The Village of Oak Park and The Oak Park Universal Access Commission is proud this evening to announce the winners of this year’s Universal Access Awards. This is the fifth year that the Commission has selected buildings and sites that are especially deserving of note for being accessible to disabled persons and more accessible to every one of us. As always, the award winners commemorate the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act into law in 1990.

The enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 12 years ago signaled a transformation in our Nation's public policies toward people with disabilities. America is now a dramatically different – and better -- country because of the ADA. We have begun to understand that “disability” in some way or another is a natural part of the human experience. We are making changes, such as renovating and constructing public buildings to make them fully accessible, to ensure that people with disabilities are integrated into our communities and workplaces. And we have come to appreciate that people with disabilities are a key element -- and an untapped resource -- in sustaining our economic growth.

The Awards Program was created five years ago in order to fulfill the mission of the Universal Access Commission – a mission that you have assigned to us – to promote public awareness of accessibility concerns. Quoting from the Oak Park Ordinance which established the commission:
“The purpose of the Oak Park Universal Access Commission is to advise the Village in its efforts to facilitate full participation in community activities by its disabled residents, to bring disabled persons into the mainstream of Oak Park life by recognizing that disabled persons can lead proud and productive lives, and to sharpen public awareness.”

Tonight, through our Awards program, we call special attention to several recent projects that are noteworthy in advancing the cause of access in Oak Park by presenting their owners with the prestigious Universal Access Award. These awards are representative of the progress that has been made in Oak Park over the past year in bringing the spirit of the ADA to our Village. They are intended to reward excellence in promoting that spirit, as well as serving as a model for others who may want to emulate the winners. We recognize that providing access is our collective responsibility. Older communities such as Oak Park prove to be especially difficult to make accessible because most of their buildings and infrastructure were created more than fifty years ago, at a time when accessibility issues were not widely considered. In fact, in the not-so-distant past public buildings were thought to be splendid and beautiful when they had a grand stairway leading to the entrance door. But attitudes are changing. Most people, able-bodied and disabled alike, today use the so-called “handicapped” entrances at ground level to these grand old buildings, and the original exterior stairs go unused. There is a lesson there somewhere for future building design.

Our expert jurors for this year’s selection were former Chair of the Committee on the Disabled, Bob Dugal, and long time Universal Access Commission member Tony Coyne, who are present in the audience this evening.

This evening we are bestowing Universal Access Awards on two pharmacies, two restaurants, and three institutional buildings.

The first award this year goes to CVS Pharmacy, 6748 West Roosevelt Road. Pharmacies are vital for all of us as a part of our health-care support network. But they are especially important to persons with disabilities, who may use their services more frequently. The CVS pharmacy on Roosevelt Road is both an attractive building and convenient for persons with disabilities. Parking is easy to find near the entrance. A gentle ramp from the public sidewalk is designed to allow one to avoid walking up stairs. The entrance and interior vestibule doors smoothly slide open like elevator doors when one approaches. This is an improvement on the automatic doors usually found in grocery stores that swing open, rather than slide. They provide a wide enough entrance so that one person can enter as another is leaving. It would be great if all of our public buildings had this feature. The CVS pharmacy counter is designed for persons who are in wheelchairs in that the counter is lower than normal and provides knee space under the counter, so that a seated customer can carry out business with the pharmacist face to face. This detail is frequently forgotten by designers. CVS provides public and accessible toilet rooms for men and women
Accepting the award on behalf of CVS, embodying their namesake – Cost – Value and Service - is Byron Chavez, Manager.

The second commercial award goes to Walgreens, 6412 Roosevelt Road, just three blocks east of CVS. The jury especially liked the parking arrangement. The accessible spaces are located nearest to the entrance. A gently sloping curb ramp from the parking lot is wide enough for two wheelchairs to pass. The ramp is painted a strong contrasting color and it has a texture to provide a visual cue to persons with limited sight to make them aware that they are approaching a hazardous vehicular zone. The ramp texture also provides a sure-footed walking surface to help minimize slipping. The entrance doors here also automatically open when one approaches from either side. The manager told the jury that this particular Walgreen’s was a prototype for future stores. It has specifically been designed with disabled users and workers in mind. The interior arrangement is very convenient. Merchandise displays are kept low, so that a person in a wheelchair can visually see all of the products and be able to reach most of them. Aisles are spaced further apart than normal, specifically to allow two wheelchairs to pass in an aisle. The checkout counters and pharmacy service counter are set low so that both children and wheelchair users can be better served. Public restrooms are always unlocked and available – one does not need a key or pushbutton combination to open the doors. All public and worker facilities are accessible, from the toilet rooms to the break room.
The award will be given on behalf of Walgreens to Daniel Ranachowski, Manager, who was not able to be with us this evening.

