1985 Fall Newsletter

Lake Forest Preservation Foundation NEWSLETTER, Lake Forest, Illinois Fall 1985, HERE’S HOW YOU CAN HELP COMPLETE THE STATION RENOVATION BY THANKSGIVING, stating the Station Renovation project is nearly complete and by Thanksgiving the Lake Forest North Western Station should be a shining tribute to what can be achieved when citizens, businesses, and government work together toward a worthwhile civic goal, explaining that most of the platform and related work in this final stage has been funded by a generous grant received by the City of Lake Forest from the RTA but that the RTA grant will not cover additional landscaping required for the two platforms or certain miscellaneous items required to complete the project and then laying out how you can help by coming with your own hand trowel to the Station on Saturday, October 26 (rain date Saturday, November 2) beginning at 8:30 a.m. where 100 volunteers are needed to donate two hours each to help plant 9,400 groundcover plants in pre-prepared planting sites and that with volunteers planting the groundcover the project can save $8,000 of additional landscaping costs and calling this the reader’s chance to make a personal contribution to the Station, including the note that planning the Platform Planting Day Saturday, October 26 are Chip Tucker Senior Patrol Leader of Boy Scout Troop 46, Lorraine Tweed Preservation Foundation President, and Byron Prais Lake Forest Director of Building and Zoning, and that groundcover will be planted in the platform planting areas, directing people to call Chip Tucker (234-0115) by Thursday, October 24 if they plan to come and have not already volunteered with a community group, explaining Chip of Troop 46 of the First Presbyterian Church has volunteered to coordinate workers and organize a team of Scout volunteers as an Eagle Scout project and that anyone simply appearing to help on the planting day will be most welcome, then instructing readers to send a donation of any size to the Foundation (Box 813, Lake Forest) or the City of Lake Forest (220 East Deer Path, Lake Forest) to help meet goals including raising $7,000 for additional landscaping needed, specifying that of this amount donations are needed for five Bradford Pear trees at $375 each which may be designated as memorial trees and that the balance of landscaping funds is needed for groundcover plants for the site, and raising $5,000 to complete additional details, including that of this amount $4,000 is required to seal the new wood shingle roof now that it has aged to a color similar to the slate roofs in Market Square and that the balance is needed for miscellaneous decorative items such as a map case for a duplicate 1899 North Western route map, a clock for the ticket agent’s office, and hardware items, including thanks to the organizations donating food and beverages for workers on Platform Planting Day—American Legion Post 264, Lake Forest; Lake Forest–Lake Bluff Chamber of Commerce; Lake Forest–Lake Bluff Lions Club; Lake Forest–Lake Bluff Kiwanis Club; and Rotary Club of Lake Forest (repeated), plus the line “Notify the Foundation if you have railroad memorabilia you would be willing to donate or lend for exhibit at the Station,” and stating that after nearly seven years of effort by every segment of the community “the end is in sight” and with help everyone can celebrate completion of the Station Renovation by Thanksgiving and that the community is hoped to join in Spring 1986 when a formal dedication celebration is planned in conjunction with festivities recognizing the 125th Anniversary of Lake Forest, followed by a contribution form reading “I/We wish to help complete the Station Renovation. Enclosed is my/our tax-deductible contribution (Please make checks payable to the Preservation Foundation, Box 813, Lake Forest, IL 60045)” with lines for Bradford Pear Tree(s) at $375 each, the Station Landscaping Fund, and the Station Renovation Fund, plus Name, Telephone, Address, then MAYOR RUMSEY’S HOME RESTORED TO ENGLISH GRANDEUR describing that for the past three and a half years the distinctive historic home of former Lake Forest Mayor Henry A. Rumsey (1919–1926) has been undergoing extensive restoration, that the house originally built for Mr. and Mrs. Rumsey in 1911–1912 was modeled after “Clifford Manor,” a Queen Anne Period Classic revival manor house in Warwickshire, England, that Mrs. Rumsey saw a picture of the manor house in a book and became enamoured and decided her own home should closely resemble the picture, that the Rumseys commissioned Shepley Rutan and Coolidge of Boston to design their home and that Mr. Rumsey of the Chicago Board of Trade was familiar with the firm’s work designing Chicago landmarks such as the Chicago Public Library (1893), The Art Institute (1897), and the Corn Exchange Bank and the Harris Trust which were being built while he planned his home, explaining the present owners restored the home to modern livability with great care to preserve the English Classic style appropriate to the exterior, re-using original materials as much as possible sometimes in new locations and augmenting with exacting reproductions of millwork, hardware, flooring, and other items, noting that in keeping with English Queen Anne Period style double doors replaced wider single doors typical American, additional hardware was cast to match existing, many original 18th Century light fixtures were added to replace inappropriate fixtures, woodwork throughout the house was restored and refinished including Grinling Gibbons– or William Kent-type carvings over living room and dining room fireplaces, adding that a coach house built by an earlier owner was replaced because it did not blend architecturally and that the new coach house is a four-car garage with a servant’s apartment that complements the architectural style of the main house, inserting the footnote that in England Renaissance classicism flourished 1650–1750 under Indigo Jones, Christopher Wren, and James Gibbs and was brought to American colonies about 1700 where the American form is known as Georgian, describing the grounds originally planned by landscape architect Jens Jenson and further enhanced by present owners with many new plant varieties for all seasons, that in the garden area rests a Tea House built by previous owners duplicating one they saw in the Orient, that iron entrance gates open to a new drive paved with granite pavers and bricks typical of the 1900s, and that the posts flanking the gates have the ball with cushion seen at the original manor house in England, concluding the present owners took great care thoroughness and time and spent three and a half years restoring what took only 15 months to build