Ridge Road, looking north from
Schiller Avenue, circa 1910
The Museum is located in the former Gross Point Village Hall. Built in 1896, the Gross Point Village Hall is a lovely two-story, late-Victorian structure. In 1989 the building was designated a Wilmette Local Landmark, and in 1991 it was awarded a place on the National Register of Historic Places.
The building was the town hall for the Village of Gross Point.
Founded in 1874 (two years after Wilmette), Gross Point was
largely a farming community with its major business district
along Ridge Road. Among the town's businesses were
approximately 15 taverns that brought in necessary tax revenues
to fund village services. However, temperance drives began to
close the saloons in the second decade of the 20th century, and
in 1919 the coming of Prohibition sealed their fate, and that of
the village. Without its income from liquor licenses, Gross Point
went bankrupt.
In the years following its dissolution and annexation to
Wilmette in the 1920s, most of the Village's records were
lost, leaving few clues as to what actually occurred in the
building. 
What we do know about the
Gross Point Village Hall is that the first floor was used for
administrative purposes, most notably the village clerk's
office. The building also housed the village police and fire
station. Four jail cells were located in the basement, and the
firehouse was situated on the north end of the first floor. The
second floor, one grand hall, served as a meeting and social
center for many groups in Gross Point and nearby
communities.
Restoration of the structure to its former splendor began in early 1992. Our current three-story, 11,000 square foot facility combines the 1896 Gross Point Village Hall with a sleek new wing completed in 2004. The resulting complex includes meeting rooms for Museum programs and events, numerous exhibit galleries, a research room, and administrative offices.