Bloomingdale Park District Museum

Bloomingdale Park District Museum

Gallery/Museum - History/Heritage - Not-for-Profit - Special Events - Visual Arts

Website: http://www.bloomingdaleparks.org

 630-339-3570

 108 S. Bloomingdale Rd, Bloomingdale, IL 60108

Built in 1849 as the First Baptist Church of Christ, the Bloomingdale Park District Museum is oldest building in Bloomingdale. It attracts over 1,000 visitors annually and hosts five to seven exhibits per year. The original 1849 ceiling, knotty pine floor, and (some of the) glass pane windows are as they were when the Bloomingdale Academy took over the property in 1860. In 1892 the building became the center of town, serving as both the Township Office and the Town Hall. A jail cell was installed in 1910.

The historic building was sold to the Bloomingdale Park District in 1965 for the purchase price of $1 and a slow transformation began to take place.  Programs and classes were offered and eventually fine arts and cultural exhibits began to emerge. As the demand grew, the facility underwent a major restoration in 1998 and an art gallery was added, keeping true to the original architecture.