Orland Park Public Works Hosts Tours in Conjunction with Museum

ORLAND PARK, IL (March 20, 2019) --- The current exhibit at the Village of Orland Park History Museum salutes the early public services in the town --- police, fire and public works.

To commemorate the museum’s salute to the town’s early municipal services, the village’s Public Works Department will host building tours of its Ravinia Avenue Public Works Facility and the Thistlewood Drive Pumping Station. Admission is free.

“The museum exhibit is a great way to learn about Orland Park’s early services and to see firsthand many parts of the village’s history,” said Trustee Kathy Fenton, village board liaison to the museum and chair of the village’s Public Works Committee.

“It was Public Works employees who first suggested showing how the department came to be and the museum curator brought in police and fire to round out the town’s earliest services,” Fenton added.

The public is invited to tour the village’s Public Works Facility, 15655 South Ravinia Avenue, on Saturday, March 23 from 1 p.m. until 2 p.m.

The Thistlewood Drive Pumping Station will be open for public tours on Saturday, March 30 from 1 p.m. until 2 p.m. The pumping station is located at 8800 West Thistlewood Drive.

Attendees are asked to call the museum at 708/873-1622 to make reservations to attend either of the free events.

“We’ve hosted a number of tours at Public Works and at the pumping station with scout groups and other organizations coming through,” said Director of Public Works John Ingram. “The upcoming tours are a great opportunity for those who have never visited these buildings before or people who want to come back. We’re looking forward to showing all that Public Works does.”

Public services in Orland Park date back to the late 19th Century.

According to the Illinois State Water Survey, "A public water supply was installed by the village of Orland Park in 1897." Cement sidewalks replaced wooden in the early part of the century with bright over the street gasoline lighting replacing the kerosene street lights in 1905 when the population was just under 370.

Almost 10 years later, Orland Park was described as "…the only town southwest of Chicago to have its own water system, cement sidewalks and street lights."

“We’re fortunate to have so many pieces of history from the community’s formative years,” said Village Museum Curator Sarah Stasukewicz. “This exhibit is a great community effort with Kevin Arnold and Tony Noto from PW first suggesting their department’s history. We built on that and brought in police and fire and have a great showcase of early village services.”

Kevin Arnold, of the Public Works Department, helped with the Public Works portion of the exhibit and added, “The exhibit shows the examples of what Public Works maintains to provide water, sewer and street services for the residents of Orland Park.”

Serving Our Community: A History of Orland Park Police, Public Works & Fire continues at the museum at 14415 South Beacon Avenue through August 24. For more information and museum hours, call 708/873-1622.