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Community Corner

Patch in the Parks: Stevenson, Cheney Mansion and the Conservatory

Our progress report on the Park District of Oak Park continues.

Back in 2005, the sought a referendum that raised property taxes in exchange for the promise of more robust park offerings throughout the village.

Six years and more than a dozen master plans later, renovations for many local parks are either underway or nearing completion.

This is the last in Oak Park Patch’s series examining what the Park District of Oak Park has accomplished. As in all of our other stories, we've added up how much the renovations have cost. In other words, this has been a look at what your money's been paying for the past several years.

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Where: 49 Lake St., three blocks west of Austin Boulevard.

Size: Approximately 3.3 acres.

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History: Stevenson Park was acquired by the Village of Oak Park in 1916 and named after author Robert Louis Stevenson. The Park District entered into a 99-year lease agreement with the Village in 2006 rather than purchase the property outright because two underground water reservoirs are located there. The center was built in 1965. The second water reservoir was installed in the eastern part of the park in 2002.

Features: Stevenson features a baseball field, one multi-purpose field, two age-appropriate playground areas, a skate park, three half basketball courts, and a facility with restrooms, a teen center and a multi-purpose room for various park district programs.

Work Accomplished So Far: The for Stevenson is under review. The first phase of improvements is slated for 2014. The skate park will receive equipment improvements every other year starting in 2012.

Costs: Estimated at $300,000.

Grant funded: No.

What's Next: Work is slated to begin in 2014.

Where: 220 N. Euclid Ave., at Ontario Street.

Size:
Approximately 2.2 acres.

History: Cheney Mansion was designed in 1913 by Charles E. White, Jr., a student of , for the Sharpe family. It has six bedrooms, seven bathrooms, many reception rooms, a ballroom, coach house and greenhouse on two acres of landscaped grounds. It was purchased in 1922 by Andrew and Mary Dole and inherited by their niece, Elizabeth Cheney, who deeded it to the Park District in 1975. The Park District took ownership of the property in 1985. It was designated a landmark by the village in 2004.

Features: Current features include a historic home, coach house, and decorative gardens around each. The home and grounds are used for Park District programs and private rentals. There is also an aged greenhouse that is currently not being used, as it needs significant repair.

Work Accomplished So Far: Phase I Master Plan improvements, scheduled to begin in the late fall of 2011 and conclude in spring 2012, include main entry identity signage, main entry sidewalk improvements, an accessible walkway with improved landscaping from the main entry to the house solarium, a new south garden access walkway leading to the back patio area and a new walkway to the north garden area.

Costs: Estimated at $200,000.

Grant funded: No.

What's Next: In 2012, roof replacement/repairs are slated for the coach house at an estimated cost of $125,000.

Where: At 615 Garfield St.

Size:
Approximately .80 acres.

History: The Conservatory began in 1914 as a way of providing a place to house exotic plants that residents collected during their travels abroad. The present Edwardian-style glass structure, built in 1929, houses a botanical collection of more than 3,000 plants, some of which date back to the Conservatory’s founding. Over the years the building fell into neglect. In 1970, the Friends of the Oak Park Conservatory (FOPCON) was formed and led a drive to preserve it. In June 2000, the Conservatory Center was opened to provide expanded space and facilities for educational programming, operations and public events. In 2004, the Oak Park Conservatory was designated an Oak Park landmark and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

Features: The facility features three display rooms for the public, two growing houses, one meeting room, administrative offices for Conservatory and the Friends of the Oak Park Conservatory staff and a decorative outdoor garden.

Work Accomplished So Far: A site master plan for the Conservatory site was completed in 2009. Phase I site master plan improvements were completed in 2010 with construction of a new outdoor garden area, named in memoriam after Herbert M. Rubinstein, a long-time Conservatory supporter and volunteer. Lead abatement was also done in the Tropical House. Approximately $296,762 from the Friends of the Oak Park Conservatory and private donors funded the garden project. 

Costs:  About $609,307.

Grant funded: No.

What's Next: Phase II master plan improvements along the Garfield Street and East Avenue frontages are proposed for 2014. Estimated cost is $150,000.

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