Local tours

Wasn't I just here? After church, Andy and I went over to Cheney Mansion, which was open for tours as part of Open House Chicago. I saw the first floor when I toured it for a possible church gala venue last week. Andy had never been inside.

All three floors of the house were open. We were told to start on the third floor and work our way down. This large chandelier is from a castle in Scotland, brought back by the original owners, and estimated to be 300-400 years old.

The third floor was mostly servant spaces. The house had eight to 10 staff members. There were four bedrooms for staff, six for the owners. This was a sitting room on the second floor.

And the master bedroom. We toured the first floor but I had seen it earlier in the week (and a few times years ago when I was reporting).

After Cheney, we drove a few blocks to West Suburban Temple Har Zion in River Forest.

The big draw for me here were these stained glass windows completed in 1967. Each window is two stories tall.

So vibrant! I always thought the windows were in the sanctuary but a congregant explained that the back wall of the sanctuary can be pushed back to enlarge the space (for high holidays) and expose the windows. There are tracks in the floor that the wall moves back on.