February 13, 2019 -- The City of Highland Park's HP150 Architecture Committee is offering a number of historic architecture programs throughout 2019 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the City’s founding in 1869 including bus, bike, and walking tours. Residential and non-residential architecture-related events will begin the second week of April and run through the end of September.
HP150 Architecture events are listed below. Sign-up information for public tours is available at www.cityhpil.com/arch.
Historic Homes Celebration – April-May
Yard signs will be placed throughout Highland Park to indicate a select number of historically significant and noteworthy homes.
FOCUS on the Arts Bus Tour – April 12
This 90-minute bus tour is for Highland Park High School students. A docent will highlight renowned residential styles including vernacular, historic revival, prairie, modern, and post modern.
Self-Guided Bike and Walking Tours – April-September
As an addition to the City’s current website (www.cityhpil.com), an interactive map will go live in April with descriptions of architecturally-significant homes and sites, which were compiled based on four National Register Historic Districts, individual National Register listings, locally listed sites, seven architecture surveys commissioned by the City between 1999 and 2007, and two new surveys of the areas.
The website features links to architectural walking tours that can be downloaded. Printed maps will be available at City Hall and the Highland Park Public Library. The interactive map will be available at www.cityhpil.com/arch in April.
What Style is That? Bus Tour – May
Two docent-led bus tours will showcase residential architecture throughout the city and reveal amazing facts about the development of Highland Park’s neighborhoods. These tours are open to the public.
Open Doors Highland Park – September 28
This free self-guided tour day is open to all and allows individuals to enter non-residential buildings and learn about the history of each site.
The Highland Park sesquicentennial (150th anniversary) celebration takes place throughout 2019 with highly visible special events, concerts, City tours and more to bring the community together to celebrate. There are a number of ways to get involved with the celebration and make 2019 a year to remember.
Learn more about how to get involved and view all HP150 events including the Big Bash at www.cityhpil.com/HP150.