Oak Park’s Cheney Mansion has been a part of the local landscape for more than 100 years. The sizeable brick estate on Euclid Avenue has housed only a few people in its lifetime, but today it plays host to thousands as a Park District of Oak Park property that is open to the public and available for rent for special events.
History
Cheney Mansion was designed in 1913 for the C.E. Sharpe family. Architect Charles E. White Jr., designed the home. White, a Massachusetts native, moved to Oak Park when he married Alice May Roberts, and worked as an architect in Frank Lloyd Wright’s studio for several years prior to opening his own Oak Park studio in 1905. White designed many Oak Park homes and buildings, including the U.S. Post Office on Lake Street.
In 1922, Sharpe sold the home to Andrew and Mary Hooker Dole, who funded the north branch of the Oak Park library. The Doles did not have children, and when Andrew died in 1945, his niece, Elizabeth Cheney, came to live in the home. Cheney worked for 15 years in the book department of Carson Pirie Scott in Chicago. When she inherited the home in 1949, she travelled and collected antiques to fill the house. In 1975, she deeded the home to the Park District of Oak Park and lived there until her death in 1985. In her will, she established the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, which supports cultural and artistic endeavors in Chicago.
Transformation
Operations supervisor Poppy Vogel has managed Cheney Mansion for the park district for four years, and says that a popular rumor has Cheney donating the house to the park district in order to relieve herself of the burden of paying property taxes during the last years of her life. While the gift of the home, which occupies an entire block, was substantial in terms of property, when Cheney died, almost all of the contents of the home were sold and used to fund the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation for fine arts, leaving the park district to come up with the means to maintain the home.
According to Vogel, “The park district surveyed residents at the time, and no one wanted the house to be taxpayer supported, so it’s revenue supported.” While the home is expensive to maintain, Vogel noted that in the past four years, renting out the mansion for events has begun to be much more profitable. Park district accounting shows that revenue from rentals in 2014 increased more than 23% over 2013, and Vogel said advanced bookings continue to be robust.
Events
Vogel, an Oak Park native who has worked for the park district since she was a teenager, said that working to accommodate people who might want to use the mansion for event space has proven fruitful.
“In the past,” she noted, “we might have been too regimented, sticking to normal business hours on weekdays. In the event business, you need to be flexible. People want to come see the space after work in the evenings, and we can now accommodate that.”
Weddings make up 75-85 percent of the mansion’s business, and Vogel said part of the appeal of renting out the home is the variety of spaces guests can use.
“People come here because of the beautiful grounds,” she said. “You can set up on the lawn and on Friday and Saturday nights, you can hold dancing on the patio. It’s a home, so if you are using the interior for a seated dinner, people will be seated in different rooms, but that’s part of the charm. Last year, we opened up the option for couples to rent the home for the entire day, instead of always trying to get in two events on a weekend day. They can do hair and make-up in the house, have a breakfast, take photos and have all the time they want to decorate. It’s less wear and tear on the house and more customer-friendly.”
The newly refurbished greenhouse out back is a bonus space for guests. Vogel says prior to being rehabilitated, the greenhouse was in a complete state of disrepair and unsafe for human use. When the Ridgeland Common project came in under budget, the park district was able to use some funds to restore it. The greenhouse, like the front of the home, is now accessible to those with disabilities, and includes a bathroom that is also accessible.
Kristin Ferguson, who rented the space for her July wedding, said there is something special about Cheney Mansion.
“We looked around at various venues,” she recalled, “and we knew we wanted something different. We’re in our mid-30s and have been to lots of weddings, so we knew what we wanted. I’ve run by Cheney Mansion and always thought it would be a cool place to have a wedding.”
Ferguson loved that she could use indoor and outdoor spaces at the home.
“We had the ceremony outside, dinner inside and dancing on the patio,” she said. “There was a bar set up in the greenhouse. We really loved all the outdoor space they had available.”
Vogel works with a group of 11 preferred caterers, and guests can bring their own alcohol from outside sources, which cuts down on expenses. Ferguson chose to work with one of her favorite Oak Park restaurants, Maya del Sol, to create a wedding dinner for her guests.
Community
In addition to hosting private events like weddings, corporate events, memorials, baby and bridal showers, Cheney Mansion also hosts many community events.
From park district classes to art shows for OPRF High School students, the park district strives to get residents into the home for special events. Each year, the mansion hosts cooking classes for adults and kids in the kitchen. A perennial favorite holiday event is the mansion’s Breakfast with Santa.
Speaking of Santa, Vogel said, “We’ll be decked out for the holidays. We have 6-8 trees decorated in the home with the help of the Oak Park-River Forest Garden Club and local florists. The second week in December, we host an open house so people can come in and enjoy the space with the donation of a non-perishable food item for the Oak Park-River Forest Food Pantry.”
During the warmer months, residents often enjoy strolling the grounds. The formal gardens are tended by the Oak Park Conservatory. Under Vogel’s supervision, the potager’s garden has become another community space.
“I approached Sugar Beet Co-op with some local not-for-profits like Oak Leyden, West Suburban Special Recreation Association and Opportunity Knocks,” Vogel said. “They tend the garden. This year, they delivered over 800 pounds of fresh produce to the Food Pantry. This is where we need to align ourselves for this to work. We teach people how to grow and harvest here, and then we teach them how to give.”