Two Downtown Rockford historic
buildings which will going under transformative renovation have bee
selected as this years new ornaments added to the Rockford Landmark
Ornament collection at J.R. Kortman Cents for Design at 107 North Main
Street.
The Iconic Building (formerly the Rockford News Tower)
and the Times Theater are now part this of unique collection of hand
painted ornaments that have been created for J.R. Kortman of local
landmarks since 1997.“Both the Iconic Building and the Times Theater have exciting proposed plans to be reenergised into venues that will be great entertainment and cultural assets to our Downtown that can be enjoyed by residents and visitors alike,” said Doc Slafkosky, co-owner at J.R. Kortman. ‘We thought this was a perfect time to recognize these two Art Deco inspired landmarks.”
Other recent additions to the Landmark Collection include the Elks Lodge, the Embassy Suites Hotel, Coronado Theatre and the Rockford Armory. All are on Main Street and are official Registered National Landmark.
Alexander Liberman’s “Symbol” sculpture in Sinnissippi Park along the river is by far the best selling ornament of all other buildings and places that have been made into ornaments since we started commissioning them back in 1997, said Slafkosky. “It really has become Rockford’s definitive landmark!”
Rockford Landmark Ornament Collection also includes the Prairie Street Brewhouse, East and West High Schools, St. Anthony Church, two views of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Laurent House, a special edition of Memorial Hall, the Beattie Park Gazebo, the Faust Landmark Building, the “Y” Log Lodge, Burpee Natural History Museum, Anderson Gardens, and Midway Theater Building.
In addition to the Swedish Historical Society’s Erlander Home, other historic houses in the collection include the “Limestone Mansion,” home to the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois, and the “Cobblestone House,” located at 2127 Broadway, one of Rockford’s oldest houses.
All the Landmark ornament images are individually hand-painted on the inside of a glass sphere, utilizing an ancient Chinese technique originally applied to “snuff” bottles. Each collectable ornament is a miniature work of art.