The Pleasant Home Foundation, which is now part of the George W. Maher Society, will cease operations out of Pleasant Home Dec. 31, ending its agreement with the Park District of Oak Park.
The foundation and park district were unable to agree on terms that were fair to both parties, said Kevin Brown, executive director of the Pleasant Home Foundation and founder of the George W. Maher Society.
“We just wanted more of a partnership in making sure that the house was preserved,” Brown said. “We feel like in recent years we just didn’t have that.”
The foundation told the park district they were unable to focus on restoration, said Ann Marie Buczek, communication and community engagement manager for the park district. The two organizations had a long-standing relationship for many years, she said, in which the foundation’s mission, beyond restoration and preservation, was to promote community interest, offer educational opportunities and support projects for Pleasant Home.
“The preservation and restoration of the home is always a key priority for us,” she said. “We’ve owned the property for many, many years and we’re committed to keeping it open to the public.”
The foundation and park district had some miscommunication about flooring repair work, Buczek said. Part of the floor and subfloor in Pleasant Home had to be replaced due to poor condition from wear and tear over the years, she said. The floors were replaced with materials matching the original kind of wood, color and stain of the flooring, Buczek said.
“Those floors were actually replaced before,” she said. “So, the boards that they ended up replacing were actually not original to the home.”
The foundation was unaware the floors would be replaced, under the impression the plan was to restore and repair them, according to a previous Wednesday Journal article.
A contractor found the parts of the flooring that was replaced were not salvageable, Buczek said.
Brown said he felt the park district did not want to listen to preservation experts and in discussions about restorations people got their feelings hurt. This year, the foundation lost its last restoration committee chairman and were unable to find another, he said, because candidates felt the relationship between the two organizations was not in a good spot.
“Most of the time we had a good enough relationship over the years where we were able to work together to come to compromises,” Brown said. “But over the last few years, I would say, at least, there wasn’t a lot of compromise on their side.”
Brown said he did not have any further comment on the restoration of the flooring in Pleasant Home.
The foundation told the park district they were unable to meet the terms of the agreement, Buczek said, which includes raising and allocating 8% of revenue toward restoration of the Home and hosting four quarterly restoration committee meetings.
Over the past 10 years, the foundation provided roughly $35,000 to restoration and preservation of the Home, she said.
Tours at Pleasant Home will still be available through volunteer docents, Buczek said, and they may be increasing availability of those tours next year. Visitors can view a multitude of collections in the Home, including items from the families who previously owned the property.
“They [the docents] really have a passion for this home and a love for this home,” she said. “They really have the history, the passion and the expertise to share that with everyone.”
The George W. Maher Society was created as a way to broaden the scope of the foundation, Brown said, and to interest people who are passionate about all of his architecture. The society plans to do walking tours at other locations that have a high density of Maher designs, he said.
Brown, who lives in a Maher-designed house, said that on Jan. 13, he has organized an event at his home where attendees can socialize, listen to live music and appreciate the Maher architecture.
“It’s just an intimate way to invite people into these homes and get to see inside of them,” he said. “Which is obviously a rarity in a lot of cases.”
The society has also done presentations online and in person about the architect and plans to do more.
Brown said they are also working on a grant program for private homeowners and building owners of Maher designs to apply to get restoration work done at their location. Anyone who owns a Maher building would be welcome to apply, he said.