The Babcock Ranch occupies land in both Charlotte and Lee Counties near Fort Myers. It was named after Edward Vose Babcock–a lumber baron and mayor of Pittsburgh. He purchased the land in 1914. The land was used for logging and agriculture.

In 2006, the Babcock Ranch Preserve Act made this area the first Florida Preserve for generating its own funding under a public private management partnership.

Northshore Park is located at 13001 N. Cleveland Ave., Fort Myers. It provides a scenic view of the Caloosahatchee River. Lee County Parks and Recreation assumed responsibility for Northshore Park from the state on 8/1987.

Pier was added in 2000. It was financed with a 3 cent bed tax.

The park was the temporary home of the Fort Myers Sailboat Club.

Park features a dog walk, fishing, hiking trails paddle craft launching, 3 covered picnic shelters, free parking.

Northshore Park

This building is located at 1325 West Thome Avenue West Ridge, Chicago. It was originally built in the 1920’s as the Chicago Town and Tennis Club. The Architects were George Maher an his son Philip.

The building is Tudor Revival Style. It features half timber structure with slate roof, and decorative brick work. The interior features stained glass decorative tile and ornamental plaster work and grand ballrooms.

The building was inspired by other tennis clubs such as Wimbledon and the West Side Tennis Club are Forest Hills.

The building functioned as a club house overlooking 16 tennis courts. There were also elaborate extensive gardens on the 3.1 acre site.

This building functioned as a club house until the 1960’s. Later it was used by fraternal and social Clubs the Elks. For years, the building sat empty.

In 1989, the Unity Church purchased the building and 3.1 acre property. The church engaged Vinci Hamp architects to restore portions of the building in 2002. The dining room was converted into a sanctuary; other rooms were converted into an art gallery and a social hall.

The Unity Church had an important role in the LGBTQ community. At one time the congregation numbered 1,500 members. However over the years, the numbers dwindled.

In 2019, the building and grounds were purchased by nearby Misericordia for 7.5 million dollars.

The campaign to save the Unity Church/Chicago Town and Tennis Club has ended with Misericordia tearing down a historic structure in West Ridge.

This structure is located at 239 Franklin Street, Glencoe, Illinois. It was built in 1913. The architect was Frank Lloyd Wright. It was originally built as a temporary home for Sherman and Elizabeth Booth while there permanent house was being built on 265 Sylvan Road also in Glencoe. The architect was Wright as well. The original location was 201 Franklin, Glencoe. It was moved to 239 Franklin in 1915 to 1917.

The site of the Farnsworth House is a 9 acre plot near the Fox River in Plano, Illinois. It was purchased by Doctor Edith Farnsworth from Colonel Robert McCormick.

Dr. Farnsworth was a physician on the staff of Passavant Hospital. She wanted to build a getaway cottage in Plano to unwind from the stresses of work. Architect was Mies van der Rohe. This was the first American house built by the architect.

From the beginning, there were many issues with the project. The building was sited on a flood plain. It was designed in 1945. It was not built until 1951. Cost was $74,000. This was 10 times the original cost.

The decision was made was to elevate the house above the flood plain. The building was elevated 5 feet 3 inches above the ground. All utility functions were gathered in a four foot diameter cylindrical tube that descended to the ground below the kitchen. Electrical power lines were buried. The house was 1,500 square feet.

The Pittsburgh Glass Company provided the external glass. It was quarter inch thick glass. The largest panes were north and south facing. They were 9 feet tall and 11 feet wide. They were mounted between white steel mullions.

Column and steel girders were provided by Chicago Wendnagel Steel Company. The steel columns were painted white. There was some second guessing about the decision not to use double paned insulated glass.

Flooring was travertine marble. There was an open floor plan. There were 2 bathrooms. The underlying floor was concrete slabs. The house measurements were 77 X 28 X 9.5 feet.

There was a long running dispute between Mies and Dr. Farnsworth on many issues concerning the house including leaking roof, temperature issues in the summer and fall and construction costs. This eventually resulted in a lawsuit between the two parties.

In the 1971 Doctor Farnsworth sold the house and 60 acres of property to Peter Palumbo, a British developer,art collector and architecture connoisseur. The exact selling price is unknown but it is thought to have ranged between $250,000 to $120,000.

After selling the house to Peter Palumbo, Edith Farnsworth left her medical practice at Passavant Hospital under strange circumstances. She moved to Italy where she became involved with Italian poetry. She died at age 76.

Palumbo owned the glass house for 30 years. He refurbished it extensively. He rewired it. He installed new drapes. He changed the heating system to electric. He replaced the roof. He furnished it with Mies designed furniture.

He hired a landscape architect to design an orchid and birch grove. He also designed a sculpture park.

In 2000, Palumbo decided to sell the house. An initial offer from the state of Illinois fell through. In 2003, Palumbo decided to put the house up for auction. A group of prominent Chicagoans led by John Bryan representing the National Trust for Historic Preservation had the winning bid of $6.7 million dollars.

The Trust has undertaken a 10 million dollar renovation. One project was to install hydraulic jacks to raise the house during flooding.

Public tours have been available to the public since 2004.

Due to severe rains in the end of May, 2020. The house was threatened with flooding.

It has just recently been announced that the Farnsworth House has been reopened for tours. It had been closed because of the Corona virus pandemic.

Baron Collier Bridge

Baron Collier Bridge