910, include 64 structures that were the first major works of the
In 1979, director Robert Redford used a warehouse on the base to build interior sets for his Oscar-winning film Ordinary People.
Fort Sheridan closed in 1993. The decision to close Fort Sheridan came in the 1989 first round of base closings under the Base Realignment and Closure Act (BRAC).
An Army Reserve base continues to use about 90 acres (360,000 m2) of the original Post. The remaining property is divided between the Lake County Forest Preserves, a residential development, a Navy family housing development for personnel of nearby Great Lakes and a variety of ongoing commercial developments.[10]
Environmental concerns
The geological setting of Fort Sheridan is tableland above a 70-foot (21 m) high bluff[11] in an area cut by seven deep ravines. The bluff overlooks Lake Michigan and the ravines create an open face in the bluff at the beach's edge. Over the years, the Army filled in the ravines with waste generated by military operations. The most toxic waste was placed in the Wells Ravine, also known as Landfill 7. The United States Environmental Protection Agency considers Landfill 7 to be a Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) location.[12] The landfills were not operated in an environmentally sound manner.[13] An IEPA permit was not issued while the landfill was operating, and a high-density plastic containment liner was not used between the ravine and the waste. Regulatory oversight did not begin until 1979 when the State of Illinois commenced litigation. An operating permit was issued two months after the landfill ceased operations.[14] The Army then applied for a closure permit, installed a leachate collection system, and placed a clay cap over Landfill 7. By 1982, the cap had failed due to ponding of water and the failure of the leachate collection system to collect leachate. The Army stated that the cap failure was caused by failure to maintain the cap.
By 1989, Fort Sheridan was facing potential closure by the Base Realignment and Closure commission. The Army began evaluating the permanent closure of Landfill 7 and the inherent problems with its maintenance. Because Landfill 7 had been dispensing 14,000 gallons of leachate per day into Lake Michigan, and the leachate was above state environmental effluent standards, CERCLA allowed the Army to implement an interim remedy prior to deciding on a permanent remedy. The Army chose to construct a $16 million cap.[15] Public comments for this interim action opposed the cap,[16] focusing on the Army's characterization of the type of waste in the landfill, the geologic instability of the ravine and bluff environment, and the proximity to Lake Michigan from which local drinking water is drawn. The Army responded that the cap was an interim solution that was thought to be effective for temporary containment of the waste.[citation needed]
After the interim containment remedy was selected on April 22, 1997,[17] the Army brought in Dr. Shabica to evaluate the shore protections as part of the design phase. On December 2, 1997, he informed the Army that the cap, as designed, would fail due to erosion. The Army responded by purchasing a new system designed by Dr. Shabica's company.[18] The interim cap was completed in June 2004, and the Army may propose making capping the final remedy based on the same analysis that supported the interim action.[19]
The decision to cap Landfill 7 as the final remedy conflicts with some of the recommendations of the geological community.[
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
- ^ "Fort Sheridan Historic District". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved October 3, 2007.
- ^ "Home". fortsheridan.com.
- ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 129.
- ^ The Town of Fort Sheridan, IL - About Fort Sheridan
- ^ Waldinger, Mike (January 30, 2018). "The proud history of architecture in Illinois". Springfield Business Journal. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
- ISBN 9780252072147.
- ^ Cullum, George W. (1920). Robinson, Wirt (ed.). Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U. S. Military Academy. Vol. VI–A. Saginaw, MI: Seemann & Peters. p. 554 – via Google Books.
- ^ "The Reawakening", 1919
- ^ Fort Sheridan
- ^ Illinois Department of Transportation; Division of Water Resources. Harmony with the Lake: Guide to Bluff Stabilization, Lake Michigan, IL. The Illinois Coastal Zone Management Program.
- ^ US EPA Region 5 Superfund Division, Fort Sheridan.
- ^ Argonne National Laboratory. Enhanced Preliminary Assessment Report: Fort Sheridan 1989 pg. 24.
- ^ Id at 13, 24.
- ^ Walsh, Don and Liberman, Polina, Fort Sheridan Landfills 6 & 7 Closure. Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Northwestern University on behalf of Chicago Environmental Law Clinic August 2003 pg 26. Northwestern University study.
- ^ Responsiveness Summary. Mayor Geraci of Highland Park, Mayor Sirotti of Highwood, the League of Women Voters of Lake Forest/Lake Bluff/Highland Park, the Lake Michigan Federation, and the Sierra Club all opposed the interim capping action.
- ^ USACE, Decision Document (DD) for Interim Source Control Action for Landfills 6 and 7 at Fort Sheridan, Illinois. April 22, 1997.
- ^ Shabica, Charles W. and Charles Shabica & Associates. Review of Erosion Control Features for Interim Remedial Action Landfills 6 & 7, Fort Sheridan, Illinois, November 25, 1997.
- ^ Microsoft Word - Proposed Plan Landfills 6 & 7 Final Remedy Final.doc
- ^ Walsh, Don and Liberman, Polina, Fort Sheridan Landfills 6 & 7 Closure. Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Northwestern University on behalf of Chicago Environmental Law Clinic August 2003 pg 26.
- ^ Defense Environmental Restoration Program Annual Report To Congress FY2006, page 84.
Further reading
- Dahl, Arthur G. ; Military Training Camps Association (U.S.). The sentinel : Sixth Corps Area. Chicago : Military Training Camps Association of the United States. OCLC 28528203.
- Dretske, Diana. Fort Sheridan. Charleston, SC : Arcadia Pub., 2004. OCLC 58726172.
- Fort Sheridan (Ill.). Fort Sheridan, 1887-1993. [Fort Sheridan, Ill? : The Fort, 1993]. OCLC 45632229.
- Girton, Fred. The history and achievements of the Fort Sheridan officers' training camps.[Chicago?] The Fort Sheridan Association [1920]. OCLC 567331.
- Haberkamp, Douglas B. The history of Fort Sheridan from its beginnings to World War I. 1980. OCLC 8855211.
- Maddra, Sam. Hostiles? : the Lakota ghost dance and Buffalo Bill's Wild West. Norman : University of Oklahoma Press, 2006. OCLC 61285768.
- Melichar, Paul ; Melichar, Diana ; Smith, Nina Bennett. Fort Sheridan : historical analysis. Lake Forest, Ill. : Paul Melichar, 2000. OCLC 680744071.
- Schall, Robert. The history of Fort Sheridan, Illinois. [Illinois?] : Clerical School and the Visual Training Aids Section, 1672nd Service Unit, 1944. OCLC 27923469.
- Sorenson, Martha E.; Martz, Douglas A. View from the tower : a history of Fort Sheridan, Illinois. [Fort Sheridan, Ill.] : W.W. Sorenson, 1985. OCLC 15132979.
- Tucker, Laura. Fort Sheridan. Charleston, SC : Arcadia Pub., 2008. OCLC 184823770.
- United States Department of the Army. US Army Headquarters, Fort Sheridan, Illinois. [Washington, D.C.?] : [Dept. of the Army], [1987?] OCLC 16538932.
- United States Department of the Army. Fort Sheridan mobilization reserve component handbook. [Fort Sheridan, Ill.] : Headquarters Ft. Sheridan [Dept. of the Army], 1983. OCLC 10214474.
External links
- EPA Region 5, Fort Sheridan
- Globalsecurity.org - Fort Sheridan
- Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress) - Survey number HABS IL-1113
- Nike Historical Society
- The Town of Fort Sheridan
- Illinois Great Places - Fort Sheridan
- Society of Architectural Historians SAH ARCHIPEDIA entry on Fort Sheridan