The RHS Facebook page is a rich archive of history-related posts by Carol Flynn, RHS Facebook admin and writer until mid-2025. Carol prolifically wrote a wide variety of meticulously researched local history articles for RHS. She continues to write for the Beverly Review and other media sources with articles particularly focused on local Ridge history.
Hetherington Architectural Lecture Series
The Ridge Historical Society
Announcement for Upcoming Programs
As part of the Hetherington Design Dynasty Exhibit, a series of in-person programs will be offered at RHS, located at 10621 S. Seeley Avenue in Chicago.
Friday Evening Hetherington
Architectural Lecture Series
$10/members, $15/non-members for each lecture
Reservations are recommended
A reception will follow each lecture.
Friday, November 4, 7:00 pm
Tim Blackburn, Researcher, “Discover the History of Your Chicago House”
You will learn how to research the history of your Chicago home, including the architecture, construction, inhabitants, and owners. You’ll develop research methods that will help you gain a new understanding and appreciation for your home’s history. The research methods covered will be useful for anyone researching a building older than 1955 in Chicago. You’ll learn about building permits, local history, Chicago street renumbering, Sanborn maps, and more.
Friday, November 11, 7:00 pm
Mati Maldre, Photographer, “Photographing Architecture and a View Camera Demonstration”
In my architectural photographic documentation, I strive to blend fundamental documentation and the interpretive expression that reveals new appreciation and understanding of our man-made environment. I attempt to couple a firm respect for the subject’s integrity and the architect’s intent with a desire to produce an accurate photographic image with my Deardorff 4×5/5×7 view camera. My photos, like the buildings they represent, are both art and science, both personal and practical.
Friday, November 18, 7:00 pm
Michael Lambert, Architect, Historian, & Preservationist, “John Todd Hetherington: From Lake Forest to Geneva”
With a career long-overlooked, John Todd Hetherington was, at the close of the 19th century, the architect to some of Chicago’s most prominent residents. Hetherington, along with other leading residential and landscape architects of his era, designed some of the first, estate homes in Lake Forest, Illinois. At the dawn of the 20th century (and on the heels of Colonel George Fabyan), longtime friends E. F. Dorton and T. S. Fauntleroy moved from the North Shore to the banks of the Fox River and commissioned Hetherington to design three homes that initiated the transformation of Geneva’s Batavia Road neighborhood.
Register through Eventbrite at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hetherington-architectural-lecture-series-tickets-443264575277
For any questions, contact RHS at ridgehistory@hotmail.com or 773/881-1675.
The Ridge Historical Society will offer a series of educational programs on Friday evenings in November as part of the current exhibit on architect John Todd Hetherington and his descendants.
The Friday Evening Hetherington Architectural Lecture Series will lead off on November 4th at 7:00 p.m. with “Discover the History of Your Chicago House,” presented by RHS researcher Tim Blackburn. Attendees will learn how to research their pre-1955 homes located within the city limits to learn about the architecture, construction, owners, and inhabitants through the years. Public records such as building permits and Sanborn maps will be discussed, as well as research methods to learn about local history.
Tim Blackburn is a member of the RHS Historic Buildings Committee and assists members of the community with research on their homes and local history questions. He has completed extensive research on his own Hetherington-designed home and many other homes in the area, and was a major contributor to the current exhibit, including designing, photographing, and installing the Google Earth Tour of the “Hetheringtons on the Ridge.” He works in technology as a Vice President for a global marketing and data company.
This first event is sure to fill up because many people in this community are interested in the history of their houses. Those who wish to secure a spot are advised to make a reservation – see the information below.
The second program, on November 11th at 7:00 p.m., will feature photographer Mati Maldre presenting “Photographing Architecture and a View Camera Demonstration.” Using his Deardorff 4×5/5×7 view camera, Maldre blends architectural photographic documentation with interpretive expression to create appreciation and understanding of our man-made environment. His work is both science and art.
On November 18th at 7:00 pm, the final program, “John Todd Hetherington: From Lake Forest to Geneva,” will be presented by Michael Lambert, architect, historian, and preservationist. Hetherington’s career has been long overlooked. He was architect to some of Chicago’s most prominent residents, and designed some of the first estate homes in Lake Forest, Illinois. He was commissioned to design three homes that initiated the transformation of Geneva’s Batavia Road neighborhood.
