Evanston aldermen vote to preserve Harley Clarke mansion

EVANSTON, Ill. (WLS) -- Evanston's Harley Clarke mansion is staying put.

Late Monday night, the Evanston city council voted unanimously to preserve the historic building from demolition.

Evanston aldermen previously voted to tear it down despite the recommendation of a Preservation Commission to save it.

Save Harley Clarke, a group that sought to save the building from demolition, released a statement say, "On behalf of SHC and the more than 80% of the voters who supported preservation of this landmarked building and historic Jens Jensen gardens, we're grateful that the City Council has listened to the voice of the people and the experts from its own Preservation Commission who say it is important to preserve our landmark buildings.

We are so grateful to Landmarks Illinois, Jenner & Block, The Cultural Landscape Foundation, The National Trust, and many other local, state and national elected officials and organizations who worked to support us throughout this long process -- and of course to the hundreds of volunteers who gave thousands of hours to our work. We look forward to next steps and to keeping our promise to the Evanston community to keep the space for public use and at no cost to the taxpayer."