Karcher: History + Misc.

National Register #02000845 -
The Karcher Hotel was a luxury hotel that was constructed in 1927 and was one of downtown Waukegan's grandest hotels. It was a very popular staying place for families visiting sailors stationed at Great Lakes.

In the 60s it was renovated into senior housing and renamed "The Collins Karcher Hotel". A deadly fire broke out in the middle of the night on Christmas 1984, and its charred and partially-gutted ruins were left abandoned for 27 years.

In 2011 the building was purchased by Minneapolis-based Artspace, and with a $14.6 million pricetag: it was restored and completely-renovated into live/work spaces tailored to artists, and is part of the ever-growing Waukegan arts community.

As exploring this building had been on my "bucket list" for many years, I volunteered to document the building's revitalization for Artspace, and will be visiting this structure frequently.

More info on its redevelopment can be seen here: www.artspacewaukegan.org/

And for architectural details: www.4240architecture.com/projects/current/0/0/138