Landmarks Illinois has given the Jacksonville Area Museum a matching grant to help further repairs at the Old Post Office Building.
Chair of the Museum Board David Blanchette says the grant will help retain the building’s classic look: “It’s a matching grant, which means that we also put in $2,500 for a total of $5,000 worth of work on the historic windows around the Old Post Office. Now, there are 20 historic windows and this grant will help recover the repair and restoration of all 20 windows. We will not only be able to retain the historic windows but they will be brought up to snuff and should be ready for when we open later this summer.”
The repair and refinishing work, being performed by Jacksonville resident Matt Chumley, the owner of Central Illinois Construction, must meet the Secretary of the Interior’s standards for historic preservation. Blanchette says its important that the windows get repaired now: “It’s important that the windows be kept in good shape because it is part of the building envelope. It also helps keep the climate control systems functioning efficiently. Plus, it just makes the building really look good. If the windows are in poor repair, it doesn’t reflect very well on the building, especially on the south side of the building. The windows had deteriorated quite badly. This project is going to restore them as close to the original condition as possible, so they will look nice and be weather-tight. It’s a win-win for everyone.”
Blanchette says work on the windows already has started and should be completed by the middle of June. The museum is scheduled to open by late summer.