Lombard raising money to make history accessible

The Lombard Historical Society prides itself on preserving the Lilac Village’s history for all to see, but a second-story exhibit displaying 100 years of change is not handicapped accessible.

Soon, the society will raise money to make one of its properties — and the historical information inside it — more accessible to everyone, including people who use wheelchairs, walkers or canes.

“We have two museums and they were really houses,” said Corinne Flemm, president of the historical society’s board. “Houses aren’t built to be museums.”

One museum, the Victorian Cottage at 23 W. Maple St., has a coach house on its property that will receive the majority of the planned accessibility improvements and a two-story addition, Flemm said.

“We’d like to have more storage on the second floor,” Flemm said. “The first floor addition would be our archive room and the old room would be for exhibits.”

The addition would allow the society to move its “1869-1969: 100 Years of Change” exhibit to an accessible space in the coach house and accommodate classes of schoolkids without splitting them into smaller groups, historical society Executive Director Jeanne Schultz Angel said.

Preliminary plans also include accessible washroom facilities inside the coach house, said Ed Seagraves, historical society member and retired Lombard fire chief.

“We don’t have any restrooms that are handicapped accessible and we don’t have any display space,” Seagraves said. “We want to be able to have the carriage house to be used more effectively for our archive space and for a display.”

Society members are searching for an architect to design the addition and possibly other changes to the Victorian Cottage property, which brings visitors back to the 1870s.

“You have something that’s quite old to begin with,” he said. “We’re trying to make some good decisions that people are going to see 50 years from today.”

The society also is preparing to launch a capital campaign in September to pay for the project’s estimated $230,000 cost.

About one-third of that money already is in the historical society’s hands, Flemm said.

In January, Schultz Angel announced the society received a $70,000 grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources that will go toward the addition and accessible features. Donations — including about $15,000 already received — will bring in the rest of the needed funds.

Additional volunteers, including those not already affiliated with the historical society, will be welcomed in the group’s efforts to make Lombard’s history more readily accessible.

“We’re looking for people that are interested and have a love of the history of Lombard,” Flemm said.

Anyone interested in assisting with fundraising efforts can call the Lombard Historical Society at (630) 629-1885.