History Corner – PR Historical Society

The Park Ridge Historical Society is pleased to present a speaking program for Members, their guests and residents on Thursday, May 10^th beginning at 7:15 pm in the historic Mary Wilson House, located on the campus of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church.  There is no admission charge. 

Lee Bey, noted Chicago architecture historian, will present a lecture titled “Company Town:  The Architecture of Pullman.”   George Pullman – well known for his Pullman Palace Car Company’s elegant railroad sleeping cars — built a planned community for his factory and workers which still exists relatively unchanged in and around the intersection of 111^th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue in Chicago.  

Lee Bey is a respected Chicago writer, critic, and advisor on architecture and urbanism.  From 1996 to 2001 he wrote a weekly column in the Chicago Sun-Times that examined architecture, urban design and preservation.  Since then, he has served as deputy chief of staff for Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, advising him on architecture and urban planning, and more recently as Director of Governmental Affairs for the architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.   He is now adjunct Associate Professor of Architecture at the University of Illinois Chicago and is writing a book that examines unbuilt Chicago architecture. Mary Wilson House has a special place in the history of Park Ridge.  This hallowed auditorium, built in 1924, is the place where early moving pictures were screened and where a swimming pool was available to the community.  The House has served as the place for many community gatherings, and it is where the Society was founded in 1971.   

The entrance to Mary Wilson House is on Crescent Avenue west of Prospect Avenue.  The Society looks forward to seeing you there.