ALTON - Community members and elected officials gathered at City Hall for the unveiling of a historic painting.
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On Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, Chair of the Alton Historical Commission Douglas Bader and Third Ward Alderman Ray Strebel unveiled the painting in its new spot on the second floor of City Hall. The painting of the Lucy Haskell Playhouse, done by artist and preservationist Ruth Means, is freshly restored thanks to the help of the Alton community.
“It’s amazing because when I found it, I thought it was a death sentence,” Strebel said. “For it to sit on the wall this quick and the support of the community is kind of overwhelming. I’m so happy that it’s done.”
A few months ago, Strebel discovered the painting in storage at City Hall. It had four rips in the canvas and the paint was beginning to flake off. He contacted Bader, and the two of them were faced with a decision.
“We really had a choice at that point: either stick it back in a closet or restore it and hang it in a place where it could be seen and enjoyed by people,” Bader remembered. “Ray and I talked and we thought, you know, there are a lot of people here in town who loved Ruth Means and who really love the playhouse, and I think the community will respond.”
The two of them found Szelag Art Conservancy, a “wonderful conservator” in St. Louis, who was willing to take on the project. But with the conservator preparing to retire, they had just a few weeks to raise the money they needed.
They turned to Alton, and the community responded. Community members contributed over $3,500, which was used to restore the painting.
Bader noted that the painting’s restoration and new spot in City Hall are fitting tributes to the artist, who was a great asset to the Alton community. Means was a founding member of the Alton Area Landmarks Association and a charter member of the Alton Museum of History and Art. She nominated four buildings to the National Register of Historic Places, including the Haskell playhouse, which celebrated its 50th anniversary on the register last year.
“Alton is forever in her debt for helping to preserve its history and architecture,” Bader said.
Though Means died in 2002, her legacy lives on in the history and art she preserved. Her nephew, Charles Yancey, and his family were also in attendance at the unveiling ceremony, and Yancey expressed his appreciation for the community’s help.
“I’ve always been proud to say I’m Ruth Means’s nephew,” he added. “She was my mom’s sister and she was a preservationist, and I can’t think of a finer example of the community coming to do something on behalf of the family. Thanks, everybody that contributed. Aunt Ruth would be very happy today if she could see this.”
Bader also thanked many people and organizations for their help, including the Alton Area Landmarks Association, Terry Sharp, AltonWorks, Douglas and Gail Bader, Michael Doucleff, Great Rivers and Routes Tourism Bureau, Cory Jobe, John Meehan, Picture This and More, Ray and Elyse Strebel, Szelag Art Conservancy and Charles Yancey.
