The Schultz Building was replaced with a pole building, the Lincoln Hotel replaced with a modern building, the Wistein-Krueger Funeral Home (the original T.B. Scott home on 3rd Street) replaced with a parking lot, the T.B. Scott Mansion replaced with … an empty lot. If one Merrill resident has her way though, at least one Merrill icon won’t end up the same way.
On Feb. 18, 2022, Merrill resident Elizabeth McCrank, a Mayoral appointee to the City’s Historic Preservation Committee, paid the $75 nominating fee and proposed that the Hermien Livingston American Legion Building, also known as the Legion Building or the Livingston Building, located across First St. from the T.B. Scott Free Library, be accorded Historic status by the City of Merrill’s Historic Preservation Committee. At the March 16 meeting of the Committee, the nomination was unanimously approved. According to the recently revised City ordinance covering historic structures, such status means that the city may not issue a demolition permit – even to itself – without first giving the public notice and then getting approval from the Historic Preservation Committee.
The Livingston building was designed by noted Wausau architect, Irving Obel, and constructed in 1929. McCrank argued in her nomination that the building was a mainstay of Merrill life for many years and represented generations of Merrill events. Residents tell of attending junior proms and weddings as well as enjoying fish fryies and socializing on Friday evenings. One resident recalled sitting at the bar and watching Walter Cronkite give his final news broadcast. The American Legion Chapter of Merrill eventually disbanded for lack of membership, the restaurant and bar closed, and the building reverted to the City of Merrill. The Merrill Historical Society purchased the building with a gift from the estate of Hermien Livingston, widow of Cliff Livingston Sr., and in gratitude, appended Mrs. Livingston’s name to the building. For nearly two decades it was used by the Historical Society for off-site storage of artifacts. The Historical Society returned the building to the City in 2021 after building a state-of-the-art storage facility at their Museum and Culture Center now located in the former Bethlehem Lutheran Church on Third Street.
The building’s architect, Irving Obel, was trained in Norway and began his architectural career on the East coast, later moving to Chicago and then Wausau. Besides the Livingston Building, Obel designed the Merrill Vocational School, the Scott Memorial Methodist Church, the Anson-Gilkey factory, Merrill Buick Co., the Galipeau Bowling Alley, the Robarge Theater, and the Merrill Manufacturing Company. He also designed and built homes for the Gilkeys, the Kinzels, the Stanges, the Knudsons, the Wenzels, and Dr. L. J. Bayer – some of the most prominent families in Merrill’s history. Of the 25 buildings credited to Obel here in Merrill, at least 13 are no longer standing. Obel died in 1953.
The loss of the Scott Mansion reminded people of the challenges facing historic preservation in the city and the danger to buildings like the Legion/Livingston Building. The hands of the Historic Preservation Committee were tied over the T.B. Scott Mansion, McCrank explained, because it was privately owned. Following the vote in favor of the Livingston nomination, she said, “We have a healthy respect for private property, even on the Historic Preservation Committee, but when a structure comes into the hands of the public, we gain many more tools for protecting that structure. Getting City ownership of the building here was crucial to this nomination.” The Legion/Livingston Building’s designation is the first test of the newly-revised ordinance’s ability to protect landmarks and give the public a say in their fates.
The real challenge for the Legion/Livingston Building now, says McCrank, is adapting it to the sort of use that generates maintenance. “Adaptive re-use is a more powerful tool for preservation than almost any other strategy.” Under adaptive re-use, a building or structure’s facade is preserved and maintained, but the inside can be altered to fit new needs and uses. The City is currently paying for utilities for the building, while the Parks and Recreation Department uses it for storage. But a use that generated some income or payback to cover those utility and maintenance costs would go a long way toward keeping the building for posterity.
The City is open to suggestions and offers for using the building – preferably from non-profit organizations. “It’s got a commercial kitchen layout – so why not a cooking school, a business incubator, or a work-sharing space?” McCrank said. She encourages people to attend meetings of the Historic Preservation Committee to learn about the possibilities and to have input into the use of the building going forward.
“Now that the Scott Mansion is gone, the Legion/Livingston Building rises to the status of city icon – one of those things you see every time you drive into and through the city, and that reminds you of our history, whether you know what is going on inside or not. Those icons are what make our city unique – what make this our home,” McCrank said.
One thing is for certain: with the Legion/Livingston Building’s new, protected status as a Historic Merrill Structure, Merrill residents won’t wake up one day to find that they have lost another iconic structure. For now, this one is staying put.