UTRF Blog

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

 
Today marks the start of work to repair and restore the badly damaged concrete in the south roof slab above Unity Temple's sanctuary. This is a $520,000 project, with funding coming from generous individual donations, the Unity Temple Unitarian Universalist Congregation, the Rotary Club of Oak Park and River Forest, the Women's Architecture League Foundation, the Chicago Community Trust, and a $200,000 challenge grant from Save America's Treasures, administered by the National Park Service.

 
So much remains to be done. UTRF must raise another $7 million to stabilize the structure. Every dollar you give counts -- every dollar makes a difference. It's easy to donate. Go to UTRF's website and click on "Support". Every dollar you donate will be matched dollar-for-dollar by our Save America's Treasures grant.

Help us raise the money to pay for these necessary repairs, so we can ensure that Frank Lloyd Wright's modern masterpiece stands for the next 100 years.
 

UTRF Awarded Prestigious Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services

 

We are delighted to announce that Unity Temple Restoration Foundation has received a grant for $82,852 from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to create more robust tourism program with richer offerings for the more than 30,000 visitors who tour Unity Temple each year. The grant will fund a wide variety of projects designed to improve the visitor's experience, including website upgrades, a digital audio tour, better signage, and new printed materials in many languages.

Representative Danny Davis (D-Chicago), Anne-Imelda Radice, IMLS Director and Marsha Semmel IMLS Deputy Director of Museum Services presented UTRF Executive Director Emily Roth with the grant at The Field Museum on Monday, August 31.  Read more about the IMLS Press Conference here. 

"This grant goes to the heart and soul of UTRF's mission. We are grateful to IMLS for recognizing the importance and potential of Unity Temple as a museum," said Emily Roth. "Unity Temple has so much to teach, and now we will be better able to serve our community."

“As repositories of our nation’s treasures and our nation’s history, museums are positioned to play an integral role in the education of their communities. Museums for America grants support projects and ongoing activities that build museums’ capacities and help these institutions serve their diverse constituencies to the best of their abilities,” said Dr. Anne-Imelda M. Radice, Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Read more about The Institute for Museum and Library Services after the jump.

The Unity Temple Centennial Gala :: "The Coming of Light"

Detail, "Starbirds Over Riells del Fai," David Jansheski, 2009

Join us on Saturday, September 26, 2009 for a once-in-a-lifetime gala celebration of the 100th anniversary of Unity Temple's dedication.

Enjoy a buffet of tastes...a bubbly toast...and the world premiere of composer Peter's Lieberson's "The Coming of Light," a new work of chamber music commissioned in honor of this historic occasion. Help save Frank Lloyd Wright's modern masterpiece, one of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.

Tickets are $150, $200, $500 and up. "Rows" of prime and premium seating in Unity Temple are available, along with acknowledgement in the Centennial Gala Program Guide and invitations to a VIP reception.

To purchase tickets click here or call 708-383-8873. If you are not able to join us, we welcome your donation . Your support helps pay for repairs that must be made immediately, including the shoring and restoration of the critically damaged south roof slab.

UTRF estimates that all but $50 of each gala ticket is tax-deductible as allowed by law.

Click below to read more about the World Premiere of 'The Coming of Light"

Prairie School Adventures Schedule Announced :: Summer 2009

Architecturally-Inspired Summer Camps
at Frank Lloyd Wright's Unity Temple
Presented by Unity Temple Restoration Foundation
Children Grades 3-5 :: Register Today

Printmaking Magic :: July 13-17 :: 9am-12pm :: $160 UTRF Members/$175 Non-Members

Art Glass, Nature & Wright :: July 20-24 :: 9am - 12pm :: $145/$155

City of the Future :: July 27-31 :: 9am - 12pm :: $145/$155

Unity Temple Restoration Foundation's Prairie School Adventures is a series of fun, interactive, high-quality educational programs for children in grades 3 through 5.  With the architectural principles of Frank Lloyd Wright and Unity Temple as inspiration, Prairie School Adventures explores architecture's relationship to visual arts, geometry, history, social studies, science and technology.  Programs integrate key concepts such as historic preservation and sustainable design, and create enriching experiences through hands-on art projects, dialogue between local architectural professionals and students, and site visits to significant local landmarks.

To register call 708.383.8873 or email jmiller@utrf.org

Historic Preservation & A Sustainable Future

 
A Burnham Plan Centennial "Community Conversation"

Thu :: Jun 4 :: 7pm :: FREE
How do you envision our future? Don't miss this chance to speak up and be heard in Go to 2040, metropolitan Chicago's official comprehensive planning campaign.

Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning is teaming up with UTRF, Landmarks Illinois, the Village of Oak Park and the Pleasant Home Foundation to encourage active citizen participation.  CMAP will electronically collect participants' opinions for integration into the final plan.

Our panel of experts:

• Mike Jackson, AIA, Chief Architect of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency
• Tom Bassett-Dilley, AIA, Chairman of Oak Park’s Historic Preservation Commission, and Principal of Tom Bassett-Dilley Architect, Ltd.
• Michael Iversen, RA, LEED AP, Principal of Michael Roy Iversen, architect and full-time doctorate student at the Urban Planning and Policy Program at UIC
• Ed Malone, Chair of the Oak Park Environmental and Energy Advisory Commission, and a partner at Barack Ferrazzano, Kirschbaum & Nagelberg LLP

Frank Lloyd Wright's Unity Temple, 875 Lake St., Oak Park. Call 708-383-8873 for info. Admission is FREE. Reception will follow.

“Eventually, I think Chicago will be the most beautiful great city left in the world.” -- Frank Lloyd Wright

Christy Webber Landscapes :: Nature + Industry : An Off-Site Tour

 

Tickets are still available, on a limited basis, to join Unity Temple Restoration Foundation for a special off-site tour of Rancho Verde, headquarters of Christy Webber Landscapes. 

The visit is Thursday, May 7 at 2:00 pm.  Tickets are $15-$20 and available here.  Registration is required.

Image courtesy of Jetson Green

A message from Emily Roth, Executive Director of UTRF

 

Unity Temple’s selection for the National Trust’s list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places is an enormous (though not necessarily joyful) honor. This is a critical time for Unity Temple--a critical crossroads—and to have such a prestigious organization as the National Trust acknowledge Unity Temple’s urgent needs is immensely meaningful. In the year that we celebrate the centennial of the building’s dedication, we may also rejoice that Unity Temple has, in fact, stood the test of time—albeit with a great deal of love and money—and still stands here today, unlike so many historic structures that have not been so lucky and are now simply memories: Sullivan’s Schiller Theatre, New York’s Penn Station, the Larkin Building…there are too many to name.

Unity Temple in the New York Times

 

The New York Times featured a story in the Arts section about the 11 Most Endangered Historic Places in the United States, as named by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.  Unity Temple has been named as one of these buildings.

Read the full story here.

Frank Lloyd Wright's Unity Temple, designed for Wright's own Unitarian congregation in Oak Park, is widely acknowledged as an icon of 20th century architecture. Dedicated in September 1909, the cubic, flat-roofed structure is also one of the earliest public buildings in modern times to feature exposed concrete, one of Wright's signature design elements. Years of water infiltration have compromised the structure prompting a multi-million-dollar rescue effort and designation as one of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Learn more and find out how you can help here.