For more than a year, Preservation Oak Park has been educating and entertaining locals with its 360 Oak Park events, with themed evenings where a variety of speakers have 360 seconds to share their knowledge of a topic.
This month’s focus, “Wow, That’s Cool!,” will take place at Fitzgerald’s on Feb. 25. It will include speakers who live in some of Oak Park’s most interesting houses, as well as experts on topics that many lovers of history will find – you guessed it – pretty cool.
A variety of presenters are expected, at the 7 p.m. event at 6615 Roosevelt Road in Berwyn. While the event is free, advanced registration is requested.
Architect Chris Payne, one of the founding members of the architecture-focused preservation group says that the popular events fill up quickly, and he’s looking forward to the slate of six speakers.
Doug Freerksen of Von Dreele Freerksen, a local general contractor and historic home expert, will give a talk titled, “Where to Put the Coolerator?” Freerksen will cover the work his firm has done to restore Frank Lloyd Wright’s Heurtley House.
Julie Blankemeier is an Oak Park homeowner who will talk about her home’s television debut on the TV show Fargo. She and her husband weren’t big television watchers when a houseguest urged them to respond to a location scout’s outreach about filming the show on their Euclid Avenue block.
They thoroughly enjoyed the experience of opening up their home to the film crew and stars like Chris Rock, even when the pandemic made things a little dicey. The family was relocated to a hotel for part of the filming.
Blankemeier said the architect of her home is unknown but some attribute it to H.G. Fiddle. The home stood in for the Kansas City home of Rock’s character’s family in the show.
Having her home serve as set “was such a great experience,” Blankemeier said, but she admits she didn’t make it past the second episode when the series aired. “I don’t like dark stuff, and this was so dark, I couldn’t watch it.”
Oak Park tour guide and brick expert Will Quam runs Brick of Chicago on Instagram and has a book coming out this spring. Quam will speak about Brisch brick and Brisch bungalows.
Michael Brisch and his family ran Brisch Brick and had a factory that made Chicago common brick in Stickney. Michael’s brother, Andrew, was a builder and developer, and according Payne, built some of Oak Park’s most notable bungalows: 701 S. East and 745 S. East, which are local landmarks.
Marcey Morales, the marketing manager for the Berwyn Development Corp. has a talk titled, “No Ghosts, Just Cool Design.”
She’ll cover Byline Bank and Berwyn’s mid-century modern bank structures. Located at 3322 South Oak Park Ave., Byline Bank has metal sculptures installed on its façade.
Retired anthropologist and cemetery scholar Paula Fenza will discuss Louis Comfort Tiffany and Tiffany Studios’ work at Forest Home Cemetery.
Fenza said that Forest Home is a reflection of Midwest culture. “It was established as a non-denominational, non-sectarian cemetery that was open to everyone. It’s made up of a number if immigrant and diverse groups.”
Oak Park interior designer Christine Baumbach will speak on her Jerome Cerny-designed home on Woodbine Avenue where she and her family have lived for 45 years.
Born in Chicago, Jerome Cerny studied at the School of the Art Institute, the Armour Institute and Yale University. Before opening his own studio, he worked for architects Benjamin Marshall and David Adler. His homes in the Oak Park area have a unique French country appearance.
Before You Go
360 Oak Park will be at FitzGerald’s at 6615 Roosevelt Rd. in Berwyn on Feb. 25 at 7:00 p.m.
The event is free, but pre-registration is requested. The event is 21+.
For additional information and tickets visit: https://www.fitzgeraldsnightclub.com/tm-event/360-oak-park-wow-thats-cool/
