1. What Is the Historical Background Behind Allerton?

Edward Manofsky NRES 104/285 Midterm

Inner Space

The idea of “space” is a very interesting one when thoroughly thought through.

We never really stop and think about the spaces that surround us, but every single space, area, building, etc. has its own significance. Some spaces, curiously, are more highly regarded than others. Respectively, each space has its own story behind its importance.

The reason we research these spaces is to determine exactly what significance they hold to those who use them, as well as figure out why different groups of people interpret them differently. For my research concentration, I decided that I wanted to study a forest preserve of some type. This is because I believe that forest preserves in general are very interesting in themselves. I find them interesting because forest preserves, in my opinion, represent a sort of conflict between man and nature. Nature used to surround and intimidate us, but now human “civilization” seems to have surrounded these little patches of nature we call ‘forest preserves.’ The forest preserve I decided to research was that of

Allerton Park Forest Preserve in Monticello, Illinois. Allerton Park, in general, is about

1500 acres worth of forest, and some elaborately landscaped gardens. Indeed, it is a very interesting space. Having never even visited Allerton Park before I started researching, I conjured up a few research questions about Allerton Park that I would have like to answer:

1. What is the historical background behind Allerton? 2. What kind of nature is the forest preserve? 3. How do different people view the park? After driving out to Monticello and observing the park, I found some pretty interesting answers to these questions.

In order to start research and to help fully understand the space of Allerton, I thought I should first research its historical significance. Not surprisingly, the history of

Robert Allerton, the man who donated Allerton Park to U of I, undoubtedly explains why the park was put together the way it was. This information is provided by a short essay on the history of Robert Allerton that can be found on the university web site for Allerton

Park at www.allerton.uiuc.edu. Allerton, born March 20 in 1873, was brought up in a wealthy Chicago family. His father, Samuel Allerton, made a fortune in land, livestock, and banking, among other things. A great influence by the name of Agnes Thompson entered Robert’s life after his mother had died. Samuel Allerton remarried to Agnes

Thompson, who was actually the sister of the deceased Pamilla Allerton. Agnes highly encouraged Robert’s involvement in the arts. In fact, he and his friend Frederic Bartlett both decided to not attend college and study art in Europe. Allerton and Barlett studied at the Royal Academy of Bavaria in Munich. After seeing a countless number of European pictures at the 1893 World Columbian Exposition, the two “vowed to pledge their lives to the creation of beauty” (History 1). Overall, he ended up studying art in Europe for almost five years. Afterwards, though, he surprisingly destroyed his paintings and gave up his dream of becoming and artist. Fortunately, he was still an avid enthusiast of the arts. At this point in his life, Robert decided that he wanted to become a farmer. His father was much more pleased with this career choice. Samuel Allerton gave much land and money to build on it. Through inheritance, purchase, and trade, this area known as

“The Farms” had 12,000 acres by 1914. Once he created a very decorative manor, he began to design elaborate landscaped gardens. They became his passion and his artistic outlet. He also started adding very dramatic bronze and stone statues to the park. Later on in life, he developed interest in Oriental art, which is displayed through several different oriental statues, etc. Allerton’s ties with U of I began in 1919 when he was asked to serve on the Campus Plan Commission. He met a young architecture student,

John Wyatt Gregg, at a Dad’s Day dinner in the Zeta Psi house. The two eventually became so close that they formed a relationship similar to that of a father and son, and

Gregg later worked and lived in Allerton’s estate as his architect and protégé. With the notion that Allerton Park should be used as a center for education and wildlife, Robert donated all of it to the University of Illinois in 1946.

Secondly, I was curious what type of nature the Allerton Park Forest Preserve was. I was interested to read that Allerton was named a national natural landmark in

1971 (History 3). The first trip I took to Allerton gave me a very interesting answer.

When entering the park we drove down a very long road to get to the parking lot, which sits next to the manor and near the visitors’ center. One of the first things I saw was a sign stating that the park hours were from 8 am to sundown, though it seemed awkward to put a time window on nature. At first, I was somewhat pessimistic about the true nature of the park while I was walking on the pebble sidewalks past the mansion to a fenced in garden area. I didn’t necessarily think there was going to be anything natural about the forest preserve at all. Walking into the gardens was an interesting experience.

They are divided up into many different sections, each one displaying garden of a different style or culture. The gardens go on for a short while until you reach the transition between landscaped garden and forest trail. Seeing that this trail was vehicle accessible, once again I became skeptical about the true authenticity of this forest. But, as you continue walking, you notice that, aside from the designated trail, the forest seems more and more natural. For instance, trees that fall in the forest are pretty much left to allow nature to take its course. The vast surrounding forest looks quite healthy. Also, several deer, along with other forms of wildlife, are bound to be near at any given time, which allows for a more natural experience. To my surprise, in an interview with Matt

Eckhart, the assistant manager of the Allerton Park Visitors’ Center, he stated that, although the gardens are very much manicured, the Allerton staff attempts to avoid disturbing the natural aspects of the surrounding forest preserve. This was somewhat obvious when walking on the hiking trail, which runs for about two miles through the park. Overall, from my experience, I learned that two natures actually exist in Allerton: the nature of the gardens is very elaborately artistic and is necessarily meant for viewing entertainment, while the nature of the forest preserve somewhat sits on the other side of the spectrum since it displays a more natural view of true wilderness and offers visitors more of an intrinsic value.

Lastly, I wanted to research how different people used and interpreted the nature that exists in Allerton Park. Taking a hard and observing look at those who visited

Allerton, I learned some pretty interesting things. The first type of visitors I encountered were groups of friends. I encountered several small groups of friends strolling through the garden and the park. Some casually strolled while others were truly absorbing all the art and information posted on the trails. It appeared to me that this group of visitors saw the park as a source of entertainment or interest. Or, these visitors could just be visiting

Allerton to pass time or just relax. In general, nature, for them, is a more like source of spiritual fulfillment. Of course, when walking on a hiking trail, one is bound to see someone walking or running with their dog. To me, these visitors see nature as a sort of compromise. For instance, it seems that, when their free time is interrupted by the dog’s need for outdoor exercise, they both go to the forest. Here, the dog can get exercise (as well as the person walking it), and the owner can enjoy beauty of the forest that they don’t normally see every day. Allerton also brings visitors with very different interpretations of the park. Due to the overpopulation of deer, Allerton has recently starting declaring hunting seasons. To hunters, the gardens and the interesting historical information of the park lose most of their meaning, and the forest preserve becomes an outlet for hunting as well as a possible source of income. Evidently, Allerton Park holds many different perspectives and interpretations of its nature.

Obviously, certain spaces can, surprisingly, teach us about much more than just the space itself. The Allerton Park Forest Preserve had much to teach me. After reading about Allerton’s history, the reasoning behind the park’s composition starts to fit together like puzzle pieces. Allerton’s interesting life and his love for the arts are what spawned the ideas for the ways the manor, gardens, and artwork were constructed and/or incorporated into the forest preserve. Simply by visiting Allerton, I was able to get an idea of what visitors experience when they come to the park. I learned that Allerton effectively combines landscaped, artistic nature with more primeval, true nature. The combination proves to be a very enlightening one, at that. Lastly, I also learned how visitors view and value the park. It was interesting to learn that people are drawn to nature for so many different things, including leisure, exercise, hunting, etc. Though people all have different perspectives of the park, I believe that Allerton Forest Preserve displays a truly a remarkable type of nature.

Works Cited

History of Robert Allerton. University of Illinois. 1 Mar. 2005 .