I would like to send a message of encouragement to our valued family and friends during the Covid-19 pandemic. We have been thinking of you quite a bit, as we were not able to interact with you for part of the 2020 season. We do miss you and hope for the absolute best for you and your families.

The Mansion has gone through a lot over a 140 plus years life span: the Second Industrial age, the Spanish Flu pandemic, the Great Depression, both World War’s, way too many additional wars to imagine, Presidents, Governors, and several generations of family. The one thing that stands out is no matter how bad things might look, the Mansion survives. It is a symbol of strength. We realize there is nothing we cannot endure. We become better and grow stronger.

I am reminded of a statue of a woman with the words ‘I Will’ on her breastplate displayed in the Mansion. She was a popular piece at the 1893 Chicago’s World fair. She represented the will of the Chicago people, and the phrase ‘I Will’ became a rally cry for the city after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. It was Chicago’s way of everyone coming together as one powerful woman to say, ‘I will rebuild, I will recover, I will be stronger and better’. She continued to be the symbol of Chicago and was the iconic image of the 1933 Chicago—World’s Fair poster as well. I wanted you to know that we continue to have that ‘I will’ spirit during these challenging times.

Reviewing CDC Guidelines, the State of Illinois Stay at Home Orders, the Restore Illinois timetable, and other regulations and requirements related to Covid-19, we have come up with an ‘I Will’ attitude here at the Mansion. The staff has come together to create ways of bringing you your Mansion experience. We must be innovators.

GOOD NEWS! For the first time we are selling some items from the ‘Gift Shop’ on our website: An Independence of Ideas and Thought: The Life of Mary Hegeler Carus by Nicholas L. Guardiano, Pam HackbartDean and Aaron M. Lisec, and Patina of Time: The Hegeler Carus Mansion in La Salle, Illinois by Steve Archer. Click here to buy these books to add to your collection and see what else we have for sale.

BETTER NEWS! We began our Summer Concert Series Friday, June 19th and plan to extend the season until mid September. To see the band lineup, click here.

THE BEST NEWS! On July 1st we are scheduled to enter into stage-4 of reopening . Visitors wanting to come for a tour of the Mansion will need to preregister and prepay on the website to ensure numbers control, 6 people per tour. If you can’t access on line, you can also make reservations with the Tour Director, Tricia Kelly at 815-993-4476. More dates and times will be posted as we move forward. To see the available tours and dates, click here.

Any additional information will be here on our website or on our Facebook page. While visiting the website pay close attention to our safety restructuring plans (masks, distancing, sanitizing), various tour options and event possibilities.

Cindy