Comely Bank - the home of Paul Harris

PDG Chris Offer gave a presentation on the campaign to restore the home of Paul Harris.

In 1912, Harris and Jean Harris made Paul’s dream a reality with the purchase of a gracious Tudor-style home on that very street in what is today Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood. They named the home Comely Bank after the street in Scotland where Jean grew up.

The world’s early Rotarians met in the home and fostered the friendships upon which Rotary was built and thrives on today. The Harrises hosted Rotary meetings and entertained visiting dignitaries, surrounded by objects collected throughout the world. The trees that they planted in their friendship garden still grace the yard.

After Paul Harris passed away in 1947, Jean sold their home and returned to Scotland. The house changed hands twice more before Rotarians bought it for US$550,000 in 2005 with plans to preserve it as a living monument to our founder.

Today, this piece of Rotary history is being restored to the way it looked in the 1940s. When the restoration is completed, the home will be open to the public as a museum and gathering place, where exhibits will give visitors a look into the personal lives of Paul and Jean Harris.

The Paul and Jean Harris Home Foundation is working to raise $5 million over five years to complete the renovations, establish an endowment to pay for operations and maintenance in perpetuity, and retire the purchase debt on the home.

For further information and to make a donation go to: www.paulharrishome.org/