Friday, September 07, 2007

Vote Early and Often!!!

We are very excited in Chicagoland and more importantly at Pleasant Home in the OP at the prospects of receiving funding for some much needed restoration work. Pleasant Home is a National Landmark designed by Prairie School architect George Maher for banker John Farson. It has been named one of 25 historic sites in the Chicagoland area for the Partners in Preservation program of American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. One local writer likened the grant process to American Idol where sites are competing for $1 million in restoration grant funding. The site with the most votes gets funding. There are a lot of great sites on the list but I would greatly appreciate it if you took the time to vote for Pleasant Home. It is a remarkable building and frankly, we need the funds.

Please go to Partners in Preservation to place your vote. You can vote once a day with each of your e-mail addresses now through October 10. For more info on Pleasant Home visit: http://www.pleasanthome.org/

I will offer a free tour of the house to anyone that votes daily for PH just drop me a note and I'll gladly show you around or if you want to see the home with many others, there will be an open house on September 15th and 16th.
George and John, pictured here in the gardens at Pleasant Home, would be so proud.

2 comments:

StuccoHouse said...

I voted :-) What is your connection to that house?

Here's an odd coincidence. My dad is a huge fan of the Prairie School archtects. He's an arch/structural engineer and our family spent many a vaction while I was growing up visiting houses & buildings designed by these guys. So, last summer I went with him to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts to see a Prarie School exhibit - it included some pieces from Maher's E.L. King House with was destroyed. One of the interesting archetectural features used on that house was the "flattened arch." Now this was about the same time that I was looking for a metal fabricator to deal with my arched front door overhang. It dawned on me...what my house has is a "flattened arch" almost identical to Maher's designs. On my "to do" list is to research if the design of my 1924 house could have been influenced by Maher (living during that same time).

Chris said...

I am on the board at PH and have been volunteering there for years. My interest in Silsbee and his employees pulled me there.

You are correct - your flattened or segmental arch is very reminiscent of Maher's. His work was well published in that era so I am sure it inspired a lot of other architects.