About Us

Friends of Harley Clarke’s

mission is to preserve, maintain and otherwise support the publicly-owned Harley Clarke house, coach house and grounds, including the Jens Jensen Gardens, situated in Evanston, Illinois, in strategic alliance with the community and City of Evanston.

The Friends organization was founded in 2018, by many of the same people who were instrumental in helping to save the building from impending demolition by putting a referendum on the ballot and then securing more than 80% of the vote, across every ward and every precinct in town, to save and protect the building at little to no cost to the public. We remain committed to the language of the referendum as our stated purpose.

Friends of Harley Clarke is dedicated to exploring sustainable funding solutions for the preservation of the building and historic Jens Jensen gardens for use by the public. The Friends’ efforts to preserve the house were recently nominated for a Landmarks Illinois Richard H. Driehaus Preservation award, and we are grateful for the support of like-minded organizations such as Landmarks Illinois, as well as the National Trust, The Cultural Landscape Foundation, and others.

If you are interested in joining our efforts, learning more about the organization, or have an idea about how you might otherwise get involved, please email us at admin@friendsofharleyclarke.org.