Sign up now for the July 10 tour of The Villa

Greetings Bungalow Neighbors,

It's time to get your official rsvp's in for next week's WRBN members' tour to the Villa. Even if you previously expressed interest in the tour, PLEASE send another rsvp by Tuesday July 6, with the names of people coming. You may invite interested friends or neighbors as long as we know who's coming by Tuesday; the Villa group will add another docent if needed. The cost for the tour is $10 per person (cash only), payable on the day of the tour.

We'll assemble at the starting point at 10:00 a.m., rain or shine. Directions and meeting location will be sent to participants next week. The tour will last approximately 2 hours.

We will organize carpooling for those interested, so let us know if you can drive (& how many riders you could take) or will need a ride.

Jo & Maribeth

WRBN co-chairs

Our treasurer Ann Glapa is still accepting 2010 WRBN dues of $15 per household. You can drop off your check made out to West Ridge Bungalow Neighbors (or cash in an envelope labeled with your name) through the mail slot at Glapas house, or mail it to Ann at 2601 W Farwell Ave, Chicago 60645.

Villa Tour info:
Join us on July 10 for a private guided walking tour of the first significant bungalow neighborhood in Chicago, The Villa, a Chicago Landmark Historic District since 1983 http://www.thevillachicago.com/

The Villa celebrated its centennial in 2007, which means it was developed roughly 15 - 20 years ahead of our West Ridge bungalow neighborhoods.

The most prolific of the Villa architects was Clarence Hatzfeld, whose name you probably know as the architect for our very own Chicago Landmark, the IBP Field House. (He also designed our Green Briar Park and Chippewa Park field houses). We will be touring the interior of a Hatzfeld house, as well as some private gardens.

From the Villa website:

The Villa is "one of the city’s first planned urban developments, featuring streets divided by park-like medians, and strict covenants that governed density, land and building use, and architectural style" .

Also notable are the "rubble stone planters at every corner. These pillars, standing five feet tall or so, were originally constructed as stucco light stands, with globe shaped fixtures on top. In 1923, they were rebuilt as stone planters, possibly inspired by a house at the corner of Avers and Avondale with a rubble stone front porch and chimney."

You may notice that the Villla pillars are similar to the original pillars that mark the entrance to Indian Boundary Park on Lunt, just east of the Field House.

A wonderful new story from our neighbor Lynette, required reading for all bungalow dwellers: http://isgreaterthan.net/2010/06/memory-walls/

Nature By Design: A Tour of Four Historic Gardens

WHAT: Garden Tour – Nature By Design: A Tour of Four Historic Gardens
WHEN: Saturday, June 26, 2010 – 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
WHERE: Tour starts at the Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Historical Society
361 East Westminster, Lake Forest
COST: Tickets $30 in advance, $35 at the door

Experience the past and present beauty of four noteworthy local gardens Saturday, June 26 on the Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Historical Society’s garden tour, “Nature By Design: A Tour of Four Historic Gardens”. The tour is presented in conjunction with the Historical Society’s exhibit Nature By Design: Drawings of the Foundation for Architecture and Landscape Architecture, 1926-1935.

The tour highlights four gardens that still contain remnants of their original design, or have been thoughtfully restored: Covin Tree (the former Walter and Katherine Brewster estate), Fairlawn (the former Farwell-McGann estate), House of the Four Winds (the former Hugh and Mary McBirney estate), and Villa Turicum (the former Harold and Edith R. McCormick estate).

Participants in the tour will have a unique opportunity to compare the gardens’ current splendor with renderings created over 75 years ago by budding professionals. The exhibit Nature By Design features over thirty original sketches and watercolors of Lake Forest sites drawn by students of architecture and landscape architecture in the 1920s and 1930s. These students were invited to attend a special program of summer training in Lake Forest, the Foundation for Architecture and Landscape Architecture, where they learned from masters of the field and used the local homes and gardens as models for study. Among these models were the four gardens included in the tour.

The self-guided tour is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and begins at the Historical Society, where participants will pick up their tour booklet. Tickets are $30 in advance ($35 at the door) and available on the web at www.lflbhistory.org or by calling the Historical Society at 847.234.5253.

The Nature By Design exhibit will have special hours for those on the tour and will be open on June 26 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.. The exhibit is generally open to the public on Tuesdays,Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. The Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Historical Society is located at 361 E. Westminster in Lake Forest.

The program was made possible by contributions from Lesser, Lutrey & McGlynn, LLP