Proposal to Preserve Keokuk Arches

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By Becky Ogann

Story Created: Mar 16, 2010 at 11:18 AM CST

Story Updated: Mar 16, 2010 at 11:19 AM CST

KEOKUK (AP) - Although a month has passed since the discovery of masonry arches and vaults under the rubble of a downtown Keokuk building, there no set plan to preserve the work.

That could change this week when Keokuk's Historic Preservation Commission tells the City Council its ideas on how the brick structures could be preserved.

Commission chairman Chuck Mitchell says architect Kip Serota has drafted plans to turn the site into a public park, with the development of commercial space and an apartment building nearby.

Not much is known about the history of the arches. Mitchell says they may have been part of a former storm sewer system and may have been used later as storage by those who constructed the building above the arches.

That building, built in 1867, was originally used to mix spirits sold on the site. Mitchell says the owners likely stored booze in the vaults.

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