Freeport Journal Standard
by Travis Morse
Lincoln-Douglas Center
Building serves as a fixture or the downtown area
FREEPORT – To building co-owner Lyle Krug, the Lincoln-Douglas Center building at 10 N. Galena Ave. is a key part of Freeport’s history and continues to be a major fixture of the downtown area.
“It’s been a (cornerstone) down here,” said Krug, who is also a partner in the law firm Plager, Krug & Bauer, Ltd., which has its offices in the building. “It’s been a great place to practice law…It’s important to preserve building like this. It’s high-quality construction. It has stood for 100 years and it will be good for 100 or 200 more if we maintain it.”
The building in question was built in 1897 to house the historic German Insurance Company of Freeport, which was established in 1865 and grew to be a substantial insurance firm. The three-story structure is approximately 18,000 square feet and was built in an Italian Renaissance style of architecture featuring partial ionic columns, said co-owner Bob Plager, who is also a partner in the Plager, Krug & Bauer law firm.
Over the years, the building has been home to numerous important businesses in Freeport. In addition to the German Insurance Company, the building has housed the Cosmopolitan Assurance Association, Old Colony Insurance, Crum & Forster Insurance, The Journal-Standard, and the Lincoln-Douglas Center.
There are still scales in the building’s basement that were used by The Journal-Standard to weigh paper, Krug said. In addition, there are large vaults that are still visible in the building that were used by the German Insurance Company, he said.
Currently, the Plager, Krug & Bauer law firm is located on the structure’s third floor. Also, the Courthouse Square Law Offices are housed on the second floor, and Willett Hofmann & Associates and the Glen Carlson appraising firm are located on the first floor.
Plager said the building was in a state of disrepair when his firm took over ownership in around 1979. Many of the windows were damaged, and there was also significant water damage in the building caused by a leaky roof, he said.
Instead of tearing the building down, which was considered as an option, the new owners decided to rehabilitate the structure through a massive renovation project, Plager said. Since then, the building has been a great home for the Plager, Krug & Bauer law firm, Plager said.
“It has turned out wonderfully for us,” Plager said.
The History
Here are some of the businesses that have operated out of the Lincoln-Douglas Center building in downtown Freeport:
1980 – present Plager, Krug & Bauer, Ltd. law firm
1981 – 2000 Lincoln-Douglas Center, Office Suites
1964 – 1980 Cheeseman Building
1960 – 1963 Cornbelt Insurance Company
1929 – 1959 The Journal-Standard
1918 – 1928 Crum & Forster Insurance
1910 – 1917 Old Colony Insurance
1908 – 1909 Cosmopolitan Assurance Association
1877 – 1907 German Insurance Company
The Details
Address: 10 N. Galena Avenue
How Many Years
Standing: 111
Owners: Bob Plager, Lyle Krug and Nicole Bauer
Architecture: Italian Renaissance