Crystal Lake’s heritage trolley tours could return in 2023, with focus on Sears kit homes

The Crystal Lake Historic Preservation Commission is hoping to bring back trolley tours to the city for the first time since 2019.

During a meeting on Thursday night, commission members discussed pricing and possible routes, as they hope to bring back the popular initiative.

The upcoming trolley tours, which would take place in the spring of 2023, focus on Sears kit homes built throughout Crystal Lake, commission member Diana Kenney said.

Kenney is also the president and co-founder of the Crystal Lake Historical Society.

“We’re always getting questions about bringing back the trolley tours,” Kenney said. “It’s exciting. We’re ready to get back on the trolley.”

The preliminary route would highlight over a dozen different models, hitting clusters of homes within neighborhoods. The route has not been test-driven by the commission members, although the expectation is the tour length would be long, Kenney said.

Prior to the pandemic, the trolley tours were an annual event, starting in 1998, meant to highlight the city’s history, Crystal Lake’s website states.

The cost to rent the trolleys has more than doubled since before the pandemic, Kenney said, to just over $2,200 per trolley. In the past, tickets for the tours have been available at Heisler’s Bootery. At Thursday’s meeting, however, commission members said they would look into whether alternative sites or online options for purchasing tickets was feasible.

“I’m really excited about it, as this has been in the back of our minds this whole time,” historic commission chairwoman Lisa Solak said. “Doing the research on our theme this year was great. There’s a lot of history with Sears homes.”

The commission will clarify pricing and route details in January, Kenney said. Preliminary discussions indicated rides might be priced in the $20 to $25 range, with the goal of raising money for the commission’s grant program.