Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Oldest Home in Lake Bluff Recognized
Designated historically and architecturally significant, the property at 666 Mawman Avenue was recently honored with the Lake Bluff History Museum’s Distinguished Homes Award. In today’s perspective, builder Henry Ostrander knew the value of location in real estate. When he built his house in 1854, the expanding railway system connecting Chicago to Waukegan was being built. The Mawman home soon became a rooming house and tavern for railroad workers until the track was completed in 1855. Ostrander then made it is home, and donated a small portion of his fifty acres for a train depot on the condition that the area be called Rockland. It is assumed he choose the name from his hometown of Rockland, NY. Ostrander became the Station Master of…
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Vliet Museum will become Lake Bluff History Museum.
- VOLUNTEERS IN THE NEWS
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Saturday, August 20, 2011
What's in a name? Plenty if you're interested in the history of Lake Bluff. So to make it easier for the public to associate where to learn the history of Lake Bluff, the Vliet Musuem of Lake Bluff History is changing its name to the Lake Bluff History Museum. Currently closed for renovation, the museum will reopen under its new name on Sept.24. “Interest in researching Lake Bluff extends well beyond the local area. The museum’s new name clearly describes what the museum is all about and will make it easier for people to locate and contact us,” said Catherine McKechney, president of the Vliet Center for Lake Bluff History. “This more recognizable name will facilitate access to the museum and its website.” The museum provides exhibit space …
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Travel Back in Time with your Patch Passport to explore the history and roots of your community. Lake Bluff Village Hall's Ghost Story is sure to spook you.
It was almost 50 years after Lake Bluff’s founding and after its incorporation that the town finally erected its Village Hall. The tiny hamlet was making a transition from its early history as the lakeside attraction for visitors traveling to the Methodist “camp meeting” to a summer resort town with some 100 year-round residents. Then as today, Village Hall served as a welcoming beacon for visitors, said Vliet Museum Curator Janet Nelson. “For visitors who enter from the west, off Sheridan Road, the building says ‘Here we are, this is Lake Bluff,’ ” Nelson said. It was also a legitimizing step for local government, serving not only as a place for village meetings, but also as the police station, town jail and a clubhouse for the volunteer …
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Friday, June 10, 2011
Kraig Moreland and his community-based cast and crew are shooting scenes locally for his documentary on the Lake Bluff Children's Home.
Children in nightgowns stood on the front lawn of a Lake Forest home Tuesday, looking like little angels as they waited for director Kraig Moreland to instruct them on the day’s recreated scene. Moreland and his crew of volunteers are shooting scenes in Lake Forest and Lake Bluff this week for his documentary, A Childhood Lost And Found. The film tells the story of the Lake Bluff Children’s Home, which from 1895 to 1969 housed hundreds of children at East Scranton and Evanston avenues. Moreland has worked on the project for more than a year, traveling to 10 states for interviews with volunteers, families, historians and the adults who lived in the orphanage as children. The film will premiere Sept. 24 in the Raymond Moore auditorium at …
Friday, December 17, 2010
Visit some of this holiday season's most enchanting historic houses in Lake Bluff.
Last Sunday's first-ever Christmas Home Tour exceeded attendance expectations, raising more than $6,000 for the Vliet Center for Lake Bluff History, which hosted the event. Participants embarked upon a self-guided journey through the decades, beginning in the late 1800s, of five Lake Bluff homes fabulously decorated by local merchants for the holidays. The event extended to a second day activities planned for the "It's a Wonderful Life . . . in Lake Bluff" celebration.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Annual tree-lighting ceremony opened the holiday season.
Lake Bluff Villagers couldn't help but surrender to that old adage, reinforced by the holly-lined banners and vintage photos posted throughout downtown reminding us, "It's a Wonderful Life." In a scene straight from the movies, downtown Lake Bluff bustled with Christmas carolers serenading in a daylong celebration leading up to this past Saturday's annual tree-lighting ceremony at the gazebo. On Saturday, 60044 definitely lived up to its holiday-campaign moniker: the North Pole of the North Shore. Earlier in the day, Old Man Winter blanketed the streets with a fresh coat of fluffy white snow. The Christmas in the air mixed with the aroma of hot cocoa, sweet apple cider, and spice-scented candles. Jack Frost nipped but couldn't deter the …
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Five homes offer 'true reflection of Lake Bluff character.'
Whether a history buff, interior design enthusiast or creative holiday décor fan, Sunday's First Historic Holiday Home Tour attempts to ease you into seasonal bliss. The addition of the home tour expands the second annual "It's a Wonderful Life...in Lake Bluff" celebration to a second day. Hosted by the Vliet Center for Lake Bluff History, the tour will feature five distinctive homes, ranging in ages from 1886 through 1960. Each house on the tour differs in architectural style and will be decorated by uniquely different personalities. From a quintessential cozy cottage to an illustrious Victorian revival, and beyond, each are showcased in their own glorious right that when combined, according to Vliet Board of Directors President Cathy …
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Vliet Center hosts First Christmas Home Tour Sunday.
- GOVERNMENT
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Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Lake Bluff Hosts Its Own Version of "It's a Wonderful Life" Lake Bluff hosts its second annual holiday event, "It's a Wonderful Life … in Lake Bluff!", Saturday sponsored by the Lake Bluff Downtown Merchants, Lake Forest/Lake Bluff Chamber of Commerce and the Village of Lake Bluff. Starting at 10 a.m., the downtown will come alive with the sights, sounds and tastes of the season along with in-store promotions and gift ideas. The day-long event will end with the Gazebo Lighting celebration on the Village Green at 4:30 p.m. Vliet Center Hosts First Christmas Home Tour Sunday The Vliet Center for Lake Bluff History will host its first historic Christmas Home Tour from 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 5. The tour starts at the Vliet Museum, 127 E…
Friday, November 19, 2010
Big changes coming next spring to entrance, interior.
Lake Bluff Library's Board of Trustees have voted to move forward with a Two Phase Library Renovation Project to improve the design and layout of the library building without raising taxes. After 10 years of planning, setting aside funds, managing costs, commission of a Space Utilization Committee (2007), solicitation of public input (2008), and more recent consideration of six separate concept plans presented by the architectural firm Product Architects + Design, the seven member board of trustees approved the project Nov. 9. "There is no question that the Board has a responsibility to upgrade the facility," said Library Board President Judy Nickels. Now that the concept has been approved, "It will take a few months of working out the…
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Building once occupied full block in Lake Bluff until the late 1960s.
It's probably been more than 40 years since Heather Madison Walden has stood on the ground where the Lake Bluff Children's Home once occupied a full block near the northeast corner of East Scranton and Evanston Avenues. But this place holds good memories for her even if the circumstances that put her in the children's home from 1961-64 were not. Walden's parents were getting a divorce and her father had a drinking problem. "My Mom explained our going to the Children's Home like it was just like cousin Linda, who was going to college," Walden said. "'We will see you at times. We still love you,' my Mom said." While at the orphanage, Walden said she doesn't recall "any time where I was scared out of my wits, it was uneasy at times, but not …
Patricia Havrin
12:05 pm on Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Such details is what makes our towns history so very interesting. Thanks for sharing. more ›