When leaders of the Waukegan Park District and the Waukegan Historical Society started thinking seriously about saving and restoring the city’s onetime Carnegie Library — already a historic landmark — statewide recognition was not one of their goals.
Current historical society President Lori Nerheim said once they hired T. Gunny Harboe, a restoration architect with several awards to his credit, all they wanted to know was whether the building could be saved and repurposed.
Learning that the building could be restored to what it was like when it opened in 1903, numerous hurdles remained. They needed funding, title to the real estate and more, but seven years after a dream was hatched, the Waukegan History Museum at the Carnegie opened to the public on May 1.
Once open, Nerheim, Harboe, Park District Executive Director Jay Lerner and Ty Rohrer — part of both organizations — dreamt again, applying for the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Award in the rehabilitation category.
The Waukegan History Museum at the Carnegie will receive the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Award in the rehabilitation category on Nov. 7 in a ceremony at the Theater on the Lake in Chicago, for its meticulous restoration of the 122-year-old building.
“There’s a real sense of pride for all of us,” Nerheim said.
Sponsored by Landmarks Illinois, the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Awards honor individuals, organizations and projects that show a commitment to historic preservation. The history museum is one of nine winners, and the only one in Lake County.
Earning the award for rehabilitation, the museum was credited for taking a vacant and historically significant building and “painstakingly” restoring it, “to create a vibrant museum that celebrates the building’s unique and original features,” according to a news release from the organization.
As the project progressed, Nerheim said she was hopeful it would be a success and the restoration would be a significant moment, but when the museum opened in May she knew everyone working to make it happen meant something special for the city.
“Once we opened and people from across the Chicago area were coming, I knew we had something special,” Nerheim said. “Schoolchildren are coming every week on field trips. It is building community.”
Rohrer said shortly after the museum opened, he knew it was something distinct. Before then, it was a hope. As he saw the looks on visitors’ faces and heard their comments — especially from individuals who were there when it was a library — he knew the hard work was worth it.
“After the opening weekend, people came back to see the building,” Rohrer said. “People came and explored what was done. I heard what they said. After it opened, we realized what we hoped would happen, happened.”
“People talked about what they remembered when it was a library,” Lerner added. “They saw it, and they remembered so much.”
Driehaus awards are nothing new for Harboe. This one is his 10th since the first one in 1994 for restoring the Rookery in downtown Chicago. Originally built in 1888, Frank Lloyd Wright redesigned the lobby in 1905. Restoring significant buildings is Harboe’s passion.
“The first time I saw the building, I could see the potential,” Harboe said. “When we submitted our (Driehaus) application, I felt we had a good chance to win.”
When members of the historical society and Park District staff first got the idea to restore the onetime library in 2018, Rohrer said they first needed to know if it was feasible. They contacted Harboe, and approximately a year later, his report indicated it was doable.
Knowing the project was feasible was the start. Lerner said financing was not the only issue. There were a lot of ingredients necessary before they could ask Harboe to go to work designing the restoration and renovation of the building.
“We needed the money, and we didn’t own the building,” Lerner said. “The city sold us the building for $1. We had to buy the land (to the north) from (the Illinois Department of Transportation). We got an anonymous gift of $5 million. We got two grants for $3 million, another for $1 million and one for $500,000.”
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Between old photographs and other relics, Harboe said they were able to restore the original colors with special paint for the project. The rails on the staircases were made to look precisely like they were when the building originally opened.
“We wanted to replicate what was there in 1903,” Harboe said. “It was 2025, and we had to make it look like it was in 1903. We had some of the original wood.”