Using family photos and interviews, original blueprints and paint tests, planners for the Lake County Forest Preserves are trying to re-create an era in four rooms on the main floor of the Adlai E. Stevenson House in Mettawa.
“We’re trying to restore it to circa 1965,” said Andy Kimmel, forest preserve spokesman, “which would be right before Stevenson died and an important time for the home.”
A $2 million state grant is boosting that effort, as well as repairs to the exterior and grounds where the former Illinois governor entertained politicians. The goal is to open the house to the public and use it for international retreats.
The Forest Preserve District, which owns the 66-year-old building and 40 acres along the Des Plaines River, recently completed $600,000 in exterior improvements, Kimmel said.
Over the next year, it plans to spend $1.4 million to finish the improvements, which will include the interior, though not to its 1965 condition. The newer-looking portion is envisioned as a center for international issues, even though plans fell through last year to partner with Barat College in Lake Forest, which was closed by its parent, DePaul University.
“We’re working with [former U.S. Sen.] Adlai Stevenson III to find an appropriate partner,” Kimmel said.