The Glencoe Historical Society (GHS) and the Glencoe Park District (GPD) today announced a proposal to preserve the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Cottage currently located at 239 Franklin Road in Glencoe, Illinois that was facing demolition. The Cottage was built in 1913 as temporary housing for Sherman Booth while Wright proceeded with designs for a larger home for the family.
The current owners of the Cottage purchased the property in May and have generously agreed to donate the historic structure to the GHS in order to save it. GHS will take ownership of the building and move it off the property. GHS President Ed Goodale said, “GHS is extremely grateful to the owners for this extraordinary gift and for their continued support and patience as we have worked through a process to preserve the building.”
GHS Partners with Glencoe Park District
In an exceptional intra-community effort, the GHS has partnered with the Village of Glencoe and the Glencoe Park District to find a new home for this Glencoe architectural treasure. Under the current proposal, the GHS would enter into a long term agreement to lease a small portion of Park 7N for $1 per year to become the new home for the Cottage. This triangular park, located between Maple Hill Road, Franklin Road and Meadow Road in Ravine Bluffs, is an ideal location for the Cottage because it is adjacent to the land originally owned by Sherman Booth, who was also one of the founding commissioners of the GPD, more than 100 years ago.
GHS Board member and noted preservation architect Scott Javore explained, “The Cottage is one of 13 Wright-designed structures located in the Village of Glencoe and is a particularly unique example of the early work of America’s greatest architect. The GHS-GPD proposal offers an outstanding way to preserve this important part of both Glencoe history and Wright’s legacy.”
The Cottage was included in the GHS’s yearlong celebration of the 100th anniversary of Wright’s work on the Ravine Bluffs subdivision and was a featured stop on the GHS Wright in Glencoe Housewalk in September 2015. For the past seven months, a committee from GHS has been working with numerous groups to find a path to preserve the home. A number of potential locations were considered, including the garden of the GHS museum campus at 375 Park Avenue, but none of them worked out.
Goodale added, “GHS is particularly pleased and excited about its proposed partnership with the Park District because it allows for the preservation of the home at a location and in a manner that is a huge “win” for everyone in the Glencoe community and for historians, architects and Wright enthusiasts everywhere.”
Public Hearing Scheduled
The Park District has invited the public to a hearing on the proposed lease agreement on Tuesday, January 21, 2020 at 7 PM in the Community Hall of the Takiff Center, 999 Green Bay Road, Glencoe, IL. GHS representatives will be present to explain more about the proposed move. GHS will also answer questions about their plans to restore the building to its original design and then operate and maintain it as a research center, museum and small program space, much the same way it operates and maintains its current museum and research center at 375 Park Avenue in Glencoe. GHS welcomes input from residents and looks forward to working with the Park District and the Village of Glencoe to preserve an important part of the remarkable history of the community.
