I’m lucky enough to walk past a Frank Lloyd Wright house on Aurora’s West Side every morning, and every evening, too, if I walk an extra block while walking the dog. What really makes me lucky is the ability to appreciate a Frank Lloyd Wright (FLW) house. The geometric presence with its almost non-existent pale yellow and faded gray exterior sits as a stalwart on the southwest corner of Garfield Avenue and Gladstone Avenue without an historical marker.
The Greene House circa 1912 was once the smallest of Wright’s homes and it remains the only FLW in Aurora. Named after William B. Greene, a founder of Barber-Greene Equipment Company, the Prairie style home received an addition in 1926.
The home is privately owned and does not offer tours. I wonder if that’s the end of the story, or if we have a responsibility to maintain such treasures in our community.
Eventually it will be too late to preserve these iconic structures. They’ll be too far gone. The easier answer will be to demolish the unsightly buildings.
Luckily, there are some in our community who work hard to make sure that doesn’t happen, such as former Historic Preservation director for Aurora, Jan Mangers, who was recently honored for her preservation efforts. There are building owners such as Harish Ananthapadmanabhan, Jimi Allen, and others who have invested in restoring downtown properties.
A unique story is when a property can be saved for arts and culture, which is what happened when Fox Valley Music Foundation restored the city-owned building at 21 S. Broadway.
The nonprofit of music enthusiasts spent a few years looking for a great location to host live music shows when they hit gold with an old, vacant, once-upon-a-time-Woolworth-store.
The foundation enlisted the help of volunteers starting in March 2018 to renovate the property that suffered a catastrophic fire in 1934. Volunteers took shifts to clean out the building, remove debris and a drop ceiling, and ultimately rebuild it as a live music room.
Just over a year later in June 2019, The Venue opened to the public. The Venue will turn five this year, and the music room continues to have an impressive roster of volunteers who assist in a variety of capacities on show nights. The room is a gem, and it is an example of the power of elbow grease and passion.
The Venue will celebrate its fifth anniversary with a weekend of outdoor concerts in adjacent Mundy Park May 31, June 1, and June 2.
Allie Kral and the Night Krals will perform Friday, May 31. One of the best fiddle players in the Nation, Kral recently formed a new creative venture and jam band with the Night Krals.
Saturday, June 1, Grammy-nominated Liquid Soul will bring its “steady-grooving funk” to the stage. The acid jazz pioneers bridge the musical gap between standard jazz improvisation, funk, and hip hop.
Great Moments in Vinyl will return to The Venue with a tribute to Jimmy Buffett Sunday, June 2. Hosted by William Lindsey Cochran, a band of hand-picked Chicagoland musicians will play the songs that created the myth and give you the stories behind the music in Margaritaville.
The Venue will be host tp live music most weekends. For a full calendar of upcoming shows, visit themusicvenue.org.
Here’s a list of upcoming events to add to your calendar:
•May 31, June 1 & June 2: The Venue’s 5th Anniversary Weekend, Aurora. themusicvenue.org
•June 8 Aurora Greenfest, Prisco Community Center. auroragreenfest.com.
•July 27 & 28 Geneva Arts Fair, Geneva.
•August 31 Alley Art Festival will return for year 14 on the last Saturday of August. The grassroots art festival will be back along Water Street Mall and Downer Place in downtown Aurora. See alleyartaurora.com.
Marissa Amoni is the owner of Marissa Bright, a public relations and event management company specializing in shining the light on nonprofits and small businesses. Follow her on Instagram
@marissashinesbright.