American tradition focus of Libertyville walking tour

The annual walking tour in Libertyville this year will be a reminder that sitting a spell also has a place in history.

Front porches will be the focus of MainStreet Libertyville's 7th annual self-guided historic walking tour, which will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 5. Tour booklets describing the history of and directions to 15 homes will be available in Cook Park, Milwaukee and Cook avenues, for a $10 donation to the downtown revitalization group. The event is sponsored by the Tranel Financial Group.

Perhaps moreso than the architectural style of a home, the front porch can provide a snapshot of a way of living and sense of place that has all but disappeared in mass produced suburbia.

As place to sleep on a hot summer night before air conditioning, a gathering spot for friends or family or just a perch to watch the local world go by, front porches were ensconced as part of home design by the beginning of the 20th Century.

By midcentury, changes in technology led to the disappearance of the front porch, according to a house walk introduction written by David Nackoney, a member of MainStreet's design committee.

The significance of porches was lost as families moved to less dense suburban neighborhoods designed around the automobile. Air conditioning kept people inside and television gave them another form of entertainment, according to Nackoney.

Porches tended to serve more to appeal to the imagery of a good home rather than a true social gathering place, he contends.

But there appears to be a front porch rebound.

Some homeowners, who replace old homes with new models in established neighborhoods, make the front porch a prevalent feature. Reviving the front porch will be the focus, for example, as new developers restart the long-idled School Street project east of downtown.

But several originals remain on homes throughout Libertyville.

"It was my husband's idea, he's really in love with porches," said Joan Suzio, co-chair of the design committee, which does the leg work on the house walk each year. "The instant reaction was, 'We've got so many examples.'"

Among them is 312 Broadway St., a modified Queen Anne-style home built in the late 1890s as a wedding present for the daughter of a builder who lived in the neighborhood, and 205 W. Cook Ave., a Dutch Colonial built at the turn of the last century.

Owners will be on hand to share their stories and tell how they use their porches, and participants will get to see a bit more of some of the homes than in the past.

"It grew from walking past the houses to people offering to show their gardens," Suzio said. "This year, we have a number of people offering to show a portion of other first floor. That will give people a better experience."

As always, the big picture purpose of the event is to share a love of history. After being studied and shelved several years ago, the village has established a historic preservation committee to make a recommendation to the village board on whether a historic preservation ordinance is something to consider.

"What we're really trying to do is increase the awareness of the treasure we have in our old buildings," Suzio said.