Sylvia Dunbeck, Class of 1987
“This is my contribution to modern architecture,” so said Frank Lloyd Wright when speaking of his Unity Temple. Closed since 2015 for restoration, preparations are being made for a grand re-opening in the next few weeks.
Built in 1909 for the Unitarian congregation of Oak Park, with a budget of $35,000 but an ultimate cost of $60,000, Unity stands beautifully refurbished today having just undergone a massive $25 million dollar facelift. And so you may ask: 25 million dollars to restore a $60,000 building—is this possible? And indeed it is for as Gunny Harboe, the restoration architect, explained, no beam or surface was left untouched.
For many years piecemeal repairs had been made. A leak here, a crumbling wall there, a broken window and much more, all of it addressed as urgency dictated. But now was the time to take on the building in its entirety.
Unity is one of the very first buildings in America with an exposed, poured-in-place, reinforced concrete exterior. Despite a long series of repairs over the years, it was in major need of a complete restoration, including filling cracks and resurfacing. Of special difficulty was the repair of these cracks, using a matching aggregate so that the surfaces blend and do not look blotchy. Concrete sidewalks and steps were all re-poured from scratch. Today the building looks startling fresh, elegant, and grand.
Finding the right source for restoration of the art glass windows was a particular challenge. Ultimately the firm of Judson Studios in California was chosen. The glass, lead, and zinc windows were eased out, one by one, crated, and shipped to Los Angeles. All interior plaster and wood finishes have been redone. Experiments were conducted on the color scheme so that the original colors could be replicated. Woodwork was stripped and sent away for refinishing. Repair and replacement of damaged plaster, skylight repair, new roofing and drainage, landscape restoration, and exterior lighting, all have been given high priority.
And then a project that had been discussed for many years, the installation of a geothermal heating and air conditioning system, was addressed. This has been installed, hidden underground, in front of the north wall of the building. This is a most important improvement as for many years the heat of summer had forced the congregation to cancel services in the sanctuary and limited the number of concerts and events that could be scheduled.
Raising $25 million has not been easy for the Unity Temple Restoration Foundation, the fund raising arm of the congregation. In the last few years, it became increasingly evident that the patching of the building as necessity arose was not the right path. Stepping up to the plate, The Alphawood Foundation offered a $10 million challenge that had to be matched to kick-start the restoration funding. The congregation of fewer than seven hundred raised $1.5 million. The Getty Foundation pledged $200,000, and multiple Frank Lloyd Wright fans and organizations have given generously.
However, the fundraising effort is far from finished. Ongoing now is the challenge of the matching gift from the Tawani Foundation that will match every gift dollar-for-dollar up to $100,000. If you are motivated to participate in this challenge or wish to learn more about the new and very beautiful Unity, UTRF.org is the website.
Such a great piece, Sylvia. Thank you!
I see that the stained glass restoration work was done by Judson Studios in Los Angeles. My late father-in-law was a stained glass artist there for more than 30 years. The studio is a terrific stop for architecture buffs. The building itself is a charming arts and crafts structure, and you can take a tour.! Learn more at judsonstudios.com.. Leslie Clark Lewis
Thank you, Sylvia. I will add this to all the knowledge I have learned from YOU! I am looking forward to feeling the light stream in. Ronnie Jo Sokol
Well done, Sylvia.
I’m a member of the “congregation of fewer than seven hundred” at Unity Temple, as are several other docents. Right after we joined (having been members at another Unitarian church for a long time), the restoration fund-raising effort kicked off, and did surprisingly well, given the size of the membership – small by some measures, but one of the largest Unitarian-Universalist congregations in the U.S.
We had a ceremony of departure in mid-June, 2015, one in which we marched across Oak Park to a park near what was to be our temporary location, United Lutheran Church in northeast Oak Park. Little did we expect to be gone for almost two years to the day. The restoration was painstaking and exacting, which meant that details mattered, and sometimes unexpected “details” turned up.
Some of us took the opportunity to tour the building at various stages of the restoration. The gentleman who was the congregation’s point person during the process, Dan Crimmins, very graciously took people through when he could. After my several badgerings, he took my wife and me in April, just after the art glass had returned from California and the wood trim, fully refinished, was beginning to be installed. It was a most remarkable tour, the highlight of which (for me – not so much for my wife) was the walk through the basement. That space had been a storage area since the beginning. No more. It’s where all of the piping and computer controls for the geothermal HVAC system converge, and it very much looks like the interior of a submarine.
We’ve since tracked the final stages of the restoration in photos published by Dan Crimmins and other people designated as archivists of the work. It is, by now, quite stunning. I remember the angst and anxiety of long-term members of the congregation two and more years ago. They were very worried about what the building would look like, about whether the restoration architects and engineers knew what they were doing. They feared repairs that would leak and crack just like the repairs of years gone by. They’re already thrilled with what’s happened, and they haven’t even been in the building yet!
Thanks for your article.
Ed McDevitt
Class of 2010