There are two restaurants that we will gladly add to the Commission’s list of accessible restaurants in Oak Park. The first is The Pasta Shop and Café, 116 North Oak Park Avenue, in the building known affectionately as the “Walker Building,” but is officially known as the First Scoville Block. This handsome building was designed by Patton, Fisher and Miller in 1899, inspired by the town hall of Frankfort, Germany. E.E. Robert added the south section in 1901, where the Pasta Shop anchors the corner beautifully. The entire building has been lovingly restored by James Bushouse over the past several years. This restaurant is his latest creation, with many cleverly conceived and handcrafted interior details. Accessible parking is convenient at the new village-built parking garage at the end of the Pedway. You may recall that the Village was awarded a citation by the Commission two years ago for the construction of this Pedway, because it immediately made three businesses in the Walker building accessible. The corner entrance to the restaurant is easy to negotiate. The interior space is flooded by natural light from the large southern windows. This helps one navigate to the uncluttered dining room at the east end of the building. There is another accessible entrance on the south opening directly into the dining section. Restrooms are well designed, with doors resourcefully swinging out rather than into the room to better facilitate wheelchair use. The low counter at the register is practically designed for universal access. Local architects Lou Garapolo and Don Maynard were responsible for the interior planning of this project as well as the restoration of the first floor exterior façade.
Accepting the award on behalf of the Pasta Shop is Gabriele Romanucci, Vice President.

The second restaurant featured this year is Hemmingway’s Bistro at the Write Inn, 211 North Oak Park Avenue. The hotel originally had a fashionable tea room on the first floor for use by its residents. The new Bistro occupies this same space. There is an accessible parking spot immediately in front of the Write Inn. The accessible entrance to the hotel, as well as the restaurant, is on the south façade, approached by an interesting garden walk. This entrance opens to an intermediate level where there are accessible restrooms for men and women. An internal ramp leads to the lower hotel main desk and restaurant level. Several dining tables are designed to convert easily from square into round shape which permits use by persons with mobility limitations. Even the kitchen is accessible, as the jury discovered upon asking the chef for the proverbial “cook’s” tour. It is apparent that this chef is dedicated to both accessibility as well as high quality dining.
Accepting the award on behalf of Hemmingway’s Bistro is Chris Ala, chef and owner.

The next category is for Institutional Buildings, that is buildings that are publicly owned or managed.
The first award in this category is Pleasant Home, the historic John Farson House, located at the corner of Pleasant and Home Streets. The house was designed by George Maher, one of the leading Prairie School architects of the time, a contemporary of Frank Lloyd Wright. It was completed in 1898 and served as home for the John Farson family until 1910, when Herbert Mills, the inventor of the first coin-operated “amusement” machines, purchased the house after the death of Mr. Farson. The Mills family owned it until 1939, when his heirs sold it along with its 4-acre estate to the Park District of Oak Park for use as a public park. Today it remains owned by the Park District. It is managed by the Pleasant Home Foundation, a volunteer group dedicated to restoring and maintaining the house for educational tours and events. Until this year, it was totally inaccessible, due to the fact that the first floor, like many of the houses in our village, is set almost four feet above ground level. This building has been a sore spot for the Commission for many years. To have one of our Village’s National Historic Landmarks and such an important public building not be accessible was very unfortunate. Many disabled persons who live in this town and pay taxes have never been able to experience its beauty. About seven years ago, a former member of the Universal Access Commission, John Moore, toured the house and made suggestions to the Foundation regarding accessibility. The Foundation Board placed accessibility at the top of its restoration goals. Thanks to a grant from the State of Illinois last year and matching funds from the Park District, Pleasant Home Foundation was able to proceed with implementing John Moore’s recommendation of installing a lift from grade to the first floor within the existing northwest porch enclosure. The lift was supplied and installed by DME Access. The porch enclosure and furniture-quality millwork within the porch was carried out by Galena preservation contractor Renaissance Restoration, headed up by Terry Cole and Fritz Miller. Interior restoration, wood consolidation and decorating was performed by Roger Keys from Dekalb. Once the lift was installed the Universal Access Commission held its monthly meeting in Pleasant Home to test it out. It worked splendidly, and members of the Commission were able to have free run of the entire first floor, some members seeing for the first time the newly restored onyx fireplace in the entry foyer, the restored library, the reception room, the drawing room, dining room and kitchen.

