Upcoming Events
Check the events listed below for details, updates, and relevant forms.
Birthdays & Grand Opening
Please join us at the Museum, 1776 Walters Ave. on Sunday, November 12 from 2 to 4 pm as we celebrate the 116th Birthday of Northbrook, the 125th Birthday of the Hope Union Heritage Center and the opening of the Plein Air Painting Gallery at the Museum.
The Gallery at the Museum will be open from Nov. 12 – Dec. 21, 2017. Hours: Thursday – Saturday 1 to 4 pm and Sundays 2 to 4 pm. The Gallery at the Museum allows you another opportunity to browse and purchase the beautiful paintings of Northbrook created at the Arts Commission’s very successful Plein Air Painting Festival last month.
39th Annual Shermerfest
Thank you to everyone for supporting Shermerfest! We look forward to seeing you next year on September 16th, 2018!
Share Your John Hughes Memories!
In preparation for our upcoming John Hughes multimedia exhibit in 2017, please share your memories of John Hughes filming his classic movies in Northbrook!
Whether your memory was from “Sixteen Candles” filming near Meadowbrook Elementary School, “Ferris Buehler’s Day Off” filming at GBN, “She’s Having a Baby” filming at Sunset Foods (at the old location across the street), or any of his other movies that contained references to Northbrook, we want to know your story! Stories involving local memories, including memorabilia and artifacts from the legacy of John Hughes filming in Northbrook, will be added to our collection and presented at our new exhibit in early 2017 – coupled with showings of “Sixteen Candles,” “The Breakfast Club,” “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” “Pretty in Pink,” “Some Kind of “Wonderful” and “Weird Science” at the John & Nancy Hughes Theater in Lake Forest June 22 to June 25, 2017.
We look forward to hearing from you via our contact page or by telephone!
Media mentions:
“Northbrook group seeks local witnesses to John Hughes’ film history” — Chicago Tribune Article
“Society Looks to Gather John Hughes Artifacts for Exhibit” – CBS St. Louis (Associated Press)
Featured in Fox 32 Chicago news segment – 9/14/16
Make History Happen!
The future Hope Union Heritage Center.
The Northbrook Historical Society has recently been given the 1892 era church at the corner of Church Street and Chapel Court. There may be no other building in Northbrook that illustrates the history of the Village as completely as the 123-year-old church that remains tucked away just a block from the downtown area.
You can read more about this incredible gift here.
Once we complete the special permit process through the Village we plan on using this building as the Hope Union Heritage Center containing the Louis J. Werhane history library and archives, and the Northbrook Historical Society offices.
Preserved in 1974, the Northfield Inn located at 1776 Walters Avenue will remain as the Northbrook History Museum and the Inn Shop. Both buildings will be visible examples of the Village’s history and the Northbrook Historical Society’s mission:
To discover, collect, preserve and disseminate knowledge, which will establish or illustrate the history of the Village of Northbrook, its exploration, settlement, development and progress.
Please help us preserve this historical treasure for the community by making a tax-deductible donation to the Northbrook Historical Society. For more information please call 847-272-7567.
Donations may be sent to the following:
Hope Union Heritage Center Fund
PO Box 2021
Northbrook, IL 60065-2021
Historian’s Corner
Do you live on a street named for a pioneer settler?
Click this link to find out.
Take the Shermerville – Northbrook Quiz to see what you know about our Village’s history.
How to Help?
Have a comment, recollection or question for us?
Write to our mailing address, or send an email to the Northbrook Historical Society.
Northbrook Factoid
Two stores have been in the Village Shopping Center since the beginning…
Phillip’s Shoe Clinic and O’Reilly Cleaners!