The programs will be held at RHS, 10621 South Seeley Avenue. The cost for each program is $10 for RHS members and $15 for non-members. A reception will follow each program. Parking is on Seeley Avenue. Entrance to the house is wheel-chair accessible but the restroom facilities are not.
Reservations are advised, and can be made through Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hetherington-architectural-lecture-series-tickets-443264575277.
For questions, contact RHS at 773-881-1675 or ridgehistory@hotmail.com.
Reminder! For those of you who are interested in researching your house's history, sign up NOW for the November 4 program at the Ridge Historical Society (RHS). This is a popular topic and is filling up quickly.
The Friday Evening Hetherington Architectural Lecture Series will lead off on November 4th at 7:00 p.m. with “Discover the History of Your Chicago House,” presented by RHS researcher Tim Blackburn. Attendees will learn how to research their pre-1955 homes located within the city limits to learn about the architecture, construction, owners, and inhabitants through the years. Public records such as building permits and Sanborn maps will be discussed, as well as research methods to learn about local history.
Blackburn is a member of the RHS Historic Buildings Committee and assists members of the community with research on their homes and local history questions. He has completed extensive research on his own Hetherington-designed home and many other homes in the area, and was a major contributor to the current exhibit, including designing, photographing, and installing the Google Earth Tour of the “Hetheringtons on the Ridge.” He works in technology as a Vice President for a global marketing and data company.
The programs will be held at RHS, 10621 South Seeley Avenue. The cost for each program is $10 for RHS members and $15 for non-members. A reception will follow each program. Parking is on Seeley Avenue. Entrance to the house is wheel-chair accessible but the restroom facilities are not.
Register through Eventbrite at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hetherington-architectural-lecture-series-tickets-443264575277https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hetherington-architectural-lecture-series-tickets-443264575277
For questions, contact RHS at 773-881-1675 or ridgehistory@hotmail.com.
The Friday Evening Hetherington Architectural Lecture Series begins this week. Here are the three upcoming programs.
The programs will be held at RHS, 10621 South Seeley Avenue. The cost for each program is $10 for RHS members and $15 for non-members. A reception will follow each program. Parking is on Seeley Avenue. Entrance to the house is wheel-chair accessible but the restroom facilities are not.
Register through Eventbrite at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hetherington-architectural-lecture-series-tickets-443264575277
For questions, contact RHS at 773-881-1675 or ridgehistory@hotmail.com.
There are still seats open for this Friday evening's program at the Ridge Historical Society on photographing architecture. The event starts at 7 p.m., at RHS, 10621 S. Seeley Avenue. The cost is $10 for RHS members and $15 for non-members.
The program presenter is Mati Maldre. Mati, an Emeritus Professor of Art/Photography at Chicago State University, taught photography there and at the Beverly
Art Center for 35 years. His photographs have been widely published, placed in collections, and exhibited in the United States and abroad in/with significant organizations such as The Art Institute of Chicago, The International Venice Architecture Biennial and The
Chicago Architecture Biennial. Mati has photographed for The Encyclopedia Britannica, the U.S. Dept. of the Interior’s Historic
American Building Survey and Chicago’s Landmarks Commission. Maldre is the co-author with Paul Kruty and photographer for
Walter Burley Griffin in America and The Chicago Bungalow. He also provided 100 photographs for The Griffins in Australia and India,
and the Beverly chapter for The AIA Guide to Chicago Architecture. Mati has received numerous commissions, awards and honors including two Individual Graham Foundation Grants and a Graham Foundation Grant for his book, Walter Burley Griffin in America.
He has also earned a National Endowment for the Arts Grant, a Chicago Architecture Foundation Grant, an Illinois Humanities Council Grant and an Illinois Arts Council Artist Fellowship. Currently Mati is the Chair of the RHS Historic Buildings Committee.
