Editing Unity Temple (section)

==== 1970s ====
[[File:Unity Temple (35121738661).jpg|thumb|Detail of the Kenilworth Avenue facade]]

By 1970, the church had raised $25,000 from tours, subscriptions, and donations.<ref name="Marlin 1971" /> The restoration also received funds from the congregation itself, the [[National Park Service]], four anonymous donors, and [[Alden B. Dow]], in addition to tour revenue and insurance payments.<ref name="Cypret 1975a" /> After Rice retired in 1970,<ref name="Oak Leaves 1971a2">{{cite web |last=Patterson |first=Mary Margaret |date=March 3, 1971 |title=Unitarians to hold centennial service |url=https://riverforest.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?i=f&d=01011970-12311972&e=universalist%20church&m=between&ord=e1&fn=forest_leaves_usa_illinois_oak_park_19710303_english_8&df=1&dt=10 |access-date=February 3, 2025 |work=Oak Leaves |page=8 |via=River Forest Public Library }}</ref> he was replaced by Gerald Krick the following March.<ref name="Oak Leaves 1971a2" /> In addition, a committee was formed to oversee the restoration,<ref name="Conner 1971">{{Cite news |last=Conner |first=Gerald |date=March 21, 1971 |title=Members Make Plans to Save Unity Temple |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-members-make-plans-to-sa/164801223/ |access-date=February 6, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=19 }}</ref> which was prioritized after a fire had damaged Unity House in January 1971.<ref name="Conner 1971" /><ref name="Oak Leaves 1971c">{{cite web |date=August 18, 1971 |title=Restoration with the Wright touch |url=https://riverforest.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?i=f&d=01011970-12311972&e=unity%20temple&m=between&ord=e1&fn=forest_leaves_usa_illinois_oak_park_19710818_english_57&df=1&dt=10 |access-date=February 6, 2025 |work=Oak Leaves |page=57 |via=River Forest Public Library }}</ref> A local firm, Sturr-Young Associates, was hired to repaint the auditorium in its original colors, restore the skylights, and redecorate the interior, while Frank's son [[Lloyd Wright]] was retained as a consultant.<ref name="Oak Leaves 1971c" /> The congregation was unable to raise the funds for the temple's upkeep by itself.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dillard |first=Barbara |date=April 13, 1983 |title=Japan fair to support Wright church legacy |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-japan-fair-to-support-wr/164869331/ |access-date=February 7, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=94 }}</ref><ref name="Oak Leaves 1979a" /> As such, congregants directed the board of trustees to establish a [[Foundation (nonprofit)|foundation]] to oversee the temple's restoration in December 1972.<ref>{{cite web |date=December 13, 1972 |title=Foundation to be set up to renew Unity Temple |url=https://riverforest.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?i=f&d=01011970-12311972&e=unity%20temple&m=between&ord=e1&fn=forest_leaves_usa_illinois_oak_park_19721213_english_66&df=1&dt=10 |access-date=February 6, 2025 |work=Oak Leaves |page=66 |via=River Forest Public Library }}</ref> The Unity Temple Restoration Corporation was formed the next year<ref name="Cypret 1975">{{Cite news |last=Cypret |first=Randy |date=July 23, 1975 |title=Unity Temple: struggle to save a landmark |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/news-journal-unity-temple-struggle-to-s/164472280/ |access-date=February 1, 2025 |work=News Journal |pages=1 }}</ref> as a secular entity, separate from the congregation.<ref name="Gapp 1978">{{Cite news |last=Gapp |first=Paul |date=April 13, 1978 |title=Group seeks $50,000 to restore Unity Temple |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-group-seeks-50000-to-r/164862341/ |access-date=February 6, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=48 }}</ref><ref name="Oak Leaves 1979a">{{cite web |last=Idoux |first=Jerry |date=May 9, 1979 |title=Temple restoration is Jacobsen's dream |url=https://riverforest.