I had no clue this ship was in Geneva - Unfortuately, it doesn't sound as if it's going to be anywhere pretty soon...

GENEVA -- The historic replica Viking ship in Good Templar Park here may be sailing off to extinction. Landmarks Illinois, a non-profit organization that compiles a yearly "Top 10" list of endangered historical features that face extinction because of neglect, vandalism or redevelopment, has named the Viking ship Raven to its list for 2007.

("A lot of damage is being done (to Raven)," said Pat Hanson, past president of the Good Templar Park Board. "The ship is showing some real signs of breakdown, and if it keeps going like this, I'm not sure it can be restored."

In 1892, Captain Mangus Anderson built the Raven -- a replica of a Viking ship built in 850 -- and sailed it from Norway to Chicago for the 1893 World's Fair.

"I don't think a lot of people understand how historic this ship is," Hanson said. "The fact that these people sailed it and brought it all the way across the ocean and to Chicago is amazing."

For decades, the 76-foot-long ship sat in Chicago's Lincoln Park. But when the zoo's animals required more room, the American Scandinavian Council bought the massive ship from the Chicago Park District and relocated it to a West Chicago storage yard for safe-keeping.

"Ironically, I met with two members of Good Templar Park on Monday who were expressing concern (about Raven's current state)," said Karla Kaulfuss, historic preservation planner for the city of Geneva. "It's not a designated landmark, though, so there isn't any direct care from the city's standpoint."

"They appear to have just dropped the ship," Hanson said, adding that the Raven is still on the original trailer that hauled it to Geneva from Chicago 10 years ago, causing bending and breaking in the wood.

"We don't have the financing or the expertise to pay for a permanent shelter," she said. "It needs help beyond us."

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/news/279131,2_1_AU1_VIKING_S1.article