A park in Rock Island will lose a historic landmark to demolition.

The city is taking bids to demolish Fire Station No. 5 at Douglas Park.

Some wanted to convert the building into a museum to commemorate the park’s place in history as the host of the first NFL game.

Another possibility was converting it into a youth center, but, the building deteriorated over the years so that neither option is feasible.

“It all comes down to financial. We have a building that is condemned,” Rock Island Parks & Recreation Director John Gripp said. “It literally over time is falling down around itself. The value down at Douglas for us now is, ‘How can we engage the youth and the community to use that facility?’ And when you look at the pros and cons of rehabilitating Fire Station No. 5, it just doesn’t make good financial sense.”

Gripp says it would cost more than $500,000 to fix the structural issues.

There are plans to repurpose part of the building to create a memorial on the corner of the nearest intersection.