 |
      |
About Old House Society
Mission
To promote and preserve buildings, landscapes, and neighborhoods more than 50 years old, and the communities and heritage they foster.
Goals
Since 1979, our goals have been to provide resources, education and advocacy to those interested in historic buildings; to maintain the aesthetic and human appeal of our irreplaceable older neighborhoods; and to ease the experience of owning and preserving older homes and buildings.
During the past 5 years:
- Our capacity to save historic buildings from destruction, restore them, and reuse their parts grew from none to more than 14,000 square feet of warehouse space between our Salvage Warehouse and our Restoration Center. We even moved an entire house!
- Our annual budget grew from less than $500 to more than $100,000.
- Our membership grew from fewer than 50 households in McLean County to more than 450 households in 6 states.
Membership
You do not have to own or live in an old house to join or benefit from the activities of the Old House Society. Visit our Membership page for more information and see how easy it is to become a part of history!
We're Here to Help!
If you want to restore your older home, building, or landscape, where do you even start? Our Salvage Warehouse (located at 214 E Douglas St. in Bloomington, IL) offers many hard-to-find and unique restoration items. It also houses our library and other resources including lists of contractors and suppliers experienced with historic preservation who are ready to help you with your project. We also use this space to restore salvage items to make them more useful to our members and customers.
If you need more information before you get started, become a society member for as little as $25/year and benefit from all of our events such as demonstration workshops, classes, and informal discussions to get answers to your old house questions. Also, our quarterly Newsletter keeps you up-to-date and informed of the latest local restoration news and services. We also accept older homes to restore or dismantle ourselves—we do the work, you get a tax deduction (contact us at info@oldhousesociety.org or (309) 820-0548).
The Board
• Mary Bowman
• Lori Bruer
• Nick Butzirus (Vice-President)
• James Dunnington
• Karen Fincham
• Patricia Morin (Treasurer)
• Mike Stivers (Secretary)
• Andy Streenz
• Diane Sullivan (President)President
• Mike Whelan
The Staff (info@oldhousesociety.org) |
|
 |
Mike Ryburn: Coordinator of Operations |
 |
Laura Walden: Warehouse Manager |
Everyone Should Know...
Preservation not only affects the owners of the building, but also the community in which it resides. Old House Society is just as dedicated to the neighborhood as the physical building. That's why we make it a point to host events such as house tours, as well as our Classic Homes Fair; endow "Gift to The Street" awards; and distribute copies of our books, Bloomington-Normal Lost and Picturesque Bloomington. The Architectural Salvage Warehouse is also open to the public.
The Fine Print
The Old House Society, an Illinois Corporation, is an Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Your contributions are eligible for tax deduction.