Addison Historical Museum traces five decades of local preservation

The Addison Historical Museum, located at 135 West Army Trail Boulevard, traces its origins to a Nov. 12, 1973 meeting of the Addison Historical Commission in which members proposed moving the 1892 Village Hall to the Municipal Building campus to create a local museum.

After the commission launched the Addison Historical Society in March 1974, the society made a museum its primary goal. Early collecting began in the 1960s when commissioner Pearl Morris, who worked at the Addison Public Library, started assembling written local historical materials that later formed part of the museum’s holdings.

The museum’s first accession is listed as 74Point101, a small handwritten notebook titled "Summary of Ordinances of the Village of Addison," originally loaned by Arnold Mueller and donated in 1987. In 1976 the commission was given rooms on the second floor of Village Hall (space formerly used by the police department); volunteers painted the rooms and prepared displays for a dedication that featured a flag presentation by Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, a speech by Museum Board Chairman Robert Bosworth and a ribbon cutting by Village President K. Arthur Naumann.

Early exhibits included a three-room layout with a barn-scene display featuring blacksmithing tools and a period living room furnished with pieces from the Edward Roderman home. When it first opened the museum’s public hours were Tuesdays and Saturdays, and school tours were offered by appointment. By June 1977 the museum had expanded to five rooms and operated on a reported budget of $1,000.

Growth pressures continued: a news article noted the museum was beginning to outgrow its space, and around 1979 the commission hired its first paid employee, Gloria Phu, to staff Saturday tours. The 1980s brought rotating exhibits (a 1982 kitchen display and a 1983 barn display) and new efforts to document and preserve collections; Vivienne Krentz was hired in February 1986 to catalog and collect oral histories.

Space shortages led to repeated proposals to move historic structures. In the early 1990s the commission and society sought to acquire and relocate the Balzer home and coach house; after a 1992 fundraising campaign the Balzer move was abandoned in 1993 because the society could not raise sufficient funds. The village later purchased the Century House at 129 Army Trail Road and the society shifted its resources to that restoration.

Renewed village support in the late 1990s allowed acquisition and renovation of the Balzer Home and Coach House. Grants helped fund the move and renovation, and the museum campus reopened: the renovated museum opened in September 2000, and the Coach House welcomed the public on International Museum Day in 2003. The museum celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2006 with tours and community events tied to village programming.

Around December 2010 the village moved museum operations under the community relations department to expand hours and better integrate exhibits with village events such as Rockin’ Wheels and local food festivals. Longtime part-time curator Jeanette Paradiso retired in 2016 after 19 years; Susan English was hired in September 2016 as the museum’s first full-time professional historical museum coordinator.

During the past decade staff and volunteers worked to raise the museum’s profile, led Addison’s Illinois Bicentennial commemoration in 2018 and prepared programming tied to America 250 in 2026. The museum added exhibits on Addison’s suburban growth and the significance of Route 20 (Lake Street), created online displays, and made its historic photograph collection available to the public online. It has received awards from the Illinois State Historical Society and the Illinois Association of Museums for projects and programming.

The museum continues to serve Addison residents and visitors; for hours, programs and visitor information, contact the Village of Addison or visit the museum section of the village website.