Preservation

6018North

6018North is currently being sustainably rehabbed as a model for how to retrofit an older home using energy saving and livability principles.

Charnley-Persky House Museum

Today the Charnley-Persky House serves as headquarters for the Society of Architectural Historians. The international organization promotes the study, interpretation, and conservation of architecture, design, landscapes, and urbanism worldwide.

The Ernest Hemingway Birthplace

The Ernest Hemingway Foundation purchased the home in 1991, and restored it from a modernized three-flat to the Victorian showpiece it was when the Hemingways lived there.

Frances Willard House Museum

Frances Willard lived in her family home from its completion in 1865 until her death in 1898. The house was bequeathed to the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and made into a museum two years later in 1900, making it one of the oldest continually operating house museums in the country.

Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio

Opened to the public as a museum in 1974, Wright’s Oak Park Home and Studio underwent an extensive restoration to renew Wright’s vision. Today the Home and Studio is the oldest of Wright’s buildings open to the public. It provides a foundation for examining Wright’s life and work, and offers a remarkable insight into the origins of one of the 20th century’s greatest architects.

Glessner House

The house has been extensively and accurately restored to its appearance in the 1890s due in large part to an extraordinary archive of material preserved by the family. That archive includes journals, manuscripts, correspondence, and an important collection of historic photos taken by the Glessners’ son George, a talented amateur photographer.

Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts

In 1963, architect Daniel Brenner renovated the Madlener House to accommodate the Graham Foundation’s philanthropic and educational activities. While making minor changes, Brenner showed consideration for the special quality of the building at a time when architectural preservation was only beginning to be appreciated.

The Grove National Historic Landmark

The Kennicott House was nearly torn down to make way for high-density housing. Thanks to a group of passionate preservationists known as the Frog and Fern Ladies, the house was saved and restored. The Redfield Estate, designed by famed architect George Grant Elmslie, was also renovated to show the true beauty of his Tudor-style architecture.

National Public Housing Museum

The National Public Housing Museum will be housed in the only surviving building of the historic Jane Addams Home on Chicago's Near West Side. The three-story brick building at 1322-24 West Taylor opened in 1938, designed by a team of architects headed by John Holabird.

Pleasant Home

Pleasant Home is in the midst of a $6 million restoration. In April 2015, the Summer Dining Porch was restored to its turn-of-the-century elegance and grace. Historic preservation is a key topic in workshops and the museum’s annual lecture series.

Pullman House Project

Preserving Pullman has long been a labor of love from the grassroots of committed residents. The Pullman House Project is currently restoring select residential structures to showcase life in Pullman during the Victorian era. The project is a joint effort of the Historic Pullman Foundation and the Bielenberg Historic Pullman House Foundation, both 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organizations.

The Robie House

The Frank Lloyd Wright Trust is restoring the Robie House to renew Wright’s vision for this seminal structure in the history of modern architecture and design.

Roger Brown Study Collection

The timeline of 1926 North Halsted is its lifeline. The building began its life as a tobacconist shop, and later housed a bookbindery, confectionary, grocery, and plastics company. Later, it became the home and studio of a famous artist; now, it is an artists’ museum where the rules of playing house/museum are being rewritten.

Schweikher House

Thanks to the Langsdorfs’ thoughtful 60-year stewardship, the home and studio have remained unaltered from Paul Schweikher’s original vision. Today, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and recognized by The American Institute of Architects as one of the top 150 architectural sites in Illinois. Current conservation is overseen by the Schweikher House Preservation Trust and the Village of Schaumburg.