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.

If you are into old homes, here are a couple of events you shouldn't miss

If you are in the Chicagoland area, there are a few events sponsored by Pleasant Home Foundation you should seriously consider attending. PHF puts on awesome events involving architectural history, tours, old homes, etc. Each of the 2 tour programs is $20 and all proceeds benefit the foundation, whose role is to oversee renovation of the National Landmark, Pleasant Home. I'll try and update this later with photos to hopefully make it more enticing.

The tour portion of the May 6th program should be great. Yours truly will be speaking about Silsbee in front of the only surviving home by that architect in the town. One of the reasons for the tour is to shed light on the earliest structures in Kenilworth. It seems critical given it's designation as an endangered place by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Maher, Silsbee, and Burnham: A Look at the Early Architecture of Kenilworth
Join architectural historians Kathleen Cummings and Bill Hinchliff to explore the early buildings of Kenilworth, Illinois. The afternoon program will begin with a visit to the Kenilworth Historical Society's current exhibit and a brief talk about the character of the early village. An exterior walking tour of houses by George Washington Maher, Franklin Burnham, and Joseph Lyman Silsbee will follow.
Sunday, May 6th 2:00pm
Kenilworth Historical Society
415 Kenilworth Avenue
Kenilworth, Illinois

The next program gives you interior access to two amazing Prairie Style homes by George Maher (and some wine and cheese to boot).

Preserving the Prairie School: A Future Orientation
Vincent Michael, director of the historic preservation program at the School of the Art Institute and a member of the board of directors for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, will give a poignant lecture to help us understand why and how to save important Prairie School structures, in one of five structures in Oak Park by leading Prairie School architect, George Maher.
Friday, May 18 6:30 pm
Unity Church (G. Maher’s J. H. Taylor Home)
405 N. Euclid Avenure
Oak Park, Illinois
A special reception at G. Maher’s Caldwell House will immediately follow the lecture.

If you have any questions or want to register, follow this link to Pleasant Home.

Finally, (and I saved the best for last) mark your calendars for this event coming in June. More details will follow regarding times and fee.