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La Porte County Historical Society 
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The La Porte County Historical Society Museum building has been described as being in the style of Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia. It was built by Dr. Peter C. Kesling as a museum for his collection of antique and classic cars. Designed by architects Robert B. Drews and Associates, Inc. of Glenview, IL, it was first opened to the public as the Door Prairie Auto Museum on Thursday, September 1, 1994. The building contains historical references in its design, as well as historic fabric in its construction. The clock tower is an exact duplicate of the tower on the second La Porte County Court House. That court house was designed by Chicago's first architect, John Mills Van Osdel, and was constructed in 1847-48. This museum building incorporates double front doors from the Fildes Mansion, iron gates from Fox Woolen Mills, and bay windows and storefronts from the 1898 Lonn Block, all of which once stood in La Porte. La Porte County purchased the building from Dr. Kesling in 2005 to become the home of the La Porte County Historical Society Museum. At that time, Dr. Kesling constructed a 10,000 square foot addition to the back of the building to increase the room for displays. The result is a facility large enough to house the Historical Society's collections, with the Kesling Automobile Collection, numbering over 30 vehicles, still on view.
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Copyright © 2002 by LaPorte County Historical Society |
