Resource Bank is awarded the 2023 Landmarks Illinois Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Award for Leadership

Landmarks Illinois has announced the winners of the 2023 Landmarks Illinois Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Awards, an annual program honoring exceptional preservation efforts across Illinois that is celebrating its 30th Anniversary this year.  Resource Bank N.A, the locally-owned bank headquartered in DeKalb, received the award for Leadership, due to their long tradition of repurposing and restoring historic buildings for use as bank branches and community rooms. 

“For over a decade, Resource Bank has become an exemplary leader in the field due to its deep commitment to historic preservation, community engagement, and sustainable growth in small-town America,” according to Landmarks Illinois.  “They have distinguished themselves by taking a unique path that merges respect for local heritage with modern banking practices, repurposing historic buildings into local bank branches and community rooms in Shabbona (the former Quilhot One-Room Schoolhouse), Hampshire (the former Eakin One-Room Schoolhouse), Sycamore (the former Frederick Townsend Garage, a National Register listing), and Leland (the former Rollo One-Room Schoolhouse and 1897 Yocklich Building). The branches have positively and sustainably impacted the local economies, encouraging new business and beautification efforts, providing social infrastructure, and reducing the demand for new construction.”

Projects in Aurora, Chicago, DeKalb, Maywood, Marion and Peoria have won awards for the adaptive reuse and rehabilitation of our state’s historic places and for preserving Illinois’ cultural heritage. Information about the other 2023 award winners can be found at the Landmarks Illinois website: www.landmarks.org.  Landmarks Illinois is a membership-based, historic preservation nonprofit organization serving the people of Illinois.

All 2023 recipients will be honored at a public ceremony on October 27, 2023, at the Athenaeum Center for Thought & Culture in Chicago.  The event, which will also celebrate the 30th anniversary of the awards, is open to the public. Tickets for the event are $50 for Landmarks Illinois members and $65 for non-members. A student rate of $25 is also available with proof of a student ID. Early-bird tickets are available at a reduced price if purchased by October 6, 2023.