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At the Monday, March 9 joint special meeting of the City of Highland Park Committee of the Whole and the Historic Preservation Commission, Councilmembers and Commissioners discussed considerations pertaining to the permanent place of remembrance’s primary location at the Rose Garden, located adjacent to City Hall and the current site of the temporary memorial. The Rose Garden was originally conceptualized as three distinctive natural spaces extending from the lawn at St. Johns Ave., through the temporary memorial to the ravine. The spaces commemorate the contributions of three gardeners important to Highland Park. While this plan of three connected but distinct natural spaces was never fully realized, the property was designated a local historic landmark in 1992.
Given this local historic designation, City Councilmembers and Commissioners agreed that the design process for the primary location at the Rose Garden will ultimately require a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Historic Preservation Commission. The Commission’s role is to review the design proposal as it pertains to the local landmark designation. The working group will continue to lead planning efforts, working closely with SWA Group, the landscape architecture firm, and All Together, the community engagement consultants, to develop design concepts that will be presented to the City Council for review. There will be multiple opportunities for stakeholders and community members to see and provide feedback on the designs.
Once a design proposal has been prepared and advanced by the Council, it will be referred to the Historic Preservation Commission for Certificate of Appropriateness consideration. The Commission will review the design to confirm that it meets certain standards related to characteristics such as height, scale and proportion, alterations to existing historic features, and protection of natural resources, among other considerations.
The City’s priority is to memorialize those whose lives were taken with a space that honors their legacies and reflects their families’ input, and to honor those who were directly impacted, especially those who were injured. At the Rose Garden, obtaining a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Historic Preservation Commission will also indicate that the design is reflective of our community, honors the existing historic landmark of this special space, and is harmonious with existing buildings in the area. At Monday’s meeting, Councilmembers and Commissioners encouraged the team at SWA to approach the project creatively.
Cohesion with the secondary place of remembrance at Port Clinton is also important. While the place of remembrance will encompass two locations, a prominent, primary place of remembrance at the Rose Garden, and a subtle, secondary place of remembrance at Port Clinton, only the Rose Garden location was discussed at the joint meeting because of the landmark designation.
No decisions about the design or form of the place of remembrance have been made. Over the next few weeks, the team at SWA Group will be working collaboratively with All Together to engage with stakeholders through listening sessions and surveys. If you have already received an invitation to participate, we encourage you to schedule a session or reach out to the team at All Together to review options for engagement. If you have not yet received an invitation, please watch your inbox for opportunities to participate in this process.
For more information about the place of remembrance planning process, please see Place of Remembrance | Highland Park, IL.
Thank you for your thoughtful insights and engagement throughout this process. We will continue to share opportunities for engagement with you via this email list and other outreach, as appropriate. Please don’t hesitate to contact us at any time with any questions or feedback.
The City of Highland Park is committed to providing trauma-informed community resources to all who were impacted by the Highland Park shooting. For support please reach out to the City's Resiliency Division; visit resilienthpil.org to learn more or reach out to Jazmin Alejandro at jalejandro@cityhpil.com or 847.875.1043.
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