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My brother and sister both attended Sixth Street School in Geneva, before my time, when the Nagels lived on the west side of the river. My brother said he still remembers the kindergarten room vividly, with a fireplace and bay windows, and the day they brought in baby chicks for the class to see and hold.

I had a chance to see that room and others during a tour the former Sixth Street School building today (Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015), when I took the photos you see in this slide show. Terry Emma and a group from the Geneva History Museum, took a similar tour Tuesday, and I think they were able to take photos and record notes for posterity and historic reference.

Among the items uncovered in the weeks since the Kane County Regional Office of Education moved out of the former school building and into its new digs in the south tower of the building at 28 N. First St. in Geneva, is the cornerstone of the 1924 building. The History Museum will take possession of the cornerstone, and officials will also do some searching for a time capsule many think might lie below the ground not far from the cornerstone.

The photos presented in this slide show probably will uncover memories for longtime Genevans like those my brother shared with me, but they also reveal some of the reasons the building is set for demolition, beginning Tuesday. Among those reasons is the discovery of additional asbestos in a few of the walls and ceilings, which pushed back the demolition date to next week.

That discovery fell on top of a 270-plus-page list of issues that made the adaptive reuse of the building impractical and brought demolition costs up by about $150,000.

Demolition mobilization is expected to start Monday, with superstructure demolition Tuesday, Sept. 8, through Friday, Sept. 25. American Demolition Corporation is the contractor. Below-grade demolition is expected to take place from Monday, Sept. 25, through Friday, Oct. 2, weather permitting, and site work, backfill and restoration will conclude the process from Monday, Oct. 5, through Wednesday, Oct. 14.

The Geneva Library District has purchased the site from Kane County as a possible future campus for the library.