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Threatened
Dawes House in Good Hands
Evanston
Northwestern University and the Evanston History Center
have reached an agreement for the University to transfer
the Dawes House, listed on Landmarks Illinois’
2008-09 Chicagoland Watch List, and more than half of an
existing Dawes endowment fund, to the Evanston History
Center. Charles Gates Dawes, a former vice president of
the United States and a World War I general, donated the
house, its contents and the papers to Northwestern in
1942.
The agreement calls for Northwestern to retain the
papers and books of Charles Gates Dawes in the
University Library, where they are now kept, while the
house and all its furnishings would be given to the
Evanston History Center for use as a historical center.
Northwestern would retain a portion of the Dawes
endowment fund to maintain the library collection.
Northwestern and the Evanston History Center received
approval for the property transfer from the Illinois
Attorney General and the Circuit Court. Illinois law
requires approval of the court when property that was
given to one charitable organization is later given to
another or used for a different purpose.
The University along with the Evanston History Center –
headquartered in the Dawes House – maintained it as a
historical center since 1957. Northwestern closed the
house to the public in April 2008 because of the need to
make life/safety repairs identified by the city. At that
time, Northwestern was noncommittal about the future of
the house and in keeping its tenant the Evanston History
Center. Because the university would not state its
intentions for the house, and out of particular concern
that a new use could compromise its intact historic
interior which is unprotected by its local landmark
status, Landmarks Illinois placed the Dawes House on its
annual Chicagoland Watch List. It has since reopened.
“We’re very pleased that we were able to reach an
agreement with Northwestern so the History Center will
have a permanent home and the Dawes House will be
maintained as a historical center,” said Marge Wold,
president of the Evanston History Center.
“This agreement will allow the University to continue to
carry out its duty to preserve General Dawes’ papers and
other materials while giving the Evanston History Center
control of the Dawes House and property,” Eugene S.
Sunshine, Northwestern’s senior vice president for
business and finance, said. “The agreement will benefit
both the University and the History Center and preserve
the legacy of General Dawes in Evanston.”
To see the Dawes House listing on the
2008-09 Chicagoland Watch List,
click here.
For more information, go to:
www.evanstonhistorycenter.org.
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