To mark 140 years of the Altenheim building dedication, staff, residents and members of the Altenheim community were joined by Forest Park officials on Thursday for the unveiling of the new, honorary “Altenheim Way.” It is located at the intersection of Madison Street and Van Buren Street, right in front of the archway into the complex.
In attendance from the village were Mayor Rory Hoskins, Commissioner Maria Maxham and Village Administrator Rachell Entler.
“We just want to honor their longtime service to the community,” Hoskins said to the Forest Park Review after the ceremony.
The event was put on not just for the 140th anniversary, but also to recognize Altenheim’s legacy and celebrate recently reaching 100% occupancy.
“For more than a century, this community has been a place of dignity, comfort and connection for older adults and their families,” Mark Zinni, a member of the Altenheim board, said during the ceremony. “What makes the Altenheim special isn’t just its long history, but the countless lives that have been shaped here, the friendship, the care, the tradition and the people that make it feel like home.”
In 1884, construction started on the Altenheim and the next year, the first building was erected.
Later in May 1886, then-Chicago Mayor Carter Harrison attended the building’s dedication.
Now, the Altenheim has several different buildings, serves senior living community in Forest Park and is celebrating 140 years since the building dedication.
The Altenheim “has grown to be intertwined with Forest Park, and we plan on being a part of the village … for another 140-plus years,” Dawn Sanchez, who has been with Altenheim for five years, said. “[All by] just honoring the mission, building a partnership with our village government and providing housing that really does make people feel at home.”
Initial development of the Altenheim was spurred by years of effort by the Frauenverein des Deutschen Altenheims, a German Women’s Society dedicated to humanitarian service and caring for the elderly.
“The Altenheim is a very special place,” Hoskins said after the ceremony. “It’s some of the best real estate in Cook County, right along Madison Street, between Forest Park [and] River Forest.”
“The honorary designation of Altenheim Way serves as a lasting tribute to an institution that continues to enrich the Village through its commitment to seniors and its deep community roots,” according to the Village of Forest Park newsletter.
Emma Bradford is an intern for NEWSWELL CHICAGO through Report for America’s Local News Internship Program.