For its 13th annual housewalk on Sunday, May 1, the Historical Society of Oak Park-River Forest is highlighting homes in the area surrounding its new headquarters, the former Cicero Firehouse at 129 Lake St. Ranging from Victorian to Prairie style, the eclectic group of houses on this year’s walk are located in a neighborhood that was once served by the fire station when it operated from 1899 to 1916.
Housewalk Chair Mary Boyaris credits the Historical Society’s executive director, Frank Lipo, with the theme for this year’s walk.Â
“Frank suggested that, since this year marks the 100th year since the firehouse [closed], we go with the area it originally served. All of the houses were built in the time frame of 1898 to 1916 in what is now the Ridgeland Historic District.”
The houses
According to Boyaris, finding homeowners to open their homes for the Historical Society proved to be a piece of cake.Â
“It was easy for me to hook homeowners in this year,” she said, “because everyone is so excited about the Historical Society’s move to the firehouse.”
This year’s walk is indeed walkable, with all seven homes located within three blocks of each other on East, Scoville and Elmwood avenues south of Lake Street. Several of the homes were designed by noted Oak Park architect E.E. Roberts, which actually adds to the diversity of the walk, according to Boyaris.
“All three of the Roberts homes are very, very different, which is a happy accident. There are over 200 Roberts homes in Oak Park, and so many of them are found on these blocks in the Ridgeland Historic District.”
She points to 204 S. Scoville as one of the homes likely to draw architecture buffs.Â
“It’s a real showcase house on the corner that people are excited to see,” Boyaris said. “Another interesting Roberts house is 241 S. Elmwood. At the time it was built, they actually were changing the zoning laws to allow a mix of multi-family homes with single-family homes in the area. This one was designed to be a two-flat but has been converted to a single-family.”
Another highly anticipated part of the tour is the house at 145 S. East Ave. The owners are wrapping up a long-term renovation of the Victorian-era home, and Boyaris noted that they are seasoned rehabbers.
“The work they have done is just wonderful. Parts are restored to the way the home looked originally, and then they’ve modernized things in the back of the house with a new, open kitchen.”
Noting that most of the featured homeowners tackled significant restoration projects, Boyaris praised their efforts.
“I grew up in this neighborhood, and it’s amazing how much it’s changed,” she said. “The families have all done research at the Historical Society. They’ve all taken these hundred-year-old houses and updated them so they will last another hundred years.”Â
Firehouse sneak peak piques
Along with the seven houses on this year’s walk, the old/new firehouse will also be open for tours during the walk. As executive director of the Historical Society, Lipo has been focused on preparing the society’s new home at the historic firehouse, and he likens the process of rehabbing the building to a restoring a home on the tour.Â
“On housewalks, it’s great to see how people tie in old and new,” he said. “You might love seeing the restored trim in the house and also enjoy the new kitchen with the latest tile. People love to see the vintage, but they look for the contemporary touches too. When you live in an old house, you like to see the functionality of the new when it also makes sense of the original house. It’s a balancing act. The houses we feature on the walk respect history but also live well for today, which is what we are trying to do with the firehouse.”
With a sensitive eye toward restoring what is possible, Lipo and the society’s volunteers and contractors have worked to maintain and reuse vintage aspects of the building with the realization that the intended use of the facility requires modernization of systems.
Wood flooring and trim were preserved and rehabilitated on the first floor. Vintage light fixtures and vintage-style tiles in the new bathrooms harken back to the building’s original era. The second floor, once used to house firemen, and later used as a social hall, was restored with an eye to contemporary function. When finished, the space will be able to host presentations and gatherings.
On the day of the walk, Lipo will be on hand at the firehouse to answer questions and let people see the work in progress. From paint samples to an area showing the work done to rehab the flooring, guests will get a glimpse into the work being done to prepare the firehouse for occupancy by the Historical Society this summer.
Chris Ware connection
Continuing a tradition of giving back to the community, noted graphic artist Chris Ware, whose work is frequently featured in (and on the cover of) the New Yorker, again designed a poster as a benefit for the Historical Society. Posters will be available for sale at the firehouse the day of the walk, and for Ware fans, there will be an opportunity to have the posters autographed. Proceeds from poster sales will benefit the rehab/restoration of the firehouse.
For Lipo, Ware’s poster connects directly to the mission of the Historical Society. He points out that Ware’s illustration ties the past and the present together through its representation of the historic firehouse building with contemporary figures and people from earlier eras.
“It’s so interesting to see something we’re so intimately involved with and see his take on it,” Lipo said. “It’s today, but it’s also connected to the past. We’re so lucky to have his support. As an artist, he has this great historical sense.”