Decades of historic preservation work earns Ken Lerner Historian of the Year award in Downers Grove

When Ken Lerner moved to Downers Grove with his wife and young children, he began to seek out ways to combine his historic preservation passion and environmental concerns on a local basis.

Fast forward 30 years, Lerner is being honored as the 2025 Downers Grove Historical Society’s Historian of the Year for doing just that.

An event celebrating Lerner will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. April 30 at the Tivoli Theatre, 5021 Highland Ave, Downers Grove, as part of the Historical Society’s “A Night at the Tivoli” event.

“A Night at the Tivoli” is part of FoundersFest, a week-long focus on Downers Grove history. Visit info@downersgrovehistory.org for more details.

“The award recognizes those who help preserve and promote the rich history of Downers Grove. Ken’s name was suggested to the committee by several sources,” said to Bruce Swanson, chairman of the Historical Society Recognition Committee. “His decades-long involvement with Pierce Downer Heritage Alliance and other organizations has resulted in a long list of achievements focused on preserving Downers Grove’s natural and architectural heritage. The selection of Ken Lerner as the Historical Society’s 2025 Historian of the Year was a unanimous decision by the committee.”

When Lerner moved to Downers Grove, the downtown area was undergoing redevelopment and with that came a greater demand for higher-priced housing.

As a result, many vintage homes were being demolished and replaced, and natural areas were targeted for development.

While studying at the University of Illinois, Lerner lived in an off-campus vintage home leading him to foster a keen interest in historical buildings.

Furthermore, in his long career, as an attorney with Argonne National Laboratory, led Lerner to further understand the impact of commercial development on nature.

Lerner first became involved with Downers Grove Watch, an organization that informed citizens about issues relating to redevelopment.

In 2004, he became involved with the Pierce Downer Heritage Alliance, an organization that began in the mid-1980s with a goal of saving Lyman Woods, a 150-acre property consisting of oak woods, prairie and marsh habitats.

He served as a chair of the group that was committed to “preserving trees and open spaces” from 2010 until this year when the nonprofit decided to transfer responsibilities to other groups such as Greener Grove, the Chicago Region Trees Initiative, and the Conservation Foundation.

Although not all Lerner’s preservation efforts in Downers Grove have been successful, most notably the unsuccessful attempt to save the historic W. H. Edwards House, those efforts led to the creation of the Friends of the Edwards House—an organization that advocates and celebrates preservation of historic properties in the Downers Grove area.

“It was a grand old Victorian house with a lot of connections to Downers Grove history,” Lerner said. “It was really a grass-roots effort to save the house.”

Despite not being able to preserve the Edwards House, today, Downers Grove has more than 30 historic properties.

In addition, the group also led to the revamping of the village’s landmark program.

Lerner has also devoted his time to serving on historic preservation and environmental commissions for the village.

He served two terms on the Village’s Historic Preservation Design and Review Board and currently is part of the Village’s revitalized Environmental Concerns Commission, which is dedicated to promoting community-wide conservation and environmental sustainability.

“When I first moved here, I remember talking to neighbors and it was amazing to me how long many of my neighbors have lived here,” Lerner said.

“Many were second generation. People become devoted to this community,” he added, “There is a strong tradition of volunteerism.”