The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County has received a $750,000 grant that will be used toward a $6 million renovation project on the 100-year-old Mayslake Hall at Mayslake Peabody Estate in Oak Brook.
Along with the grant from the Public Museum Capital Grants Program, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Illinois State Museum, the project is being funded by a recent bond issuance and includes architectural design, civil engineering, permitting and construction. The Forest Preserve District has set June 2023 as a target completion date, said Anamari Dorgan, director of community engagement services.
“The work being done with this project is to basically seal the envelope, so we can protect the interior,” Dorgan said. “We need significant structural work on this 100-year-old building, and we hope to keep it for another 100 years, if we can improve the exterior.”
Forest Preserve District landscape architect Mark Decker said the certified master plan project will repair structural deficiencies and other problems with the roof, masonry, wood, stucco, windows, doors and foundation. It will also improve drainage and accessibility. The project was included in the District’s 2019 master plan.
The Forest Preserve District hired an architectural consultant in 2020 to assess the building envelope to identify structural problems and material deficiencies that were contributing to water damage and other issues. That assessment was the basis of this project.
Although the mansion was temporarily closed for repairs, starting May 31, the surrounding forest preserve and off-leash dog area remains open. First Folio Theatre will build its 2022-23 season on the grounds of the estate around the construction schedule.
The Forest Preserve District is already planning new exhibits and programs for Mayslake Hall’s reopening in 2023, including an exhibit of Joel Sheesley’s paintings of the West Branch DuPage River, according to the Forest Preserve District. The restoration work done on the West Branch will be highlighted with talks and a reception.
The Forest Preserve District has already made some improvements to the site.
In 2021, it replaced the asphalt in the west parking lot and addressed the lot’s insufficient base, which created surface integrity issues, such as potholes.
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In 2019 the District restored the walnut staircase in the main hall, stripping the stairs and treads and then restoring them to show the original wood graining.
In addition, several restoration projects at Mayslake, have been completed, including the hall’s living room, areas of the main library, solarium and a few exterior features. Private donations and grants helped fund these projects.
Donations can be made at dupageforest.org/donate-to-mayslake.
Mark Decker, Landscape Architect, DuPage Forest Preserve District, Kevin Horsfall, Assistant Director of Planning, DuPage Forest Preserve District, Deanne Mazzochi, Illinois State Representative, Linda Painter, DuPage Forest Preserve District 3 Commissioner, Daniel Hebreard, DuPage Forest Preserve District President,
Tina Tyson-Dunne, DuPage Forest Preserve District 2 Commisioner, Suzanne Glowiak Hilton, Democratic member of the Illinois Senate from the 24th district. Forest Preserve District staff and restoration contractors discussed to the public the upcoming exterior structural work at the Mayslake Peabody Estate in Oak Brook, Ill. Saturday July 18, 2022.
The Mayslake history goes back to 1919, when Francis Stuyvesant Peabody commissioned renowned Chicago architect Benjamin Marshal to design the Tudor Revival-style mansion that is known as Mayslake Hall, according to information from the Forest Preserve District. Mayslake Hall is on the National Register of Historic Places and is one of the last remaining examples of the country estates that were coming in DuPage County between 1880 and 1924.
In 1926, the estate was sold to the Franciscan Province of the Sacred Heart, which operated the estate as a retreat house, adding a retreat wing and chapel to the west side of the mansion. The Forest Preserve District acquired the estate from the Franciscans in 1993.
Chuck Fieldman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.