For nearly half a century, Lake Forest’s Ragdale Foundation has been a popular destination for artists seeking to find a retreat to concentrate on their craft.
Soon that experience will be far friendlier, as improvements are underway at one of Ragdale’s principal buildings.
Since December, crews have been renovating the Ragdale Barnhouse, just a few steps away from the main house in the 1200 block of Green Bay Road. The Barnhouse is used as Ragdale’s central dining facility, as well as the home for the administrative offices, the main conference room and some residential spaces for the artists.
One specific goal is to improve the quality of the dining area, where the wide collection of artists — including musicians, dancers and writers — get together for meals amid a collaborative atmosphere.
“One of the important things was conversations during dinner,” project manager Roland Kulla said.
The facelift is occurring at a building that is nearly two centuries old, according to Kulla. He noted a portion of the existing Barnhouse dates back to 1839, making it the oldest brick house in Lake County.
The Barnhouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 1897, acclaimed architect Howard Van Doren Shaw built the main house as a summer retreat for his family close to the existing brick house. Van Doren Shaw subsequently added a barn adjacent to the house, which later became a home for his daughter, starting in 1937.
In 1976, Van Doren Shaw’s granddaughter established the Ragdale Foundation, a retreat for artists. Several years later, she donated the property to the city, which retains ownership today with the property managed by the Foundation on a long-term lease.
Kulla said there have been a series of renovations over the years, but the Ragdale Foundation board concluded in recent years the existing space was too small and not adequate.
To lead the project, the board turned to a familiar face by retaining local architect Diana Melichar. She was a member of Ragdale’s Renovation Task Force Committee when the main Ragdale building (Van Doren Shaw’s summer house) was renovated more than a decade ago.
She and her team came up with the designs for the Barnhouse, acknowledging this was not a typical initiative.
“This is a real challenge because of the way it was conceived as a barn, and then it was adapted as a house,” Melichar explained, with her renderings perched atop some wooden boards. “You have to work with what you can accomplish.”
Eventually the Melichar team created plans for bathrooms connected to bedrooms for the artists, doubling the size of the kitchen and an expanded dining room, updating the space with sound abatements.
On the second floor, central air conditioning is on its way, along with a restoration of the building windows. Highlights of the changes to the exterior include a new roof and restored façade.
“We are trying to retain the original character in the original complex, while bringing it up to modern standards of living, Melichar said.
Kulla estimated the project will cost $1.2 million, where the funds will come from a $6.5 million overall capital campaign launched several years ago. He anticipates completion of the project over the summer, with hopes for an event in the fall to celebrate.
“I can’t wait for it to be completed,” Melichar said. “Because it is going to provide so much more pleasure for the residents to be together.”
