07/22/2015
An article about Morton Manor from 2002.
Morton Manor teeters on brink of destruction But some question whether it's worth saving
by Diana Wallace Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted on Tuesday, July 30, 2002
Its occupants have included a country gentleman from a prominent family and a wealthy financier-turned-Biblical-prophecy author.
Its grounds have been roamed by camels and ostriches and, to this day, house a large family of elk and deer.
People used to say it was haunted.
But does any of that make Morton Manor worth saving?
For decades, the 1930s-era, Georgian-style mansion off North Avenue between Carol Stream and West Chicago has been something of a curiosity to passers-by and local history buffs.
Built by Mark Morton of the Morton Salt Company family and brother of the Morton Arboretum founder, the house has had an uneven history at best: It's been vacant for years on end, was once a nursing home and has at times been in serious disrepair.
Recently, it was owned by the late Robert Van Kampen, who made millions in investment banking before becoming a leading conservative Christian, founding a church in Michigan and authoring several end-of-the-world books, including "The Sign" and "The Rapture Question Answered."
Now the mansion teeters between renovation and demolition.
Christianity Today International, a Carol Stream-based Christian publishing group, wants to move its offices to the manor property, renovate the house and use it as a meeting place for "leading thinkers in the area of evangelical issues," said Executive Vice President Kenneth Flanigan.
But Christianity Today was dealt a setback earlier this month when DuPage County zoning officials rejected the idea.
If the county board doesn't overturn that decision, Flanigan warns that Morton Manor will be torn down by its current owner, Wheaton-based real estate developer and builder Joe Keim.
"If the county says to CTI, 'No,' Keim isn't going to wait too many weeks until he tears it down forever," Flanigan said. "It would be devastating to see that structure not be saved. We're willing to spend the money to do that."
