Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Historical Center has stapled the two towns together since 1972. Historically called the Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Historical Society, in 1998 the society relocated to its first museum from the Gorton Community Center. Now, a highly informative website operates for the museum, new exhibitions and research lectures regularly occur, and an exterior renovation of the museum’s landscape is underway.
The Historical Center was founded by Elmer Viliet with the mission to ‘connect people and inspire curiosity by exhibiting, preserving, sharing and celebrating history in Lake Forest and Bluff’ (according to the LFLB Historical Center website).
I think it’s important for people to be able to connect with the past in the place where they live.
Deputy Director and Head of Curation at the Lake Forest-Bluff Historical Center, Laura E. Stein, explained her position as curator: “As a curator, I oversee the research and interpretation that the museum does. I’m in charge of our exhibits. Coming up, we have a couple of fun exhibits that we’re starting research for, working on writing panels for, and finding artifacts and images; the next one is called returning home from war, and it’s gonna be about local residents who served overseas in the military.”
“I’m really passionate, especially about community history. I think it’s important for people to be able to connect with the past in the place where they live. And so, working at a local history museum like the history center was a great fit for me,” Stein remarked on her passion for the historical center and her job.
When asked about the various subjects the Historical Center explores and events organized, Stein said, “We do a lot of programming and have dozens of free lectures on a variety of topics; we just had one about the Rondeau train robbery in Lake Bluff. We also do walking tours of different places in the community, like Market Square. The big programming thing that we do is our main fundraiser, Local Legends; that is a chance for us to highlight someone who lives or works in the community who has made an impact on the history of the area and sometimes even the history of the country. We’ve honored people from the astronaut Jim Lovell to the architect Adrian Smith.” The Historical Center portrays significant and local history that has shaped American culture; “Next March, we have an exhibit for the 100th anniversary of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. One of Fitzgerald’s first girlfriends, Ginevra King was from Lake Forest – and she was reminiscent in his writing – so we’re going to do an exhibit about his visits to Lake Forest and how it has impacted his work,” Stein said.
Although the Historical Center focuses on showcasing the importance of local history, nuanced improvements and renovations are being made; “Recent renovations have been for our Garden Initiative, which is to turn the grounds around the history center. We have an expansive lawn both in front and behind our museum and we had the idea that it could be used to tell the history of the community. So, we wanted to highlight some famous architects from the area and some of the different styles of gardens that have been in town over the years,” Stein said. The Garden Initiative aims to honor architects and their styles in Lake Forest-Bluff.
Lake Forest-Bluff Historical Center is a fabulous place to learn about history and local heroes. School field trips and internships are offered by the organization, as well as insightful research opportunities. The Garden Initiative is in the works and aims to be complete by Summer 2025; beautiful architecture and landscaping will embody the variety of talent from locals who have lived in the community.
Indresh Chandel