On Dec. 5, the Oak Park River Forest Museum will be going back to its roots as a firehouse with a community chili cook-off featuring the culinary efforts of the Oak Park and River Forest firehouses.
Frank Lipo, executive director of the Oak Park River Forest Historical Society, credits the Historical Society’s board with coming up with the idea last year. The building that houses the Historical Society’s Museum was originally built as a firehouse in 1898.
The building was designed by architect and Oak Park resident William J. Van Keuren in the Richardson Romanesque style. Originally, the building served as Cicero Fire House No. 2 and was the only municipal building that preceded the incorporation of the Village of Oak Park.
Last December, the Museum celebrated the 125th anniversary of the building. During that celebration, members read news articles from 1898 commemorating the dedication of the building as a firehouse. At last year’s celebration, they served chili to those in attendance, and an idea was born.
“The board wanted to keep on celebrating the fact that this building was a firehouse, but we wanted to incorporate our local firehouses this year,” Lipo said.
Historical Society volunteer and past board president Jan Dressel, who is organizing the event, reached out to the local fire departments, who were very enthusiastic about participating. The Oak Park Fire Department promptly accepted the invitation and challenged the River Forest Fire Department to a chili cook off. Game on.
Guests of the chili cook-off will not only be treated to the fruits of the fire departments’ labors, but they will also vote for a winner, giving one fire department bragging rights.
Lipo pointed out that firehouses play an important role in the community and in the lives of the firefighters.
“Unlike our other municipal services providers, firefighters basically live in their firehouses,” he said. “They cook meals there and spend their days or nights there.”
The fact that the OPRF Museum was once a firehouse forges a bond between Oak Park’s past and current day, and Lipo said that’s a part of the bigger picture behind the mission of the Historical Society and the Museum.
“Our goal is to tell Oak Park and River Forest stories, and this is a great way to tell the story of our building and have fun with the building’s history,” he added.
Lipo said that during the restoration of the building, they called upon that past as a firehouse, even inviting a fire truck to the grand re-opening event in 2017.
Just like most historic buildings, the museum building has had many lives since its dedication in 1898. Lipo said that after its tenure as a firehouse, the building served the public in a variety of roles, from being a public works building, to a public health outpost, to serving as a polling place.
The Historical Society and Museum might not be a part of village government, but Lipo noted that they still serve a public-facing role and want to honor and recognize the role that public service has played in the village.
Inviting the public out to dinner with the Oak Park and River Forest fire departments is one way to do that.
What you need to know
The OPRF Chili Cook-Off takes place Thursday, Dec. 5 at 5 p.m. at the Oak Park River Forest Museum, 129 Lake St. in Oak Park.
Admission is a suggested donation of $10, with proceeds split with the Illinois Fire Safety Alliance, which offers aid to burn victims.
Your ticket price includes both chilis, with all the fixings, as well as cornbread, soft drinks, apple cider and dessert.
Reservations are required by Saturday, Nov. 30. Please sign up by emailing oprfhistorymatters@sbcglobal.net or calling the museum at 708-848-6755.
During the Chili Cook-Off, the Museum will be drawing the winners of a Radio Flyer scooter and wagon. To enter, find all of the LEGO Minifigures in the Museum’s Hometown Legends Scavenger. There is still time to enter the drawing by visiting the museum during regular hours, 1-5 p.m. and searching for the minifigures among the exhibits.
