Architecture exhibit opens Friday

The Geneva History Museum will host a VIP/Members Only preview party from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 3, of the feature exhibition, "Inside & Out: Geneva's Faces, Places & Spaces," highlighting the people who designed, constructed and lived in some of Geneva's most interesting homes and buildings. This exhibition is sponsored by the Fabyan Foundation.

At 6:30 p.m., the Geneva History Museum board of directors will honor the museum building with a bronze plaque identifying the original portion built in 1907. This presentation will be followed by special guest speaker, David Bagnall, curator and director of interpretation at the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust, with stories of Wright and his work in Geneva.

The museum recently found an original signature of Wright in the archives on a letter he wrote to the founder of the Friends of the Geneva Library in response to their invitation to have Wright come out and discuss a possible addition in 1933.

The exhibition will feature past architects Frank Lloyd Wright, Walter Frazier and Howard Raftery, Jacques Brownson and Thomas Emma as well as builders such as the Wilson Brothers. Vignettes of each of their homes will include artifacts from the museum archives spanning the years of 1906, 1931, 1949 and 1964. Three video displays include the construction and interior views as well as interviews with current local architects on their designs and favorite Geneva buildings.

The exhibition will be open to the public 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, Feb. 4 through Nov. 4, at the museum, 113 S. Third St., Geneva. Admission is $3 per person, $2 for children ages 3 to 10, free for museum members, and includes the main gallery, "Geneva's Story."

Coming June through August 2017, Building Geneva, a children's architecture exhibit with hands-on building and design activities. For information visit GenevaHistoryMuseum.org or call (630) 232-4951.