Allerton – Park & Retreat Center

Allerton’ s recent Visiting Resident, Jose Vazquez, has loved art since he can remember.
“I think since I could hold a pencil, I knew exactly that’s what I wanted to do,” he said. “I wanted to do something in art.”
While growing up in Chicago in the 80s and 90s, he was exposed to a lot of the “hip hop culture,” including graffiti, and was amazed at kids from his neighborhood who were doing public murals in spray paint....

URBANA, IL (April 2026) – The Illinois Arboretum on the University of Illinois campus in Urbana has been awarded a Level 1 Accreditation by The ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program and The Morton Arboretum. The ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program...

MONTICELLO — Ivesdale native Tim Tracy has known and loved Allerton Park for decades. His wife Molly started a mutual admiration for the park upon moving from the Chicago suburbs to Central Illinois to attend the University of Illinois in 1980. Their...

MONTICELLO — When Ken and Sari Aronson moved to East Central Illinois in 1988, they quickly fell in love with Allerton Park and Retreat Center. Lovers of both nature and architecture, Sari said it was the perfect place to go for a stroll with their pets...