DUPAGE COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM GETS NEW ROOF

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DATE: November 17, 2015

The artifacts at DuPage County Historical Museum, from Victorian-era wedding dresses to a working model railroad to a Civil War battle flag of the 36th Illinois Infantry Regiment, all live inside one larger artifact: the building.

The roof has been replaced since the building was erected in 1891, though the current shingles are not the red slate the architect, Charles Sumner Frost, originally intended. It’s also leaking in places, damaging masonry and plaster and limiting where artifacts could be placed.

But the architect’s vision and the artifacts’ preservation are being boosted with extensive roof repairs, happening now through the end of November. Red shingles are replacing the current asphalt shingles, “so it will actually look like the building initially was supposed to,” said Michelle Podkowa, Museum Manager and Educator.

At first the state of Illinois awarded a $608,000 grant in 2014 to DuPage County, which owns the building, for roof renovations. However, the money never arrived.

Then Dan Goodwin, CEO and chairman of the Inland Real Estate Group, decided to make a difference. He had toured the Museum in 2014 and heard about the budgetary issues holding up the renovations.

Goodwin suggested changing the new roof’s material, which significantly cut costs, then donated $200,000 to the project through his company’s charitable wing.

He has a decades-long history of philanthropy, constructing “public-private partnerships” to complete projects that benefit the wider community.

“We in business must do what we can to help our county,” Goodwin said.

Mike Benard, Executive Director of the Wheaton Park District—which staffs the Museum—called Goodwin a hero.

“Your commitment to your county’s history is a commitment to your county’s future, and I congratulate you all for being a part of it,” Benard said.

The county, along with a $5,000 donation from the DuPage County Historical Museum Guild, is supplying the rest of the funding for the repairs, which will also fix water damage inside the building.

“It eases our mind that our [the Museum’s] artifacts are going to be even more well-protected with a roof that doesn’t leak,” Podkowa said. “And our building, which we like to call our largest artifact, will be more protected.”

The Museum will stay open during construction and all events will proceed as scheduled. Construction is expected to continue for several weeks.

For more information about the DuPage County Historical Museum, please visit dupagemuseum.org.