Preface and Acknowledgments

          The best tribute that one could pay to an artist is to display his or her work; to put it out there in the best light for others to see and to judge fairly.  In the course of the research on John Van Bergen for this book, I have not only made an effort to visit and study all his buildings that I was able, but tried to learn about John Van Bergen, the person, as well.  I spent as much time researching his personal life as I did his buildings.  I think that this has helped me to make this presentation and my own interpretations in the best way possible.  Van Bergen's work itself stands alone, but a deeper personal knowledge of any artist adds perspective and helps one to make a better interpretation of that artist's work. 
          At the beginning of this project, I had almost no idea about who John Van Bergen was, except what I read in the scant material available.  As I saw and learned more, I found out that most of what was written about Van Bergen was inaccurate or incomplete.  Nothing written gave nearly the full credit that he deserves.  What one reads about Van Bergen is almost always in the context of, or in direct comparison to, Frank Lloyd Wright.  Some have gone so far as to claim that all Van Bergen's work up to World War I was as an apprentice to Wright and that these buildings are actually by Wright.  Utter nonsense!  Elsewhere, Van Bergen is described as an architect who spent his life as an apprentice, a follower, a student, or a crude imitator of Frank Lloyd Wright. 
          However, I noticed that the few of his early buildings that I saw looked somewhat different than those by Wright.  Of course Wright's strong influence was there, but these "Van Bergens" had something different than "Wrights".  They had a subtly different character.  They seemed to me to merit further study and yet, no one else had done that.  I wondered why.
          One reason that John Van Bergen's career has been neglected by researchers is because of the  tragic fire that destroyed his home and all the records of his career.  It was assumed for years, by everyone studying Prairie School architecture, that few documents existed on John Van Bergen, and any amount of research would  yield very little.  There were easier pickings elsewhere.  It was recommended to me, more than once, "Why not write a book about Frank Lloyd Wright?" as if not enough had already been written on that subject.  Or this: "Why waste your time researching a 'second rate' architect that no one knows anything about."  I wondered how anyone could conclude that he was "second rate" if no one knew anything about him!  And anyway, is this a rating game?  Should historians only study artists and others who are rated A-1?  Are theirs the only contributions that matter?  I don't think so.
          Not to be deterred by such negative advice, I started searching.  I knew that there had to be something more out there to find, if I looked hard enough - and nothing could be less satisfying to me anyway than easy pickings.  The first gains were hard won.  But this made each new discovery all the more satisfying.  My research has now paid off and as it continues, things are now trickling in at a steady rate.  This work is by no means complete and I do not wish it to be so.  This is now the third edition of this publication and I am still finding more stuff.  As I meet more Van Bergen home owners and interact with other researchers, I'm finding the process more and more enjoyable.  The following are some of the people who have helped to make this job fun:
           Eva, my wife; she puts up with my treacherous stop-and-go driving in search of architecture and allows me to spend so much of our household income on this expensive hobby.  Tristan and Rosina; they put up with this whole thing that takes their dad's time away from them.  Nancy V.B. Brigham has supplied me with a wealth of documents and has given me many invaluable insights about her father and his career.  Joan Kopplin, who promptly replies to my mail and tries to answer all my difficult questions.  Jo and Nancy, and their freely expressed friendship and gratitude, have helped greatly to motivate me in pursuing this task.   Frank Lipo at the Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest (Frank is a solid proof reader).   Elliot Miller, of the Highland Park Historic Preservation Commission.  Walter Sobel.   Larry Shure, of the Highland Park Dept. of Community Development.      Mary Woolever at the Art Institute of Chicago.   H. Allen Brooks - sent me copies of his Van Bergen letters and didn't know me from Adam.   Ken and Lisa Temkin; my Highland Park connections.   Carol Kelm; the most solid researcher I know and also a good proof reader.   Bill Jerousek and the Oak Park Public Library.   Nathan Van Bergen, Tim Brigham and John Brigham - Nancy's three "boys".  All the Van Bergen homeowners who have let me into their homes - I was often just a stranger ringing their doorbells unannounced.  All the subscribers to my newsletter.  And lastly the dozens of others who have done some of the footwork with me or for me, answered my questions, done research for me, made a contact for me or just pointed me in the right direction on a map.

Marty Hackl