Naperville Preservation To Host First Historic Plainfield Tour

PLAINFIELD, IL — Plainfield's downtown may be home to exciting restaurants, fun boutiques and great walking space, but it's also a designated National Historic District.

A tour of Plainfield's historic downtown is coming to the village Saturday, giving residents a chance to learn about the history of their hometown.

Michael Bortel, chairman of the Plainfield Historic Preservation Commission, will lead guests on a walking tour that's sponsored by Naperville Preservation. Philip Buchanan, a once-resident of Plainfield who now resides in Naperville, is one of the organizers of the upcoming event.

In many ways, Buchanan, a former Plainfield Historic Preservation commissioner, is the segway between the two town's historic preservation groups.

"Plainfield's downtown is a historic ... district, and it is a successful program of saving historical buildings [and] adaptive reuse," Buchanan said. He continued to say "Naperville needs to learn what a successful preservation program in a city or village looks like, and what it takes to make that happen."

Throughout the walking tour, which will commence at 9 a.m. Saturday, visitors will take in the array of architectural styles, from Greek Revival, Italianate and Queen Anne to Richardsonian Romanesque and International.

Buchanan said the tour will also stop by designated local landmarks. Of the 23 in Plainfield, the Opera House Building Block and Plainfield Congregational Church are among them.

"The Opera House building, by far [is my favorite historic landmark in Plainfield]," Buchanan said. "It's a beautiful restaurant now upstairs. They did a great job of adaptive reuse and renovating that space."

It's possible tour-takers will have a chance to see the interior of some of the landmarks, but Buchanan said that's left to Bortel's discretion.

The tour of Plainfield is the first the Naperville Preservation group is hosting, but it likely won't be the last. Though nothing has been set in stone, Buchanan said the group is considering future tours of places such as Oak Park and Aurora.

"Our history is important, and we should preserve it," he said.

The tour is open to interested locals. A registration form can be found on Naperville Preservation's website. Ahead of the event, which Buchanan said will last "an hour or two," participants will meet in the parking lot near Station One Smokehouse, 15025 S. Des Plaines St.