and that to see the home one can unequivocally say “it’s been time well spent,” signed Lynn Knutson and Sue Walker, then PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE explaining that in August 1976 when the Lake Forest Preservation Foundation was founded by several members of the Lake Forest–Lake Bluff Historical Society to actively work to preserve the structural and environmental history of Lake Forest the new group was not welcomed with open arms in all quarters and many residents and City officials eyed it suspiciously questioning its motives and purposes, stating nine years later those involved can point proudly to accomplishments while acknowledging not everything has been saved and not everything should be saved and it is important to choose issues carefully, stating the Foundation is not opposed to change and quoting the membership brochure “not to change and grow is equivalent to failure,” “Stopping the clock is not the answer,” and “The challenge is to guide change and growth,” asserting that words like “visual character” and “ambiance” now common in the vocabulary of City boards and commissions are a direct result of the Foundation’s influence, that the Residential Historic Preservation Ordinance became a vital part of decisions due to tireless Foundation member efforts, listing pride in Old Recreation Center and Old Fire Station saved for successful adaptive use, City Hall, “Handy Green,” and “Northcraft” as further examples of salvation renovation and practical use brought about partially through Foundation efforts, highlighting the greatest effort as spearheading restoration and renovation of the North Western Railroad Station with cooperation of the organization, the City government, residents, community groups, station tenants, and the RTA and that soon the station will be considered the showpiece of the North Shore, concluding that the Foundation has come a long way in nine years with accomplishments and a wonderful working relationship with citizens and the City and hopes in the tenth year cooperative efforts will grow to preserve the historic visual character of the city, signed Lorraine Tweed, then HISTORIC RECOGNITION PLAQUE PRESENTED TO “RAVELLO” stating that on Saturday September 7 the Preservation Foundation presented an Historic Recognition Plaque to Mr. and Mrs. William Billington to commemorate the historic significance of their garden “Ravello,” explaining it was originally part of the “Ravello” gardens of the Cyrus McCormick estate “Walden,” constructed about 1910–1912 and patterned after the famous gardens of Ravello, Italy, noting homes now occupy some original garden areas but still remaining are a stone balustrade wall and pergola, describing the four-foot high wall following the edge of the bluff about 150 feet overlooking ravine and lake with a walkway beside the balustrade leading to the pergola at the south end, explaining time and elements caused the pergola brick floor to settle unevenly and the Billingtons had the brick removed and reinstalled, that the cedar beams remain near-perfect and many original “fruit-in-basket” urns grace the main balusters, and that care has assured the pergola and balustrade are as beautiful and impressive today as when Cyrus McCormick strolled the Gardens of Ravello, followed by PRACTICAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION SERIES announcing seminars co-sponsored by the Preservation Foundation and the Lake Forest Library in October presented at the library on consecutive Tuesday evenings from 7:30 to 9 p.m. with topics October 15 “Beneficial Preservation for Lake Foresters,” October 22 “Professional Help,” October 29 “Homeowners Share Do’s and Dont’s,” plus a note that the Library is also presenting “U.S. Historic Homes on Film” at 7:30 p.m. October 9 and 16 and will follow with November programs relating to decorating period homes, then stating the Preservation Foundation awards Historic Recognition Plaques to buildings or amenities based on age, architectural significance, and/or association with local history and for further information write to the Preservation Foundation Box 813 Lake Forest IL 60045, then the membership form for LAKE FOREST FOUNDATION FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION Box 813 Lake Forest Illinois 60045 with categories Member $25, Contributing Member $50, Sponsor $100, Sustaining Member $250, Patron $500, Life Member contribution $1,000+ with no annual dues, plus Mr./Mrs./Miss, Street, Telephone, City, State, Zip and a checkbox to actively work with the Foundation and request a call to discuss areas of interest and the statement that the Preservation Foundation is open to all who share its goal of progress through preservation, followed by PROPERTY TAX ABATEMENT AVAILABLE FOR HISTORIC HOME REHABILITATION describing state legislation PA-82-1023 providing an eight-year property tax freeze in valuation for single-family owner-occupied historic homes substantially rehabilitated effective January 1, 1983 with benefits for qualifying property owners, noting the City helped draft the law and lobbied for passage and Lake Forest residents are eligible if they qualify, stating forms for certification of a building as a landmark and for certifying rehabilitation are available from the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency State Historic Preservation Office Old State Capitol Springfield IL 62701 (217) 785-4512 and owners should check plans with SHPO before beginning work and cost of rehabilitation including architect’s fees must equal 25% of fair market value as determined by the assessor at the time rehabilitation begins, then UPCOMING FOUNDATION PROGRAMS stating plans for coming year’s programs are underway following an enjoyable meeting at Lake Forest Academy on September 29 where William Hinchliff head of English Department and a Foundation member and Vice President of the Historical Society gave a slide lecture on the history of the J. Ogden Armour estate, instructing readers to watch local newspapers for further information on upcoming programs including early in 1986 Michael H. Ebner Chairman of the History Department Lake Forest College lecturing on “Preserving Chicago’s North Shore: The Plan for Sheridan Road and the Suburban Landscape,” noting that since 1980 Dr. Ebner has been researching and writing a soon-to-be-completed book titled A Sense of Place: Chicago’s North Shore Suburbs, 1833 to the Turn of the Century, and that in spring 1986 an on-site tour and history of a restoration in Lake Forest is planned, ending with NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 184 LAKE FOREST, Ill. 60045 (repeated) and The Preservation Foundation, Box 813, Lake Forest, Illinois 60045, CAR-RT.