Lake Forest-Lake Bluff History Museum

Lake Bluff’s Village Hall was built in 1905 on land donated by Fred Cornish, the village president, and his wife. Architect Webster Tomlinson, a protégé of Louis Sullivan and business partner of Frank Lloyd Wright, designed the building, which was paid for with $6500 received from railroad contracts.

The fire department, village clerk and village marshal office, and two jail cells occupied the first floor. Upstairs was a council chamber and meeting room, with a speaking tube down to the clerk’s office. The tower was designed to provide hanging space to dry the canvas fire hoses; however, it was never used for that purpose.

In the 1930s the tower was removed when it required repairs that the village board could not afford. In 1995, to celebrate the village’s centennial, Lake Bluff residents donated the funds needed to replace the tower. Renovations to update the interior and add a two-story addition were completed in 1997 and 1998.

Through the years the Village Hall has housed a variety of village departments including the fire department, the Village Board and the police station, and continues to be the administrative center of the Village.