FRIENDS OF THE EDWARDS HOUSE
DOWNERS GROVE
Friends of the Edwards House (FOEH) is the recipient of Landmarks Illinois’ 2017 Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Project of the Year Award for Advocacy. The group formed around an effort to save a local historic home, the Edwards House, from demolition by a developer. Despite a year-long grassroots campaign of social media organizing, community meetings, door-to-door education and lobbying village officials, the home was destroyed in June 2015. The attention generated by the campaign, however, led to increased interest in historic preservation from both community members and village leaders and spurred the creation of a committee to streamline the municipal preservation ordinance. As a result, the number of landmarked properties grew exponentially, from 2 to 15 over two years. Through FOEH’s persistent and effective local advocacy, the Village has come to view historic preservation as a positive value and community priority.
The team responsible for this project includes: Ken Lerner, Richard Kulovany, Mayor Martin Tully, Tom and Kathy Nybo, Christine Martin, Amy and David Gassen, Irene Hogstrom, Shanon Tully, Charlotte and Byron Holtzen, and Melissa Nyssen.