‘Tales’ house walk in River Forest attracts many history, architecture fans – Chicago Tribune

About 330 people braved an early-May chill to embark on the Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest’s annual spring house walk, which featured historic homes in the western part of River Forest.

The house walk was titled “The Tales Our Houses Tell,” after the historical society’s goal of telling stories about the people who lived in the houses over the years, and how they fit into community history, said Frank Lipo, the executive director of the Oak Park River Forest Museum, which the society operates, before the tour.

“We had significantly more attendees this year than we’ve had in recent years, and I think it had a lot to do with the appeal of the fantastic houses we were able to feature,” said Rachel Berlinski, operations manager for the museum. “We also included more houses than we normally do, with a total of seven. This made for a busy and bustling afternoon full of storytelling.”

She noted that the homes help illustrate the early development of River Forest, in both architectural styles and the families that built and lived in them.

“Thanks to our volunteer researchers who dove into the history of each of these houses, we have a great new opportunity to share stories about some of the people who had so much to do with the development of River Forest in the earliest days of the village–especially the many branches of the Thatcher family,” Berlinski said.

She expressed gratitude to the home owners for both opening their homes and being good stewards of them.

“Thanks to the efforts of the current and past homeowners in preserving the integrity of these houses, so much of (their) history is still visible,” she said.