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?k=restoration&i=f&d=01011977-12311979&e=unity%20temple&m=between&ord=e1,k1&fn=forest_leaves_usa_illinois_oak_park_19790509_english_36&df=1&dt=10 |access-date=February 6, 2025 |work=Oak Leaves |page=36 |via=River Forest Public Library }}</ref> The restoration group raised $500 per month from small donors and tour revenue, and it received additional funding from large donors, the federal and local governments, and the congregation.<ref name="Oak Leaves 1974b">{{cite web |last=Van Wyk |first=Betty |date=June 19, 1974 |title='Angels' needed for temple |url=https://riverforest.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?i=f&d=01011973-12311974&e=unity%20temple&m=between&ord=e1&fn=forest_leaves_usa_illinois_oak_park_19740619_english_4&df=1&dt=10 |access-date=February 6, 2025 |work=Oak Leaves |pages=4, [https://riverforest.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?i=f&d=01011973-12311974&e=unity%20temple&m=between&ord=e1&fn=forest_leaves_usa_illinois_oak_park_19740619_english_15&df=1&dt=10 11] |via=River Forest Public Library }}</ref>

A restoration of the facade commenced in 1973<ref name="Oak Leaves 1973a">{{cite web |date=October 17, 1973 |title=Unity Temple is getting a face lift |url=https://riverforest.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?i=f&d=01011973-12311974&e=unity%20temple&m=between&ord=e1&fn=forest_leaves_usa_illinois_oak_park_19731017_english_60&df=11&dt=20 |access-date=February 6, 2025 |work=Oak Leaves |page=60 |via=River Forest Public Library }}</ref><ref name="Kamin x694">{{cite web |last=Kamin |first=Blair |date=May 20, 2017 |title=Delayed restoration of Frank Lloyd Wright's Unity Temple is triumphant |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2017/05/20/delayed-restoration-of-frank-lloyd-wrights-unity-temple-is-triumphant/ |access-date=February 9, 2025 |website=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 }}</ref> and ultimately cost $200,000.<ref name="Oak Leaves 19831019">{{cite web |last=Cooper |first=Charlotte |date=October 19, 1983 |title=$500,000 restoration tab for Unity Temple |url=https://riverforest.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?k=restoration&i=f&d=01011983-12311984&e=unity%20temple&m=between&ord=e1,k1&fn=forest_leaves_usa_illinois_oak_park_19831019_english_23&df=1&dt=10 |access-date=February 7, 2025 |work=Oak Leaves |page=23 }}</ref> Workers removed the cladding that had been added in the 1960s,<ref name="Oak Leaves 1973a" /> and they sprayed [[shotcrete]], a type of concrete, onto the facade.<ref name="Gauer x647">{{cite web |last=Gauer |first=James |date=May 25, 2017 |title=Restoration of Frank Lloyd Wright's Unity Temple Unveiled |url=https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/12773-restoration-of-frank-lloyd-wrights-unity-temple-unveiled |access-date=January 29, 2025 |website=Architectural Record }}</ref><ref name="Oak Leaves 1973a" /> The interior was also repainted and partially rewired,<ref name="Devine 1976" /> That year, the Kaufmann Foundation increased their grant to $250,000, at which point the church had raised $230,000.<ref name="Oak Leaves 1974b" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=August 11, 1974 |title=Matching fund needed for Unity Temple grant |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/news-journal-matching-fund-needed-for-un/164645097/ |access-date=February 4, 2025 |work=News Journal |pages=4 }}</ref> The temple could also receive federal restoration funds because it was on the [[National Register of Historic Places]], so the [[Illinois Department of Conservation]] requested $114,850 for interior restoration in late 1973.<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 13, 1973 |title=Funds for Unity Temple landmark are sought |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-funds-for-unity-temple-l/164851367/ |access-date=February 6, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=155 |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |date=September 16, 1973 |title=State requests funds to restore temple |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/news-journal-state-requests-funds-to-res/164845596/ |access-date=February 6, 2025 |work=News Journal |pages=6 }}</ref> The temple began hosting concerts later that year,<ref name="Oak Leaves 1974c">{{cite web |date=February 20, 1974 |title=Great architecture and music meet Feb. 23 |url=https://riverforest.