- Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Saturday, 2nd February 2013
The Hegeler-Carus Mansion in the town of La Salle, Illinois, contains what is believed to be the oldest preserved residential gymnasium in the United States. As the only known remaining example of a traditional German turnhall, the Hegeler-Carus gym is a precious and truly unique resource for all historians of 19th century sport and exercise.
On the evening of Sunday, January 27th, vandals attempted to break into the mansion, first throwing a brick through one of the ground floor windows and then using a garbage can to break through the back door. The mansion’s motion sensor security alarm sounded and by the time police and members of the mansion staff arrived, the vandals had fled.
“Fortunately, they didn’t have more time in the house,” Hegeler Carus Foundation executive director Kelly Klobucher said on Monday.
The thrown brick and broken glass damaged some of the historic gymnasium’s fittings and equipment, notably including a horizontal exercise ladder (similar to a set of monkey bars) that was set against the wall immediately below the window. According to Tony Wolf, a member of the Hegeler Carus Foundation advisory board with particular reference to the gym and its equipment; “As with much of the turnhall apparatus, the horizontal ladder is a one-of-a-kind antique dating to the 1870s, so it’s been difficult to establish a replacement cost. It’s very sad that it should have been damaged in this way.”
While the mansion’s insurance will cover the costs of the vandalism, Klobucher said it may be awhile before they are able to fully repair the original thick glass to historic specifications.
“A lot of the funding we’ve secured toward the end of last year is already tied to other projects,” she said, noting that preservation work is already underway on the home’s parlor and grounds this year. She said the foundation will likely also have to find money to improve security at the mansion.
Donations towards upgrading the mansion’s security can be made via this link.
Anyone with information about the attempted break-in incident is asked to contact La Salle police at (815) 223-2131.