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Any homeowner will tell you, upgrades never come cheap

Posted November 05, 2009 10:00 pm

Jake Griffin

It took five workers six weeks to restore the intricate moldings that covered the living room ceiling at the Mayslake Peabody Estate near Oak Brook. Courtesy of the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County

Cost wasn't much of an obstacle when coal tycoon Francis Stuyvesant Peabody commissioned his sprawling retirement manor in what was a mishmash of farmland and virgin prairie west of Chicago nearly 90 years ago.

But cost is very much a concern these days as the DuPage County Forest Preserve attempts to restore the dilapidated Tudor-style house to its original splendor and find a new life for the estate that's tucked in among the mansions of modern day Oak Brook.

The recently completed restoration of the estate's living room spotlights the beauty of what had been hiding beneath years of utilitarian use when the estate was run for decades as a retreat house by an order of Catholic friars. But as the first major restoration to be completed since the forest preserve district passed the estate's master plan four years ago, it also highlights how slow the process is going and the difficulty of finding funds for the work.

"Times are tough," said forest preserve commission President Dewey Pierotti. "We have to evaluate where we're going to spend money and go forward with those plans, and the simple facts are that restoration projects may have to be slowed down, but not abandoned."

Funding dribbles in and work goes on. Project supervisors do what they can with what they get. One example of that is in the mansion's solarium. That room serves as the main visitor's entrance, said Chrissie Howorth, education site supervisor at Mayslake.

Funding for that $80,000 window and door project came from the Partners in Preservation program sponsored by American Express and the Midwest branch of the National Trust. The Peabody solarium project was one of 15 finalists for funding out of a list of 270 restoration projects the partnership examined in 2007, Howorth said. Most of the other grant finalist projects are located in Chicago, but the list also contains some suburban landmarks. Aurora's Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Hall received funds to restore and re-create nine art glass windows. The Spring Grove Fish Hatchery also received dollars from the partnership to perform restoration work on various structures at what is now a park. Geneva's Viking Ship received funding to do stabilization work on the 116-year-old relic from the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.

Those funds have spurred interest in restoration of the Viking Ship, supporters said. Incorrectly supported and somewhat exposed to the elements over the years, the ship is now being properly covered and has new movable supports as work continues.

"We've built a viewing ramp that lets people see inside the ship, which is a great improvement," said Lorraine Straw, president of Friends of the Viking Ship. "Then, on the inside, there's a system of cables that I comically call orthodontia for a viking ship. In the water this is a very flexible and twisty ship and the water makes it hold its shape, but in dry dock if it's not supported correctly it can open up like an overripe tulip."

At Peabody, Howorth hopes the seed money provided by the American Express/National Trust partnership helps spark a similar interest to complete the estate's $5.7 million restoration plan. Plans to finish restoration of the solarium at the mansion are next on the estate's checklist.

"It's an important room because it's the first room most people will see when they come to visit," Howorth said.

Between the ongoing solarium work and the recently completed living room, the district has something to hand its hat on to show progress. Just a few days ago, the district created the Mayslake Hall Restoration Society in an effort to spark philanthropic interest.

"We've already started seeing donations coming in," Howorth said. "The money we're receiving from those funds go directly to ongoing restoration projects."

Membership covers six tiers and costs from $100 to more than $5,000. Members also receive special benefits at the estate depending on their level of support. The perks include tickets to theater performances, recognition on plaques and various special tours.

In a perfect world, operations at the estate would be self-sufficient, Pierotti said. But that's not happening either. It takes about $500,000 a year to operate the facility, but contracts, educational programs, ticket sales and facility rentals are anticipated to generate only $75,000 this coming year, district finance officials said.

The district was chiefly responsible for the funding of the living room restoration, along with a grant from Peabody Energy that pays the estate $25,000 a year for the next five years. It cost almost $300,000. Key features of the restoration included rehabbing the intricate ceiling moldings, which had been painted over and were crumbling in several spots. It took five men six weeks to restore the ceiling, Howorth said. Layers of paint were stripped from the walls to reveal the room's original sandy, off-white color. New, specially treated wood-framed windows were built to replace aluminum windows that were put in by the friars. The living room is now being used as an art gallery and soon will feature an exhibit of blueprints and papers from renowned architect Daniel Burnham.

And once the solarium is off the checklist, dozens of other restoration projects await over untold years. On the first floor alone, a massive hand-carved, wood-paneled library, a dining room, a breakfast porch and entry hallway are all in need of work. Upstairs awaits another library that used to house one of the largest collections of Robert Louis Stevenson manuscripts as well as a multitude of bedrooms that will be used as offices and meeting rooms.

And that's just the restoration end of things. The district also wants to completely renovate the northern addition to the estate that was built by the friars in the 1950s in order to consolidate forest preserve educational programs at the site. That project is expected to cost $6 million.

"We have two wings in various states," Howorth said. "There's still plenty of work to be done."

DuPage County Forest Preserve officials said years of use and countless layers of paint by an order of Catholic friars had made the Mayslake Peabody Estate's living room feel cold and utilitarian. Courtesy of the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County

The 90-year-old Peabody mansion near Oak Brook is relying on grants and donations to help complete an $11.8 million restoration and renovation project that started in 2005. Scott Sanders | Staff Photographer

The solarium at the Mayslake Peabody Estate is scheduled to be the next and second room restored as part of a $5.7 million restoration project for the entire mansion near Oak Brook after new doors and windows recently were installed. Scott Sanders | Staff Photographer

The 116-year-old Viking Ship is the largest remaining relic from the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition held in Chicago and is undergoing rehabilitation thanks in part to grant funding from American Express and the National Trust. Rick West | Staff Photographer, 2008

Visitors to the Mayslake Peabody Estate near Oak Brook examine art work in the recently restored living room of the 90-year-old mansion. Scott Sanders | Staff Photographer

Suburban preservation American Express and the National Trust donated $1 million for Chicago area historic preservation projects in 2007 and six of the 15 locations were in the suburbs. Peabody Estate Location: Oak Brook Designed: 1919 Grant: $80,000 Significance: Mansion stands as a rare example of the opulent American gilded age Project: Repair and restore existing wood windows in solarium Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Hall Location: Aurora Designed: 1878 Grant: $55,000 Significance: Landmark honors Aurora's Civil War veterans Project: Restore and recreate nine art glass windows Viking Ship Location: Geneva Designed: 1893 Grant: $52,000 Significance: Built as an attraction for the Chicago World's Columbian Exposition Project: Stabilization work to provide better access Great Lakes Naval Station Hostess House Location: North Chicago Designed: 1942 Grant: $55,000 Significance: Designed by renowned modernist architect Gordon Bunshaft Project: Construct entry porch as building converts to museum Spring Grove Fish Hatchery Location: Spring Grove Designed: 1920 Grant: $65,000 Significance: State's first fish hatchery, now a park Project: Restoration to park site's physical structures Unity Temple Location: Oak Park Designed: 1908 Grant: $80,000 Significance: Renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright's first solo public commission Project: Repairs to roof City history Nine of the 15 projects that received split funding from the Partnership in Preservation program offered through American Express and the National Trust were located in Chicago. On Leong/Pui-Tak Center: $110,000 Quinn Chapel AME Church: $100,000 Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Cathedral: $75,000 Von Steuben High School: $68,000 South Side Community Art Center: $67,000 Robie House: $55,000 Bohemian National Cemetery: $26,000 Humboldt Park Stables and Receptory: $31,000 Homan Square Power House: $31,000

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