Cohen Home named architectural wonder of Southern Illinois

Baysinger Architects announced its 2015 Top 10 Architectural Wonders of Southern Illinois on Dec. 29 and Chester's Cohen Home made the list.

"I think it's quite an honor for the Cohen Home to be recognized," said Linda Sympson, executive director of the Chester Chamber of Commerce who submitted the historic structure. "I think it means a lot. I think it will generate a lot of publicity for Chester.

"We have a lot of people coming to the Welcome Center who have interest in the Cohen Home."

The Cohen Home - located at 523 Harrison St. - was built by the Hasken family in 1855 and was the home of the William Cohen family from 1886 until the youngest son, Bud Cohen, died in 1983.

"The woodwork in it is absolutely amazing, it's gorgeous," said Allison Blechle, president of the Cohen Home Committee. "I think the setting of it overlooking the river makes it a very awe-inspiring house."

The home is now owned by the City of Chester and operated by a committee of volunteers. It is famous for its blue storm windows, which led to Mark Twain referring to it as "The house with the blue windows" in his book "Life on the Mississippi."

"It's available for tours, weddings and private functions," Sympson said. "It's a wonderful, old, historic facility that's very important to Chester."

The second floor bedroom contains furnishings and collections from several families of Chester, including the Cohen family. The main floor parlors are furnished to allow the home to be used as a meeting place.

"It was one of the very early homes in Chester," said Emily Lyons, Randolph County historian and curator of the Randolph County Museum and Archives. "It's significant architecture for the 1850s and that it was kept by the same family for many, many years."

Other locations on Baysinger's list were B.G. Roots School House (Tamaroa), Stafford Library (Cairo), Clearwave Building (Harrisburg), Riverside Park Band Shell (Murphysboro), Franklin County Jail (Benton), VA Hospital (Marion), The Old Fair Store Building (Mount Vernon), SIU Arena (Carbondale) and McClure House (McClure).

In a news release, Baysinger Marketing Director Andy Sisulak said the 10 properties "inspire and represent what is great about architecture and the people of Southern Illinois."

"This year, we invited select individuals to nominate a property important to them," he said.

To schedule a tour or private event at the Cohen Home, contact Allison Blechle at 618-615-1548.