Laura Walker named executive director of Hegeler Carus Mansion

Laura Walker was named the new executive director of the non-profit group that oversees the Hegeler Carus Mansion in La Salle.

Founded in 1995, the group oversees the seven-story, 58-room, 1870s mansion home to a trove of American history.

“With her multi-state experience in successful program development, I am confident Laura will make the Mansion a premier historic and visitor destination for the Midwest,” said Inga Carus, Hegeler Carus Foundation chair.

With bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Southern Indiana, Walker studied fine art, art history and cultural studies. The Indiana native has worked professionally in Ocala, Florida; Salem, Oregon and Evansville, Indiana where, among other accomplishments, she developed community arts plans and arts districts, oversaw – and expanded – performing and visual arts programming.

“All of our contacts who have worked with Laura sang her praises,” said foundation board member David Conterio, CEO of Hometown National Bank, “She seems designed for successful leadership of our mansion.”

The Hegeler Carus Mansion was designed in 1874 by W.W. Boyington, who also designed the iconic Water Tower in Chicago. August Fiedler, the Mansion’s interior designer, became one of the most sought-after interior designers after completing his work at the mansion.

Hegeler and Carus, the first-generation immigrants for whom the Mansion is named, hosted legendary Zen master D. T. Suzuki of Japan for 11 years at the turn of the last century. From his setting in La Salle, Suzuki wrote many of his seminal, revered works and introduced America and the West to Buddhism.

Paul Carus was a leader in development of the World Parliament of Religions at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, a parliament that still exists. Open Court Publishing Company, known for its philosophical and educational works, was founded in the basement of the mansion.

The Cricket Magazine Group came nearly a century later to be founded by descendants of Carus and Hegeler.

“The mansion and its history are underdeveloped assets for our region,” said Jay McCracken, interim executive director of the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce and a member of the search committee that recruited Walker. “Laura will build these assets.”

The Hegeler Carus Mansion was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995, and designated a National Historic Landmark in 2007, a designation granted by the U.S. National Park Service. The mansion is located at 1307 Seventh St.

“I will set a collaborative course for the mansion, in concert with the remarkably rich historical and natural resources of Starved Rock Country,” Walker said. “Together we can attract even more visitors to our beautiful cities, towns and countryside.”