The lone remaining chapel on the grounds of what was originally Mayo General Hospital in Galesburg during World War II has officially received local landmark designation.
Aldermen unanimously approved Community Temple Church of God in Christ, 2231 Windish Drive, as a local landmark at Monday’s City Council meeting. The designation previously received unanimous approval from the Galesburg Landmark Commission.
Pastor Randy Davis submitted an application for local landmark designation for the property due to the chapel’s historical contribution to the area. The property served as part of the larger Mayo General Hospital during World War II and was then converted into an extension campus of the University of Illinois, one of the first accessible campuses in the United States.
Only remaining chapel of original three at Mayo General complex
The specific property at 2231 Windish Drive is the only remaining chapel of the original three for the complex. The Landmark Commission met on Aug. 16 and unanimously recommended approval of this landmark designation request.
Davis tells WGIL, “We just felt with all the history, dating back to being an Army hospital during World War II and then the research center, we felt it deserved the historical designation.”
According to Steve Gugliotta, director of Community Development, the landmark designation will assure the character and architectural qualities of the chapel will be persevered and maintained. Any improvement to a Local Landmark that is visible from a public way requires a Certificate of Appropriateness review by the Landmark Commission to assure compliance with the Galesburg Historic Preservation Ordinance.
The chapel becomes the 25th property to receive Local Landmark status in Galesburg.
“Galesburg’s stunning historic properties are part of a collective quality of life that citizens and visitors enjoy on a regular basis,” Gugliotta said. “Maintaining historic properties may also increase the economic viability of the City’s tourism economy and may be featured in official literature, publications and the City’s website.”
Notice of Landmark Designation for 2231 Windish Drive will be filed at Knox County Recorder of Deeds.
Church envisions addition of food kitchen, vocational center
According to documentation provided in the Aug. 5 City Council agenda packet, the chapel serves as the worship home for Community Temple Church of God in Christ.
The documentation further said:
The church has recently undergone a catastrophic period as the previous pastor was stricken with Alzheimers/Dementia and has been in a nursing home for the past three years. The congregation dwindled leaving a remnant to keep the church alive. The appointment of a new pastor in December of 2023 has led to a revitalization of the congregation. Returning members and new members are joining together to build the church back up to what it was and greater. The church hopes to utilize the 9600 square feet of the annex building to house a food kitchen and hopes to start a vocational training and familiarization school for high schoolers who are interested in pursuing careers in vocational skills.
“Our desire is to help those in need, and let the community know that we’re here,” Davis said. “We would like to pair some some of the outreach centers here in Galesburg to do a food kitchen.
“We would also like to do some vocational training for the high school student.”
Davis said the church is exploring grant funding for the renovations, and hopes to start on the new programs in “the next two to three years.”
Community Temple Church of God in Christ, which has services at 11 a.m. Sundays, has a current membership between 10 and 15 people, according to Davis.
Hospital drew casualties from around the world
Documentation on the agenda item cited research from local historian Harry Bulkeley who noted the complex originated in 1942 when the need for hospital beds for the wounded coming back from the South Pacific and North Africa, led to the construction, and opening of the Mayo General Hospital in 1944.
Bulkeley noted:
Casualties were brought in from all over the world. It was a huge complex with 118 buildings on one level all connected under one roof. It had a capacity of 2,350 beds and saw over 19,000 patients in two and a half years. There were three mess halls that served 9,000 meals a day, a pool, a gym, a theater, a fire department. A railroad siding brought cars of wounded right up to the facility. Three chapels allowed everyone to worship as they chose.
Mayo General Hospital in Galesburg closed Sept. 20, 1946. This massive, sprawling complex occupied 99 buildings across 155 acres and was one of 60 Army hospitals built during World War II.
In 1950, the Illinois Department of Public Welfare converted the complex into the Galesburg State Research Hospital, specializing in mental health. The hospital operated until 1985.
