Historic Renovations

	Pergola at the Wilbur Mansion This pergola was built for an historic residence in Champaign, Illinois. The structure is based on of the original design found from photographs of 1935 and was well over one hundred feet in length. When New Prairie began the project, only the original limestone foundation remained at the site.
	Detail of Pergola
	Orpheum Children's Science Museum New Prairie Construction recreated the missing or damaged plaster moldings that decorated the interior of this turn-of-the-century downtown theatre which hosted many prominent vaudeville acts, including Jack Benny and the Marx Brothers. New Prairie repaired or replaced all surfaces in the lobby and mezzanine areas and adapted the floor plan to meet the functional requirements of a children's science museum. The second phase remodel of the museum was completed by New Prairie in the year 2000.
	Detail of plaster moldings at Orpheum
	Staircase at the Orpheum
	Victorian Italianate Homestead Work on this East Illinois homestead is ongoing. Built in 1874, the house has seen many changes over the years. New Prairie is working closely with the architect and homeowners to return it to its former glory.
	Repair and remortaring of brick Improper repairs had damaged the original soft brick. The New Prairie crew and Marion, Inc. out of Chicago spent several days with U.S. Heritage learning the proper techniques for repointing mortar joints in historic masonry buildings. Marion, Inc. completed the repointing, as well as repairing some of the keystones over the windows.
	Original Brick Luckily, we were able to salvage original brick from the back patio and in the crawl space. This could be used to replace missing or damaged bricks.
	Original corbels Much of the original trimwork on the outside of the house was missing or in bad repair. Corbels, shutters, and scrollwork all needed to addressed. New Prairie restored as much of the original trim as it could; the rest we fabricated to match the old.
	Restored corbels
	Cupola and roof The original cupola was destroyed in a fire in 1920s. The new one was built on the ground and lifted to the top of the house with a crane, and a new lightening rod was installed. A standing seam copper roof replaced the old roof.
	Front porch The new porch features a beautiful curving roof. While the porch is larger than the original structure, the columns and trimwork are all being recreated from old photographs.
	Front view of house Victorian trim is painstakingly applied to the house.
	Detail of trim