Facelift Complete on Community Gem

The Cook Mansion in Libertyville recently underwent an exterior renovation.

If you've driven past the Cook Mansion in downtown Libertyville over the past eight weeks, you've undoubtedly noticed some exterior work going on. It took about 879 man-hours, 27 gallons of paint stripper, 57 gallons of paint, 22 tubes of caulk and 14 bags of cement for the stucco, but now the Cook Mansion has been restored to its former glory. "We take care of the inside of the house. We're extremely pleased with how the outside turned out," said Lynne Stetz, membership coordinator for the Libertyville-Mundelein Historical Society. "These guys treated it as if it were their own home," Mayor Terry Weppler said of the workers involved in the restoration. The Cook Mansion was gifted to the village on Aug. 2, 1920, said Mike Foley, owner of …

•  2 Comments
• Photos (10)

Cook Mansion Undergoing Facelift

The Paint the Town project is being funded through donations from the community.

In four to six weeks, the Cook Mansion will look like a brand-new building, thanks to the efforts of the Libertyville community. The Ansel B. Cook House, built in 1878, is undergoing a facelift that will include patching of exterior stucco and repainting the building. "We're taking it back to its glory days," said Mike Foley, owner of DiVinci Painters, who is leading the efforts with Roch Tranel of The Tranel Financial Group. The two companies created the Paint the Town Foundation, a non-profit to fund the renovations. Instead of the village footing the bill, community groups and individuals have contributed about $25,000 to the effort, Foley said. Tranel helped with the fund-raising. Thanks to donations like the $2,500 apiece given by …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (4)

Cook House Offers Open House Through August

Libertyville Mundelein Historical Society will be offering weekly tours on Sunday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

An icon in the heart of Libertyville, the beautiful Cook House has lived three lives. It began as a private residence, then it functioned as Cook Memorial Library, and finally it became the home of the Libertyville-Mundelein Historical Society and Victorian Museum, according to our history columnist Laura Hickey. For the full history of Cook House, read One House, Three Lives.

• Photos (5)

Tidbits From Libertyville

One House, Three Lives

A history of the Cook House.

An icon in the heart of Libertyville, the beautiful Cook House has lived three lives. It began as a private residence, then it functioned as Cook Memorial Library, and finally it became the home of the Libertyville-Mundelein Historical Society and Victorian Museum. Origins of the House The house was constructed in 1878, and was home to its namesake, Ansel B. Cook, a Chicago contractor. His company held the masonry contract for the original Water Tower and was responsible for laying most of the flagstone walks in Chicago. Though his work took him to the city, Ansel decided to build a country estate in Libertyville. With his third wife, Emily Barrows Cook, Ansel drew up the plans for Cook Memorial Library. Emily contributed a reading garden…

• Photos (3)