Large portions of the original quartersawn white oak floors at Pleasant Home, a National Historic Landmark in Oak Park, Ill., were ripped out and discarded in a dumpster Easter weekend as part of a renovation project, Wednesday Journal reported. Preservationists and architects are now speaking out about the destruction of the wood flooring, which dated back to 1897.
“This is an affront to our organization’s principles,” preservationists at Pleasant Home Foundation (PHF) said in a statement denouncing the removal of the wood flooring. PHF is working with the Park District of Oak Park to renovate Pleasant Home and says it found out about the park district’s demolition of the historic floors after the fact on April 8.
Members of the Pleasant Home Foundation said they were made aware of the historic flooring's removal after the fact.Pleasant Home Foundation
PHF said it had been informed by the park district that the plan was to restore and repair the original floors and that they were “lied to.”
However, the park district’s 2023 fiscal year budget states its goal to “replace first floor flooring at Pleasant Home by April 1” for $40,000, according to Wednesday Journal. The park district planned to install new wood flooring in the space and open it up to the public by April 20.
Architectural and structural engineer Stephen Kelly told Wednesday Journal that the original wood flooring could have been easily repaired and was “irreplaceable” and made of old growth wood from a virgin forest. “[The new flooring is] not going to be as hard as the original flooring and it’s not going to wear as well,” he told Wednesday Journal.
Another photo shared in the Preservation Oak Park Facebook group showed a portion of the removed flooring found in a dumpster.
The demolition sparked a “furious response” from local preservationists and donors, and the renovation project is losing support, according to the report.
Park District of Oak Park Board President Kassie Porreca said the organization is “very apologetic.”
“We are all stewards of this community treasure of Pleasant Home, and all have our part to play in preserving and restoring it and making sure that it is here for generations to come to use and enjoy,” she said.
