Hegeler Carus Mansion

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Hegeler Carus Mansion, located at 1307 Seventh Street in La Salle, Illinois is one of the midwest's great Second Empire structures.

Built in 1876 by Edward C. Hegeler, partner in nearby Matthiessen Hegeler Zinc Company, the mansion was designed by Chicago architect William W. Boyington. Boyington is noted for the Chicago Water Tower, the Joliet State Penitentiary and for completing the Illinois State Capitol.

1 History and significance
2 Recent developments
3 Further reading
4 External links

[edit] History and significance

The Hegeler Carus Mansion was initially home to Hegeler and his family. His son-in-law, Dr. Paul Carus, later moved his family into the house, and the main headquarters of the Open Court Publishing Company was located on the first level of the house. It is here that Carus wrote over 70 books, countless articles and served as editor of two scholarly publications, The Open Court and The Monist. Carus invited editorial contributions from the likes of Charles Peirce, William James, Leo Tolstoy, F. Max Müller, Gottlieb Frege and Bertrand Russell.

Carus hosted a historical meeting of East and West immediately after the 1893 Chicago Columbian Exposition, bringing together eminent Oriental religious scholars. This led to Open Court's publishing program emphasizing classics of eastern religious thought. In fact, Zen scholar D. T. Suzuki spent 11 years in La Salle working with Carus on this programme.

The house was later occupied mainly by Carus' children.

[edit] Recent developments

In recent years, grandson Blouke Carus and others have initiated restoration, creating the Hegeler Carus Mansion Foundation in the 1990s. The Hegeler Carus Mansion, also known as the "Big House," hosts numerous public programs, and is open for public tours. Visitors are impressed with the amazing high Victorian stencils and wall and ceiling paintings, the woodwork and the history.