The 1950s Park Forest House Museum, 227 Monee Road (inside St. Mary’s Catholic Church), Park Forest, invites the community to “Step Back into a 1950s Valentine’s Day,” from February 1 – March 8. The museum is open Wednesday and Saturday, from 1 to 3:30 p.m., and at other times by appointment.
One room represents a classroom in Forest Boulevard School, which was set up in a row of townhomes. The classroom is decorated for a 1950s Valentine’s Day party, with crepe paper candy baskets and construction paper heart-shaped valentine “mailboxes” on each desk. Red honeycomb, puffy hearts and vintage valentines are on display throughout the house. A selection of antique valentines and vintage collectibles also are on display.
Admission is $5 for adults, with children 12 and under free. Masks and social distancing are required for all visitors over the age of two. Park in the small lot and knock on the second to last classroom door, next to the museum sign. A guide will present information on village history and social and fashion trends of the era.
Special tours may be arranged by calling Jane Nicoll, 708-481-4252, or Michael Gans, 708-305-3308. Information on the society and museum, and email contact is at www.parkforesthistory.org.
Operated by the Park Forest Historical Society, the museum represents an original rental townhome, furnished as it might have been from 1948-1953. Park Forest is the first fully planned, post-World War II suburb, built to give preference to World War II veterans. It was the subject of William H. Whyte’s, “Organization Man,” and of Gregory Randall’s, “America’s Original GI Town.” The museum began in September 1998 as a two-month temporary exhibit in an original rental townhome.
The museum is a great way to get acquainted with Park Forest’s unique history. It is a nostalgic trip down memory lane for anyone who lived in the 1950s or 1960s. Contents of the house, furnished for a young veteran and his family, include dolls, toys, dollhouses, books, dishes, furniture, and clothing from the period. When is the last time you said “Hello” to Howdy Doody?
The Society manages the Park Forest Local History Collection and Archive, with the bulk of its primary resources held at the archive at St. Mary’s. The Park Forest history file, with more than 270 files, is available in the museum, along with 77 “OH! Park Forest” Oral History transcripts. Information on the Society and the museum also can be found on Facebook, Twitter and Google.
The Park Forest Historical Society is looking for more members and for more volunteers to show the museum and to work on the Park Forest Local History Collection and Archive.