Accepting the award on behalf of the Owner is Jacques Conway, Commissioner, Park District of Oak Park. Accepting the award on behalf of the Pleasant Home Foundation is Catherine Deam, President.

The next award goes to the Hemingway Birth Place Home, 339 North Oak Park Avenue. You may recall that the Commission presented an award to the Hemingway Foundation two years ago for installing a vertical lift from grade to the first floor to enable wheelchair users to tour the first floor. The building was submitted for an award again this year for additional accessibility improvements made as part of over a million dollar restoration of the house, funded through private donations and an Illinois First capitol improvement grant. In addition to a faithful and exacting restoration of the interior and exterior to the years of the Hemingway family occupancy of the house, several new accessibility features were sensitively folded into the project. An commercial type elevator was installed in a new shaft constructed at the rear of the house which now provides access to the second floor bedrooms and the basement from the first floor. Accessible restrooms were installed in the basement. This building is one of the few examples of restored house museums in the Chicago metropolitan region which now provides full access to all levels of the building. Most historic house museums provide access only to the public spaces, thereby meeting the minimum requirements of the ADA. However, as the story of this house is about the birth and early childhood of Ernest Hemingway, it seems appropriate, and even obligatory, that the second floor also be visited by everyone without exception. Members of the Hemingway Foundation have done a painstaking job of researching the historic contents of each of the rooms and have delightfully accessorized them in keeping with the times and the Hemingway family’s residence. Local architect Tom Kapusta was the architect for the project, and local contractor Paul Wicklow of Coffman & Wicklow was the builder. The jury felt that the quality of both the design and execution was top rate.

Accepting the award on behalf of the Hemingway Foundation is Virginia Cassin, President, and Scott Schwar, Executive Director. Accepting the award on behalf of the architect TKA + Partners is Tom Kapusta.

The next award goes to the Dole Learning Center, 255 Augusta Street. This building is owned by the Village of Oak Park and is occupied primarily by the Oak Park Library as the Dole Branch Library. Some rooms within this large facility are occupied by the Village, by the park District, and by the Oak Park Model Railroad Club. The 1920s Williamsburg Colonial Style building was originally built as a 2-year local college and contains three floors. The first floor is a half level above grade, which prevented easy access to persons with disabilities. I remember that when I first was appointed to the Commission six years ago, there were several failed plans suggested to bring access to this facility. The solution finally arrived at was to construct a new addition in the style of the original building which would provide an accessible entrance at grade from the small park area to the west of the building. This entrance addition would contain a new elevator to serve all floors and accessible restrooms for men and women. The addition is tucked carefully into an original indentation on the west façade, so it does not look contrived or “stuck on.” In fact it looks like it was always there, which is one of the goals of preservation. In addition to vertical access and restroom facilities, the building contains other features which make this project more fully usable by everyone. There is convenient accessible parking directly in front of the building. There are two drinking fountains in the hallway, one for persons in wheelchairs and children who may need a lower fountain, and another for those of us who may have trouble stooping to drink from a fountain which is too low. There is an all-important area of rescue assistance on each floor, so that in the event of a fire or other emergency, those who cannot walk down the stairs to exit the building can remain in that space safely and be born out by trained fire department personnel. There is a program of accessible signage throughout the building which are easy to read, and contain both raised and brailed characters. The attractive meeting room on the first floor is now available for use by groups wishing to hold public forums, due to the fact that the building is now accessible. The Dole Library has also done some remodeling of their space in this same spirit of universal access. They now have added a checkout counter at the front desk which will enable a wheelchair user to pull up under the counter and conduct business face to face with the circulation clerk. They have rearranged furniture and shelving to make the space more hospitable and usable.

Accepting the award on behalf of the Village of Oak Park is Carl Swenson, Village Manager and Jim Budrick, Village Engineer. Accepting the award on behalf of Gilmore Franzen Architects is Bob Franzen.

That concludes our formal presentation. Congratulations to all of the winners. Oak Park is richer because of the work of these individuals and institutions. We hope that this year’s awards will be a learning tool and a stimulus to other building owners. The Village of Oak Park has long been an advocate for universal access, and continues to live up to its desire to be a village friendly to disabled persons and accessible to all.

Now I would like to invite all of the award winners and their supporters to join the committee in refreshments and continue the Celebration of Disability Awareness in the employees’ lounge on the first floor of this building.