Palos Park celebrates renovated recreation center with ribbon cutting

An event speaker opened a ceremony to cut the ribbon on Palos Park's renovated recreation center, praising the building's long history and the recent preservation-focused upgrades.

The speaker said the building "has been part of our community since 1938," and noted it was dedicated in 1940. The building was identified in remarks as designed by local architect Edward M. Turtillo and built with locally quarried Athens limestone.

The speaker recounted the building's multiple past uses, saying it once housed the village hall, the public library and the police station. Over the decades it hosted school spring festivals, graduations and teen dances, and served as a meeting place for local groups including the Palos Village Players, garden clubs, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and the Palos Park women's club.

When village offices moved in 2001 to the Captor Administrative Center, the building took on its current role as a recreation center and the home of the recreation and parks department, the speaker said. The renovations being celebrated included completely refinishing the original maple floors, a fresh coat of paint and a new lighting system.

"The improvements we're celebrating today ' completely refinishing the original maple floors, a fresh coat of paint and a new lighting system ' may seem simple, but they make a big difference," the speaker said, offering thanks to staff and the community for filling the space with "energy and life."

The speaker also thanked Commissioner Patan for taking over leadership of recreation after the speaker's 16 years of service and invited the commissioner to "do the honors." The event concluded with the speaker welcoming attendees: "Welcome to the new recreation center."