Time for some upgrades: Historic Danada House to get accessibility, other improvements next year

The Danada Forest Preserve offers a nice change of pace just a few minutes’ drive from strip malls and tollway office towers.

Horses graze in white-fenced paddocks. Wander around their barn on any summer day and you’ll see a few taking a break from the herd. One shiny stall nameplate still honors Danada’s most prized thoroughbred: Lucky Debonair, the bay colt who won the 1965 Kentucky Derby.

Daniel and Ada Rice established this slice of horse heaven between Wheaton and Naperville. The couple – he a commodities broker, she a former telephone operator and horsewoman at heart – built a 19-room country mansion as part of their racehorse training estate in 1939.

To sustain that pastoral image, the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County is planning extensive repairs to the two-story brick building after decades of use as a wedding and event venue called Danada House. The project is expected to begin in April 2024.

“We’ve been working through that process and coming up with ways to take care of some maintenance items that are really overdue to deal with and position that building and that property really for the next decades ahead,” said Ed Stevenson, the district’s executive adviser.

Forest preserve commissioners have not yet finalized a budget for the Danada House project, but based on initial estimates, it could cost $4 million to $5 million. Efforts will be made to preserve the historic character of the property while incorporating accessibility improvements, forest preserve President Daniel Hebreard said. Architects have recommended installing an elevator to the second floor and new windows throughout the former Rice mansion.

Past and present

Dan and Ada Rice died in the 1970s, about two years apart, but the almost 800-acre Danada Forest Preserve holds reminders of their equestrian lifestyle a short trot from the busy intersection of Butterfield and Naperville roads.

The couple christened their estate Danada by combining their first names. Their 26-stall barn was modeled after the racing stables in the bluegrass region of Kentucky. A half-mile racetrack and an official starting gate can be found on the west side of Naperville Road near the forest preserve district’s headquarters.

By all accounts, the Rices enjoyed entertaining. Husband and wife hosted “Heaven Can Wait” actor Don Ameche, comedian Jimmy Durante, pianist Liberace and Willie Shoemaker, the jockey who steered Lucky Debonair to victory in the Kentucky Derby.

The Rices also were known for their philanthropy. A wing of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Rice Center at Benedictine University in Lisle bear their names.

They both passed away without leaving a will. A legal fight ensued over their estate and a group of activists mobilized to “Save the Rice Farm” from development.

After the residents’ lobbying, the forest preserve district acquired the Rice mansion, their horse barn and the surrounding land south of Butterfield Road in 1980 and opened the Danada Equestrian Center four years later.

Today, the Danada House needs repairs to the exterior, terra cotta roof, interior finishes and mechanical systems, forest preserve district planners said. Officials have been working with the Friends of Danada, a nonprofit volunteer organization that manages and rents the Danada House on behalf of the forest preserve district, on a plan to complete all the repairs next year.

The group’s agreement with the district is set to expire on Jan. 14, 2024. Forest preserve commissioners were scheduled to vote on a short-term extension to allow the Friends of Danada to operate the premises and book events in early 2024 up until the time the Danada House and atrium are closed for the building renewal project.

“We want to continue that partnership because the Friends of Danada have been in place for decades,” Hebreard said.

Officials expect the framework for a new, long-term agreement will be presented to the board later this year.

“We’re highly confident that we’ll successfully come to terms for an agreement that will continue well into the future,” Stevenson said.

The district plans to make the reception area more energy-efficient and comfortable for guests, Hebreard said. The atrium addition was built 20 years ago to replace an outdoor tent. It now accommodates gatherings of up to 250 people year-round.

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