Waukegan History Museum opens in restored library building; ‘It tells the story … from the Ice Age to the 21st century'

Chicago Tribune

02-05-2025

Childhood memories came flooding back as area residents walked into the Waukegan History Museum at the Carnegie for the first time since the former library was closed in 1965 and was ultimately turned into a museum.
'I used to run up and down the stairs when I was a child,' Mary Whitlock Navulis, a Waukegan resident and native, said. 'The first thing I did when I walked in today was run down the stairs. It made me smile.'
'I remember sitting at those tables,' Tim Crowley said as he stood in the onetime Children's reading room — renamed the Bradbury Library — where author and city native Ray Bradbury developed his thirst for reading.
Waukegan Historical Society President Lori Nerheim snipped a ribbon, opening the Waukegan History Museum at the Carnegie as more than 300 people watched Thursday at the northeast corner of Sheridan Road and Washington Street, repurposing a restored historic building.
'This will be a vibrant learning center for the community,' Nerheim said. 'It tells the story of Waukegan from the Ice Age to the 21st century. The Carnegie gallery has space for exhibits and events. The Bradbury room is restored to the way it was when Ray Bradbury was a boy.'
Entering the Bradbury Room, three walls contain glass-encased bookshelves, and the fourth has a fireplace and other artifacts. Nerheim said the books once belonged to Bradbury. They were his private collection of volumes willed to the library upon his death in 2012.
'Everybody can look when the museum is open to the public,' she said. 'If you want to read the books, you'll have to make an appointment.'
Entering the building from the ground level, visitors see the Bradbury Room on the left, the gallery and a larger room a few steps up, then they descend two levels to learn the history of the city. There is a restored staircase and a new elevator available.
Jointly operated by the historical society and the Waukegan Park District, Anton Mathews, the president of the Park District Board of Commissioners, said the museum in downtown Waukegan will help spur development in the area.
'This is a symbol of resilience,' Mathews said. 'It will be a destination for people in downtown Waukegan.'
Ty Rohrer, the Park District's cultural arts manager and a member of the historical society's board, was heavily involved in the project from its inception. He is ready for the next step.
'All the memories of working on the project are flooding back,' Rohrer said after the opening. 'It's the place to tell history's story.
Ray Vukovich, a former member of both the Waukegan City Council and the Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 Board of Education, said he remembers how people wondered what would become of the building after the library moved to its present location.
'It came this close to being demolished,' he said, holding his thumb and fingers an inch apart. 'There was a deed restriction. It couldn't be sold to a developer.'
The future of the building was long a topic of discussion. Seven years ago, Nerheim said the idea of restoring the Carnegie library and making it the home of the history museum gained traction.
Already operating a history museum at the Haines House in Bower Park — it remains a museum with its own exhibits — Jay Lerner, the executive director of the Park District, said the restoration began to look real back then when an anonymous donor offered $5 million for the project.
After the city of Waukegan sold the property to the Park District for $1 five years ago, Nerheim said Gunny Harboe, an architect specializing in restoring historic buildings, was hired. Plans were drawn. Meticulous attention was paid to the details of recreating the look it had when it was first opened in 1903.
Mary Ross Cunningham, the vice chair of the Lake County Board, said the museum evokes memories of a place she brought her children when they were young. She lived on Market Street when she first arrived in Waukegan from an Alabama farm.
'We'd walk up the hill while I was pushing a stroller,' Cunningham said. 'I'd sit on the steps and read to my children. Now it's going to teach the young people where we all came from.'
John Durbin said he remembers numerous bus trips to the library with his mother when he was 4 and 5. She was an avid reader.
'She read four or five books a week,' Durbin said. 'We came here a lot so she could restock.'
Crowley said the library was walking distance from his home. He said he got a lot of books to read, with mysteries a favorite.
'I was an avid fan of Sherlock Holmes,' he said. 'It was a really old building then. There are a lot of memories here.'
Sylvia England, a retired Waukegan school teacher and the founder of the African American Museum at England Manor in Waukegan, said she likes what she sees in the restored building.
'This is one more stop on the journey,' England said. 'This is something to be celebrated.'