Or contact us at oprfhistorymatters@sbcglobal.net or 708-848-6755
The Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest, in March 2025, launched the public phase of its Reaching for New Heights capital campaign to add an elevator to make Oak Park River Forest Museum universally accessible and provide for more flexible and welcoming space to serve the public.
The elevator addition to the east side of its Oak Park Landmark building also would provide space for two additional restrooms and extra storage to allow the museum to continue to gather and store historical material related to the rich history of the sister villages. As a bonus, the project will allow the creation of an accessible and flexible community meeting and social space on the existing second floor of the museum. The new meeting room will seat about 100 people and will re-create the public hall that existed on the second floor when the building opened as a fire house in 1898.
After the Reaching for New Heights campaign passed the halfway point of its $1 million goal in spring 2025, fund raising accelerated and we are poised to sprint to the finish! In June, Oak Park residents Kendall and Patricia Hunt presented a $100,000 Challenge to our members, donors, and the entire community. As they did nearly a decade ago when we were raising funds to renovate and open Oak Park River Forest Museum at Lake and Lombard, the Hunts have pledged to match, dollar for dollar, all gifts and pledges made toward the construction of our new elevator addition up to $100,000.
All donors will be recognized, and there are naming opportunities available. For more information about the project or to make donations, contact Executive Director Frank Lipo at 708-848-6755 or visit the donate page on our website.
