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The Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest |
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 We are delighted to share with you the exciting news that The Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest has begun planning our move to a new facility that will allow us to tell our community’s rich stories in a newly restored and expanded landmark building. It will give us the appropriate space to preserve, put on display, and celebrate the rich history—and exciting future—of our villages. This project will allow us to serve you and the community in a way never before possible and be a new source of community pride. In April, the board of directors of the Historical Society unanimously approved an agreement with the Village of Oak Park that authorizes the creation of a Museum and History Center in the oldest public building in the village, located at the corner of Lake and Lombard. This vacant 1898 structure was built as a firehouse for old Cicero Township, pre-dating the Village of Oak Park by four years, and has served the community in a wide range of uses through the decades including as a public works facility, the home of the health department, a playground theater, and a meeting place for veterans of the Civil War. With the creation of the Village History Center, the vacant building will have new life for decades to come. Our agreement with the Village of Oak Park will allow the Historical Society to make improvements and modernize the building, including an addition, using privately donated funds from the community, and to restore and refurbish the deteriorated exterior to its original striking design by architect William J. Van Keuren. This Oak Park architect also designed numerous local buildings such as the Niles Building at Marion and South, across from the Marion Street Cheese Market, and the Emerson Ingalls Row Houses at Forest and Ontario, across from the Nineteenth Century Club and Austin Gardens. We are working with architects to finalize the design and to develop a master plan to ensure the success of the project. While we are anxious to move ahead rapidly, our agreement with the Village of Oak Park provides a two-year planning window before construction begins on the old firehouse, so don’t look for moving vans at Pleasant Home yet. We will keep you posted on our progress. We are excited to work with our members and the entire community to make this project a success. Please email or call us at 708-848-6755 if you would like to get involved in any way.
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images on the Historic Society pages are from photographs owned by |