Derek Peterson talks about Robert Allerton like he knew the man.
Peterson didn't, but after six years caring for Allerton's 100-year-old legacy - 80 acres of formal gardens where art reflects nature and nature reflects art - it's hard to separate the man from the vision.
"I think everybody who works here feels some kind of a connection to him," said Peterson, the associate director of Allerton Park and Retreat Center and a UI horticulture graduate. "We talk about Robert a lot; for some it's Mr. Allerton."
And even when his name isn't being evoked by the gardens' maintenance staff, Allerton's vision is.
The end result is a naturally cordoned place of escape and personal bridge to enlightenment.
"In a lot of areas you can really feel that enclosure he had in mind," Peterson said. "He wanted it to be a place of inner search and discovery. After all this time, it still is."
Allerton and John Gregg Allerton, Robert's longtime companion and gardens co-visionary, in 1946 donated the 1,500-acre property and mansion to the UI. The park's mansion and garden section has seen a multitude of uses since then, the most recent incarnation as a retreat center and site of countless weddings.
Peterson's staff, which includes two full-time workers, five extra-help workers, a few dedicated volunteers, and a full-time natural areas manager, cares for the formal gardens. The mansion is maintained and managed separately by two Allerton maintenance staff members. Despite the operational separation between the mansion and gardens, physical proximity and a shared vision have naturally led to a symbiotic relationship.
The last 10 years has been a period of renaissance for the park, starting with a 2001 Cultural Treatment Plan prepared by Sasaki Associates that recommended staff members recommit to Allerton's original vision.
The plan was solidified after the park, led by its public advisory board, was allowed to utilize a university loan program. The program has allowed improvements big and small, all financed through the park's endowment fund.
"It's the little details that make this park outstanding," he said. "There are a lot of little hidden areas visitors may not even notice their first time out; you can learn something new every time you visit."
Making inroads
While the loan money has been used to replace aged walls, trim back invasive trees and repair statues, the biggest improvement may be logistical.
Crews are nearing completion of the Old Levee Road entrance, a state-financed project that includes road repairs and bridgework. Before it was closed more than a decade ago, the route, Allerton's primary entrance, was popular with local visitors. The project likely will be completed by the end of this year.
Peterson said the park's distance from the Urbana campus has made it challenging for staff members to maintain university connections. Despite 100,000 annual visitors, managers are hoping for an even greater public presence and increased academic use.
He said the entrance repair work is the symbolic final piece bridging Allerton's vision and the university's core mission of public engagement.
"Almost everybody I talk to says it's been 15 years since they've been out here," he said. "Opening that road will be huge."
Proximity has always played a role in Allerton's distant relationship with the outside world (just as Robert had counted on), but the '80s and '90s were not the kindest decades in terms of the gardens' appearance. Time had begun to take its toll, money was tight, and the number of staff members and visitors had dwindled.
Nature was tilting away from artistic balance and toward a more chaotic course.
It wasn't until the 2000s, when the loan program became available, that the park possessed enough resources to start reversing the course.
"There had been so many different ideas and directions it had kind of become muddled," Peterson said. "The plan was to get it back to 1946, when it was given to the university. We've worked hard and made a number of positive, noticeable changes throughout the park to make it better for visitors. We've paid a lot of attention to the details of the original plan."
New path
All that's left is to let destination-seekers know that one of Illinois' official Seven Wonders is again wondrous.
"Making more connections and reconnecting - that's something we're looking to improve upon," he said. "We're so far away from everything, it's easy for people to forget about us. But this wasn't just a gift to the university, it was a gift to the people of Illinois."
Peterson said he has had discussions with regional bus services in an effort to improve physical connections to the university.
"We're trying to get more students out here," he said, adding research has for years been conducted in Allerton's natural areas. The park also is closely connected to the nearby city of Monticello - officials have membership in the city's Chamber of Commerce - and partners frequently with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the Land Conservation Society as part of a 14-mile publicly protected Sangamon River corridor.
Besides the gardens and their 100 featured statues, there are 14 miles of trails to walk and a family picnic area (one of the university's "upgrades" that Gregg is said to have despised, but one kept because of its public potential).
Peterson said the park is planning to unveil a new website by year's end that will be used to better communicate seasonal features and special programs.
"A big part of the website is being able to get people out here when it's the best time to be out here," he said.
Peterson said as far as visiting the gardens, he likes wintertime best, when the outdoor art collection stands in stark contrast to a snowy or leafless background. The short-lived, two-week spring color storm that is the peonies season is also a treat, with nearly 1,700 planted this year.
"This is a four-season garden," he said, "so you're going to see something different every time."
The way forward
Peterson said there have been preliminary discussions to add an interactive kiosk at the visitor's center (sandwiched between two of Allerton's original greenhouses, home to 7,000 annuals grown on-site this season) and of making the leap to QR code technology to further expand a visitor's experience.
He said there is a wealth of old photos, films and other archival information following Allerton's development almost from the beginning, and park officials are eager to share it.
"We have a video of the 'Sun Singer' going up," he said, describing the giant sculpture, erected in 1932, which stands in a meadow facing east, atop a Gregg-designed pedestal. "They used pulleys and hand cranks to pull it upright."
The striking work, depicting the Greek god Apollo, is copied from Swedish artist Carl Milles' "Solsangaren," which stands watch over Stockholm Harbor. Allerton's copy was renovated in 2007.
Visitors who haven't been to Allerton's gardens for some time may note other improvements made in the last decade, including restoration of the 1902 Brick Wall Garden and of the Fu Dog Garden, built in 1932.
Structurally, the dam at the mansion's neighboring pond was replaced six years ago, and the garden's former potting sheds were transformed into office space.
"We've taken the time to think things out and we've been very careful to adhere to the original look and feel," he said.
Maintenance areas also have been revamped, giving workers more space while simultaneously utilizing sustainable practices that have already led to lower power bills. Building heat is provided by wood boilers, with timber that falls in the garden areas collected and used for fuel. The main shop building, insulated by straw, was constructed on site by park workers. The park's wastewater treatment facility, built in 1952, also was updated.
In addition, pathways have been added and made more accessible for people with disabilities.
"We've really been able to do a lot in a relatively short amount of time," Peterson said. "There's nothing like it anywhere else in Central Illinois, that's for sure."