The City of Urbana’s Historic Preservation Commission is hosting a “house unveiling” workshop. The workshop will be held on Saturday, June 13th 2009 at 303 W. High Street from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

In the tradition of a barn raising, volunteers will be removing (unveiling) the non-original siding from a circa 1902 Queen Anne house. (Rain date, June 20th)

The day-long workshop will be divided in two parts as follows:

10 a.m., Removing Non-Original Siding, will include “why” and “how to” remove non-original exterior siding

3:00 p.m., Paint It Right, an affordable house painting workshop will teach you how to get a 12 to 15-year cost effective paint job for your historic house.

Both seminars will be led by Bob Yapp, author and host of the former national PBS series, “About Your House with Bob Yapp.”

The Ten Most Endangered Historic Places in Illinois for 2009 was announced on April 28th at a press conference at the State Capitol in Springfield. One of the most notable listings is the recent court challenge to Chicago’s Landmarks Ordinance, which could impact preservation ordinances across the country. Other listings are: the state’s oldest bank, an early stagecoach inn, a 1915 apothecary, a 109-year-old train station, the first commercial building in the planned community of Riverside, Illinois’ largest Chautauqua auditorium, a Bertrand Goldberg-designed hospital, an iconic structure in Aurora, a Chicago lakefront medical campus, and a distinctive grouping of barns.

The complete list can be found on the Landmarks Illinois website.