Reservations may be made through Eventbrite at https://bit.ly/RHSlectureshttps://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.eventbrite.com%2F…%2Fhetherington-architectural%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR1sDKyO-emN20Sqhxl4lsbvzCA9tSDLeFmnzq7aV6BOqlljcT8j0msaAb2A5LjbJyWRM5EtSmkn15HuVF0zBYynOjt9ruxufwdCPtvNgFI9Qw6eNicDfOr1oErpLuxCFvcCWa3kpSRW4MGnVBv3mlypThGYPhaKZ2-MdPYS0Kizx&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT0efWfxIG8avS9F_q8WDUQLsNJcm-uPRKyPjbp8OM6hwE_ufRdAviDygHio9Vmrg69RmJwtjVMrMJPXOn9lpHGxEtDV4LhVzEUatx5BWyGwiBKNgndUV0MPuXA83btDceDjb6u1cC_kKHgZOjFkRH7dCH9SRfzT9kXBedmJWhrkRlIULGbZk1PK8XULkjHfpDVge0TEM8bo
A last reminder – Friday evening's program at the Ridge Historical Society, 10621 S. Seeley Avenue, Chicago, at 7 p.m. The cost is $10 per RHS member; $15 non-members. Reserve your spot through Eventbrite. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hetherington-architectural-lecture-series-tickets-443264575277?aff=ebdssbdestsearch
The third program in the Hetherington Architectural Lecture Series will be held this Friday, November 18, at the Ridge Historical Society, 10621 S. Seeley Avenue, beginning at 7:00 p.m.
RHS is pleased to welcome Michael Lambert, architect, historian, and preservationist, who will speak on “John Todd Hetherington: From Lake Forest to Geneva.”
Architect John Todd Hetherington’s career has been long overlooked. On the Ridge, we associate him with the one hundred or so homes and buildings he, his son, and his grandson designed in this community. However, his reach extended much farther than this enclave on the southwest side of Chicago.
At the close of the 19th century, he was the architect to some of Chicago’s most prominent residents. Hetherington, along with other leading residential and landscape architects of his era, designed some of the first estate homes in Lake Forest, Illinois. At the dawn of the 20th century, on the heels of Colonel George Fabyan who established a large estate in Geneva, IL, now part of the Kane County Forest Preserves, longtime friends E. F. Dorton and T. S. Fauntleroy moved from the North Shore to banks of the Fox River. They commissioned Hetherington to design three homes that began the transformation of Geneva’s Batavia Road neighborhood.
Michael Lambert is the Preservation Planner for the City of Geneva, and the Founding Chair of both the Will County (IL) Historic Preservation Commission and the Plainfield (IL) Historic Preservation Commission. He has served as an instructor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Department of Historic Preservation. He has been honored twice by Landmarks Illinois for preservation advocacy and restoration. Currently Lambert is also the President of the Plainfield Historical Society.
The cost for the program is $10 for RHS members and $15 for non-members. A reception will follow the program. Reservations may be made through Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hetherington-architectural-lecture-series-tickets-443264575277?aff=ebdssbdestsearchhttps://www.eventbrite.com/e/hetherington-architectural-lecture-series-tickets-443264575277?aff=ebdssbdestsearch
For any questions, contact RHS at 773/881-1675 or ridgehistory@hotmail.com.
The third program in the Hetherington Architectural Lecture Series will be held this Friday, November 18, at the Ridge Historical Society, 10621 S. Seeley Avenue, beginning at 7:00 p.m.
RHS is pleased to welcome Michael Lambert, architect, historian, and preservationist, who will speak on “John Todd Hetherington: From Lake Forest to Geneva.”
Architect John Todd Hetherington’s career has been long overlooked. On the Ridge, we associate him with the one hundred or so homes and buildings he, his son, and his grandson designed in this community. However, his reach extended much farther than this enclave on the southwest side of Chicago. At the close of the 19th century, he was the architect to some of Chicago’s most prominent residents. Hetherington, along with other leading residential and landscape architects of his era, designed some of the first estate homes in Lake Forest, Illinois. At the dawn of the 20th century, on the heels of Colonel George Fabyan who established a large estate in Geneva, IL, now part of the Kane County Forest Preserves, longtime friends E. F. Dorton and T. S. Fauntleroy moved from the North Shore to banks of the Fox River. They commissioned Hetherington to design three homes that began the transformation of Geneva’s Batavia Road neighborhood.
Michael Lambert is the Preservation Planner for the City of Geneva, and the Founding Chair of both the Will County (IL) Historic Preservation Commission and the Plainfield (IL) Historic Preservation Commission. He has served as an instructor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Department of Historic Preservation. He has been honored twice by Landmarks Illinois for preservation advocacy and restoration. Currently Lambert is also the President of the Plainfield Historical Society.
The cost for the program is $10 for RHS members and $15 for non-members. A reception will follow the program. Reservations may be made through Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hetherington-architectural-lecture-series-tickets-443264575277?aff=ebdssbdestsearchhttps://www.eventbrite.com/e/hetherington-architectural-lecture-series-tickets-443264575277?aff=ebdssbdestsearch
For any questions, contact RHS at 773/881-1675 or ridgehistory@hotmail.com.