The Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest has 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. 

As of March 2025, the Reaching for New Heights campaign has surpassed the halfway mark of its $1 million fundraising goal.  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 in our webstore.