Monthly Archives: May 2011

The Barrington History Museum has a working blacksmith shop, and a resident blacksmith, Derek. Derek, a physics major at the University of Michigan, can be found most Saturdays in the shop working on one project or another. Today he was … Continue reading →

On Saturday and Sunday, June 11 and 12, I’ll be at the Barrington History Museum, in the room next to the exhibit space.  I’ll have a workshop set up and will be restoring six 96-year-old-casement windows with their art glass … Continue reading →

Sometimes the history of architecture that was never built is as interesting as architecture that was. Case in point, this fascinating project by architect John Van Bergen from the early 1960’s. John Van Bergen had retired to Santa Barbara in … Continue reading →

I did several hours of taped interviews with John Van Bergen’s daughter, Nancy, in 1999 in Santa Barbara.  Here are a couple of excerpts from some video that will be running at the exhibit. In this excert, Nancy is talking … Continue reading →

This wooden “chandelier” will go into the exhibit sometime in June – or earlier if I have to to restore it before then.  It is the original dining room fixture from a Van Bergen house in Chicago. He designed several … Continue reading →

The April opening afternoon of the exhibit was very successful!  I talked about how the project came to be, how the collection was started and provoked some other interesting discussion. The exhibit will be open to the public until the … Continue reading →