Harley Clarke Mansion
[4] The approximately 18,500-square-foot mansion includes seven bedrooms, a spacious glass conservatory, ballroom, basement rumpus room and coach house—as well as six towering chimneys, and a curving stair hall.
[3] The house has Cotswold-style appearance due to its random-coursed ashlar masonry walls, which are adorned by both carved limestone and red sandstone trim.
[3][5] Harley Clarke was a wealthy utilities magnate who had, at one time, simultaneously served as the president and treasurer of five separate subsidiary light, power, and gas companies.
During the Evanston Art Center's occupancy of the mansion, the main-floor rooms were converted into exhibition galleries, and the second-floor bedrooms and third-floor ballroom were utilized as classroom space.
[8] In 2013, Evanston City Council rejected an offer from Jennifer Pritzker and her company, Tawani Enterprises, to renovate the Harley Clarke Mansion and convert it into a 57-room, boutique hotel.
[10] Later that year, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources began discussions with city council to purchase the Harley Clarke Mansion as "an office space and public coastal education center.
"[11] The deal fell through in early 2015, following the election of a new governor in November 2014 and Evanston's preference for a lease versus the sale the state agency wanted.
[15] In 2017 the city of Evanston issued a request for proposals from nonprofit organizations to lease the property and assume ongoing management and maintenance.
[18] The vote by city council prompted an editorial from Blair Kamin, architecture critic for The Chicago Tribune: "What in the name of progressive politics is going on here?
How can a left-leaning town that has shot down skyscraper proposals on the grounds that they would wipe out historic buildings be contemplating the destruction of an official city landmark?
"[19] Following that, a volunteer group called Save Harley Clarke filed petitions with the Evanston city clerk to place a nonbinding resolution on the November 2018 ballot.
[22] It was announced that the restored house would be home to print, paper and book binding studios, conference rooms and classrooms for teaching writing, and a papermaker’s garden.
"[19] According to Bonnie McDonald, president and CEO of Landmarks Illinois, "...(S)ome might call (Jensen) the equivalent of Frank Lloyd Wright in returning to an indigenous landscape and a reference to the prairie.
"[26] In a 2017 article on the Bob Villa website, "15 100-Year-Old Houses That Haven't Aged a Day," the Harley Clarke Mansion is ranked No.
14: "While Harley Clarke Mansion has at various times in its history served as a private residence, a fraternity headquarters, and a venue for local arts, it has never lost its original elegance or intrigue.
The ninety-year-old ... lakefront property ... has had such an enchanting effect on Evanstonians that the city recently decided to open its historic doors to the public again.
