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‘Step Back into a 1950s Christmas!’ Exhibit, 1950s Park Forest House Museum


Park Forest, IL–(ENEWSPF)–December 3, 2015.  The 1950s Park Forest House Museum, 227 Monee Road, Park Forest, Illinois, in St. Mary’s Catholic Church, invites you to “Step Back into a 1950s Christmas!” exhibit, open December 2, 2015 through January 2, 2016. Call to confirm open hours for Saturday, December 26. The museum is open Wednesdays and Saturdays 1:00 to 3:30 p.m.; and by appointment, when possible. Admission/Donation is Adults $5.00; 12 and under free; one adult free with the purchase of a Marshall Field’s Brick. Parking is in the small lot by the flagpole. Knock on the door next to the museum sign to be admitted. Call Jane Nicoll, Museum Director, at 708-481-4252 to confirm opening in case of extreme bad weather. The museum is operated by the Park Forest Historical Society. This new location is accessible with accessible washrooms down the hall.

Take a break from the hustle and bustle of 21st Century preparations to spend quality time getting a dose of Holiday Nostalgia. Vintage decorations are in every room. The museum features a musical, Black Forest green, aluminum, rotating tree–a Brilliant Noble Fir, made by the C. Sincere Company in Chicago, decorated with Mid-century modern ornaments. Gurley Candles and Rosbro plastic figurines, dolls, toys, and games will bring back memories to share. The museum will have some Hanukkah decorations on display.

The society is selling bricks from the Marshall Field’s Park Forest Store to support the museum and the mission of preserving and sharing Park Forest history. Bricks are 1 for $15; 2 for $25, and come with a Certificate of Authenticity and a history of the Marshall Field’s Park Forest Store.

Prints of Annabelle Gould’s vibrant watercolor showing the Park Forest Plaza and Holiday Theatre are on sale for $15—quantities of the print may be limited. Books and other items on Park Forest are also available at the museum and in the online store, at www.parkforesthistory.org. Shipping and handling for bricks is $12; $6 for prints. Bricks and prints may also be purchased during open hours at the Recreation and Parks desk at Village Hall, 350 Victory Drive.

The Marshall Field’s Park Forest Store was the first to be in a shopping center, beginning the long association between Philip M. Klutznick and the Field’s company which led up to Water Tower Place.

For information on Marshall Field’s Bricks, contact the Society’s Business Manager, Mike Gans, at 708-305-3308. Questions on the museum and exhibits should be sent to Director, Jane Nicoll through the email on the website.

“Like” the 1950s Park Forest House Museum and the Park Forest Historical Society at their pages on Facebook! Follow us on Twitter @1950smuseum.

After January 2, the museum will be closed in January, except by appointment.

Source: Park Forest Historical Society


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