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?i=f&d=01011973-12311974&e=unity%20temple&m=between&ord=e1&fn=forest_leaves_usa_illinois_oak_park_19740220_english_22&df=1&dt=10 |access-date=February 6, 2025 |work=Oak Leaves |page=22 |via=River Forest Public Library }}</ref> and it launched a concert series that helped raise money for the renovation.<ref name="News Journal 1974" /><ref>{{cite web |date=October 30, 1974 |title=Baroque concert at Unity Temple |url=https://riverforest.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?i=f&d=01011973-12311974&e=universalist%20church&m=between&ord=e1&fn=forest_leaves_usa_illinois_oak_park_19741030_english_51&df=11&dt=20 |access-date=February 6, 2025 |work=Oak Leaves |page=51 |via=River Forest Public Library }}</ref> To raise further money, the church sponsored field trips to [[Taliesin (studio)|Taliesin]], Wright's studio in Wisconsin.<ref name="Devine 1976" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=July 15, 1976 |title=Tours set at Wright buildings |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-tours-set-at-wright-buil/164861736/ |access-date=February 6, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=44 }}</ref> By 1975, church officials had spent more than $250,000 over the preceding eight years, but the project needed at least another $250,000.<ref name="Cypret 1975" /><ref>{{cite news |last=Marlin |first=William |date=November 14, 1975 |title=Oak Park renews ties to Frank Lloyd Wright: Simple, close-knit Template for development Emergency repairs |work=The Christian Science Monitor |page=32 |issn=0882-7729 |id={{ProQuest|511855922}} }}</ref> In addition, the Restoration Foundation had gone into debt.<ref name="Cypret 1975" />

The Restoration Foundation had nearly matched the Kaufmann grant by 1976,<ref name="Devine 1976" /> and it wanted to create a $500,000 [[financial endowment]] for Unity Temple's continued upkeep.<ref name="Gapp 1978" /> The Kaufmann Foundation offered a grant to establish the restoration fund in April 1978, provided the Restoration Foundation raise $50,000 in eight weeks.<ref name="Gapp 1978" /><ref>{{cite web |date=April 5, 1978 |title=Unity Temple drive reaches half-way mark |url=https://riverforest.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?k=restoration&i=f&d=01011977-12311979&e=unity%20temple&m=between&ord=e1,k1&fn=forest_leaves_usa_illinois_oak_park_19780405_english_6&df=1&dt=10 |access-date=February 6, 2025 |work=Oak Leaves |page=6 |via=River Forest Public Library }}</ref> The next year, the Kaufmann Foundation offered another $50,000 matching grant.<ref name="Oak Leaves 1979a" /><ref name="The Life 1979">{{Cite news |date=May 2, 1979 |title=Temple seeks restoration |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-life-temple-seeks-restoration/164863252/ |access-date=February 6, 2025 |work=The Life |pages=26 }}</ref> Work on the foyer's renovation began in May 1979<ref name="Oak Leaves 1979a" /><ref name="The Life 1979" /> and was nearly completed by the end of the year.<ref name="Oak Leaves 1979b">{{cite web |date=November 7, 1979 |title=Unity Temple work progresses |url=https://riverforest.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?i=f&d=01011977-12311979&e=unity%20temple&m=between&ord=e1&fn=forest_leaves_usa_illinois_oak_park_19791107_english_8&df=1&dt=10 |access-date=February 6, 2025 |work=Oak Leaves |page=8 |via=River Forest Public Library }}</ref> The foyer was restored to its original appearance, and later modifications, such as ceiling tiles and shelves, were removed.<ref>{{cite web |date=April 23, 1980 |title=Benefit skit to aid Wright restoration |url=https://riverforest.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?k=restoration&i=f&d=01011980-12311982&e=unity%20temple&m=between&ord=e1,k1&fn=forest_leaves_usa_illinois_oak_park_19800423_english_27&df=1&dt=10 |access-date=February 6, 2025 |work=Oak Leaves |page=27 }}</ref> The Restoration Foundation also planned to repair the leaky roof,<ref name="Oak Leaves 1979b" /> a project that ultimately cost $85,000.<ref name="Oak Leaves 19831019" /> A company from Washington, D.C., was hired to determine the original paint colors.<ref name="The Life 1979" />