Publications & Sites 
Tower Green in Western Springs is looking good
Viki Gonia
Updated: March 8, 2013 6:19AM
WESTERN SPRINGS — I guess I don’t drive by the Tower Green all that often, or else I’m not as observant as I’ve always thought I was, but some pretty big changes have happened in front of the Water Tower.
And by “pretty,” I mean it looks really pretty!
Western Springs turned 125 in 2011, and a Quasquicentennial Committee was charged with, among other things, designing and funding a gift to the village commemorating the anniversary. The Legacy Committee, via a Legacy Fund, has been soliciting donations to help fund the project of improving the entrance to the centerpiece of Western Springs, the Tower Green.
The village agreed to partner with the Legacy Committee to help complete the project, and has installed a beautiful new stairway entrance and wider sidewalk leading to the Water Tower, which houses the Western Springs Historical Society Museum. There are more plans for the tower’s new look, including seat walls and a bronze medallion set into the sidewalk that will honor the 125th Anniversary of the village.
These further plans are to be paid for out of the Legacy Fund, which has thus far raised about $47,000 through contributions from local businesses and residents. More is needed! If you’d like to donate, helping to further beautify the Tower Green and honor Western Springs, please visit the village website at www.wsprings.com and follow the link under News & Announcements to the 125th Legacy Gift Campaign. There, you’ll find links to the donation form, as well as to information about both the short-term and long-term goals of the project, which eventually hopes to realize a stunningly beautiful green space surrounding the Water Tower by its 125th birthday in 2017.
While construction on the new entry stairs was underway, the Western Springs Historical Society Museum was closed, but it is now reopened, and includes a new exhibit honoring Western Springs’ first full-time physician, Dr. Hospers. If you’ve never visited the museum, or haven’t for a while, it’s worth a stop to take a tour through the long history of our village. It’s free, and open 10 a.m. to noon Saturdays.
Speaking of the historical society, keep Sunday, May 19 open on your calendar — the biennial Western Springs House Walk returns, and will feature six homes of varying architectural styles. I’m sure I’ll have more to share about the House Walk as it approaches, but this is a don’t-miss event, so plan to attend. We have some really beautiful and historically relevant homes in this town. This is your chance to peek inside (without it being creepy and ending in peeping-tom charges). And all the proceeds benefit the great work of the Western Springs Historical Society.
I know May is a long ways off, but I really have nothing good to say about February, especially the weather. I know, I know, I’ve lived here all my life, I should be used to it, I should move to a warmer climate if I don’t care for the cold, I know. But there’s something about sub-zero temperatures when not accompanied by any appreciable amount of snow that’s just impossible to bear. Granted, I wouldn’t want to have to go out into these temperatures to shovel anything, but at least it would look pretty, as opposed to the cold, gray frozen tundra that sits outside my window as I write.
Spring cannot come soon enough!
Readers can contact Viki Gonia by leaving a message at (312) 880-8550 or by sending an email to doingsnews@pioneerlocal.com.
