Posted on April 20, 2023 at 11:32 AM by Amy Downing
Did you know that the Quincy Street building that houses the Village’s Parks and Recreation Department has a long history of providing recreation and meeting space for the Village?
43 East Quincy Street previously served as Memorial Hall for the Riverside Legion, Post 488. The Legion remodeled the building to suit their needs and provide a community space. The first-floor club room featured a 4,000-square-foot dance floor with spacious restrooms and kitchen facilities. The basement added an auditorium and space for billiard, pool, and ping pong tables. The Post was excited to provide a facility for any civic group to rent for meetings, dinners, and dances. A newspaper article noted that the dances would only be held under "proper supervision".
By the late 1960s, Memorial Hall was becoming too expensive for Post 488 to manage. The Post decided to donate the property to the Village, stipulating that the Post be allowed to use the hall for meetings and activities. The Village housed recreation programs at the building up until 1988. At that time, the Village determined it would be more beneficial to have the building on the tax roll. It was auctioned off to a local resident and became office space.
In 2019, after completing a facility needs assessment, the Village recognized the need for additional space and had the opportunity to acquire the property again by buying out the mortgage. The Parks and Recreation Department took over the space again in 2021 after completing renovations to bring it up to code and make it accessible for special recreation programming in partnership with West Suburban Special Recreation Association. The new space allowed Parks and Recreation to expand its programs and cut down on costs for offsite facility rentals.
Do you have any old photos of the recreation programs at Memorial Hall? If you do, the Village would love to have copies for display. You can reach out to the Village at riversidepr@riverside.il.us.
