Gaylord Building

The Gaylord Building (1838) played a vital role in one of the great enterprises of the 19th century: the digging of the 96-mile-long Illinois and Michigan Canal. The I & M Canal linked Lake Michigan with the Mississippi River, creating a waterway that opened a prosperous trade route from New York to New Orleans. This handsome limestone warehouse stored construction materials for the canal. In later decades the building was used for grain storage, a general store, and a plumbing supply house and expanded with Greek Revival-style and Italianate additions. In 1987, descendents of George Gaylord, one of the former owners, rehabilitated the building and it became a model for preserving historic sites for new uses.

Regional Events

Architecture Fantasy Camp, 03/07/08
Chicago, Illinois
Within the magical drafting room of Frank Lloyd Wright's Oak Park studio, participants will work with accomplished architects to plan and design their own buildings, culminating with the execution of a floor plan suitable for framing. For non-architects only.

Copy of Walk and Wine at Wright's Robie House Tour, 09/13/08
Chicago, Illinois
Tour Chicago's Hyde Park and enjoy wine at Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House.

Seminar for Historical Administration, 11/01/08
Indianapolis, Indiana