SAVED: Harley Clarke House and Garden
At a public meeting on December 10, 2018, the City Council of Evanston, Illinois, voted to abandon plans to demolish the Harley Clarke House and Garden, a city-owned Evanston Landmark on the shore of Lake Michigan. The council鈥檚 unanimous (9-0) decision came in the wake of an outpouring of public support for the historic property, expressed most emphatically on November 6, when more than 80 percent of Evanston voters approved a non-binding advisory referendum to preserve the site鈥攁n initiative led by the group Save Harley Clarke, which had gathered more than 3,300 signatures to place the question on the ballot. The mansion was built in the English Tudor style by Chicago architect Richard Powers in 1927 as a private residence for Harley Lyman Clarke, and the grounds were designed by the renowned Prairie-style landscape architects Jens Jensen and Alfred Caldwell.
开云体育官网 enrolled the Harley Clarke House and Garden in its Landslide program in July 2018, after the City Council rejected a community-backed plan to save the landmarked property鈥攁t no expense to taxpayers. Eighth Ward Alderman Ann Rainey then asked the council to consider a proposal from Evanston Lighthouse Dunes, a group of private citizens offering to pay for the demolition of the mansion. Citing strained city coffers, on June 18 the council approved a resolution authorizing the city manager to meet with the group. Aldermen voted to move forward with the demolition on July 23.