Last week, I was fortunate enough to be invited to the Illinois Railway Museum’s annual fundraiser at the Sanfilippo Estate in Barrington. The house is not open to the general public unless you attend a fundraiser or are part of a group of at least 40 people who sign up to take a tour, so I was very excited to have the opportunity to see inside the Place de la Musique. Suffice it to say, this will be one of those multi part posts as I took more than 400 pictures while I was there.
Wow! What a place! And setting aside, for a moment, all the fantastic things that the Sanfilippo family have collected over the years, the house itself is amazing. Who knew there was that much money to be made from nuts! The Sanfilippos also own the Fisher nut company as well as many other brands.
We were free to wander around the house for an hour or more, and take the ornate elevator to all three floors to look at the different collections
The highlight of the fundraiser was an organ recital in the grand theater that is part of the house. The Wurlitzer opus #1571 was originally built for the Riviera Theater in Omaha in 1927. With five rows of keys and 8,000 pipes, it is one of the largest and most versatile theater pipe organs ever built.
The organist, Dave Calendine, plays the organ for the Detroit Red Wings hockey team games. He has also played for nine years for the Radio City Musical Hall Christmas Spectaculars featuring the famous Rockettes. He is the Chairman of the American Theater Organ Society and has a string of other credits to his name. He certainly put on a fantastic show for us and I was just in awe of the hand, eye and foot coordination needed to play this massive instrument. The concert included Christmas carols, hymns, excerpts from Star Wars and of course, a medley of tunes related to the railway. Talk about feeling the music! The notes reverberated throughout the house.
Although the concert was the main feature of the fundraiser, there was so much more to see and enjoy. I hope you will join me here next time when we take a look at some of the pieces in the Sanfilippo Collection.
Getting the Picture 
Spectacular would not be enough to describe this place. Thanks for sharing Sue. Allan
It was an amazing sight, that’s for sure, Allan. Stay tuned for more.
Just WOW!!
My daughter could hardly find the words to describe it when she went these last year, and now I’ve had a chance to see it for myself, I echo your sentiment, WOW!
Wow! What a stunning place! Looking forward to more of your pictures, Sue.
Thank you for stopping by, Lynette!
II can see why you might have taken a lot of pictures. I look forward to more.
Thanks, Tom. Plenty more to come.
Wow! Very ornate. What an experience this must’ve been. By the way, the fireplace brick is the exact same brick around the fireplace in my home, only mine is half the size. Not surprised this house is in Barrington. The Fisher Nut Company is right down the street from me. I think they also give tours. 🤷♀️
My daughter told me about this place when she went there last year for the IRM benefit. I was very grateful to her for giving me the opportunity to see it for myself.
Beautiful series of pictures, Sue!
Thank you for visiting, Indira!
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Stunning, but it doesn’t look livable. Do you know if the family lived there at anytime? The closest I get to the Sanfilippos is their outlet store.
I don’t imagine it’s their primary residence now, but then there were parts of the house that I’m sure we didn’t get to see, so it’s possible that they may still live there. My eldest daughter met John Sanfilippo when she first started working for a financial company in Bensenville many years ago little thinking that she would get to meet his grandson and visit their house. She was the one who got me the ticket for this concert to benefit the Illinois Railway Museum.