The 2010 PACA Annual Membership Meeting will be held April 18 at Edison Middle School, at 306 West Green Street, Champaign.  A short business meeting, including the election of three directors and the presentation of the annual budget, will begin at 2 pm followed by the presentation of the 2010 Heritage Awards.  Refreshments are provided.  The meeting is open to all PACA members and the general public.

The Preservation and Conservation Association recently sold a semi-tractor trailer load of carved, medieval limestone. The stone was acquired by the Art Institute of Chicago in 1922 and was installed in the former Lucy Maud Buckingham Medieval Room at the Art Institute.  The Buckingham Room was dismantled in 1965 and the stone relegated to storage (Chicago, 1965-1985; Urbana, 1985-2009).  PACA acquired the stone from the Spurlock Museum at the University of Illinois at Urbana

The grouping consisted of over 200 pieces of carved limestone from a medieval quarry located in Normandy, France.  The major fragments comprised three large Gothic window frames and two interior doorway surrounds.    Continue reading »

There is only ONE MONTH until the nomination deadline for the National Preservation Awards!

Do you know of, or are you part of, an exciting and inspiring preservation project? The National Preservation Awards recognize a diverse array of projects and organizations, from rewarding organizational excellence to honoring preservation projects at the frontier of the green preservation movement to volunteer efforts and more.

Download the nomination form now. The deadline is March 1, 2010.

If you have questions or need additional information about the awards or the nomination process, please call 202.588.6315 or email. We look forward to receiving your nomination.

On Sunday October 18, 2009, PACA will be hosting the “Annual Membership and Volunteer Recognition Party” at the Salvage Warehouse. This event is in honor of all of our volunteers (especially our paver workers) and all those that support PACA through their membership and donations. Come, relax, and enjoy the company and fellowship of others who appreciate our community’s past and historic buildings/architecture.

PACA Salvage Warehouse, 44 East Washington, Champaign

3 p.m. –

Food and drink provided

From the UIUC online calendar:  Notice is hereby given that a public planning meeting (Community Charrette) will be held on Tuesday, October 20, 2009 beginning at 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. (local time) in the Monsanto Room (Lower Level) of the ACES Library, Information and Alumni Center, 1101 South Goodwin Avenue, Urbana for the purpose of receiving ideas and planning, related to proposed future uses of the Mumford House, (UIUC Bldg #0125), located at 1403 West Lorado Taft Drive, Urbana at the University of Illinois. The charrette will begin with a formal presentation by the University’s selected restoration architects/engineers, Vinci Hamp Architects, Inc. of Chicago, describing their findings of the present day condition of the building and its components. Those who have prepared a presentation and wish to make public comments addressing this issue will be allowed to do so in order to briefly describe their concept. Presentations shall be limited to no more than 5 (five) minutes per individual and breakout sessions for brainstorming will follow. Afternoon sessions will include team presentations and a pros and cons discussion of presented ideas. Sessions will conclude with announcements of next steps in process. Any further questions regarding these proceedings may be forwarded to: Melvyn Skvarla, Campus Historic Preservation Officer, Physical Plant Services Building, M/C 800, 1501 South Oak Street, Champaign, Illinois 61820-6905; telephone: (217) 265-6133, or e-mail: mskvarla@illinois.edu.

The Illinois State Historical Society has created an award for 150-year-old church congregations in 2010. Churches of all denominations established in Illinois in 1860 or earlier are eligible to apply for the award.  The award includes a certificate, a  one-year complimentary membership in the Society, an invitation to a special awards banquet, and statewide recognition.

  Churches must document their age with at least one of the following items:  minutes of early church meetings, photocopies of marriage or baptismal records, official charter, contemporary newspaper advertisements or articles, and old city directories.

A $50, non-refundable application fee is required with each application.  Further information and forms are available at  www.historyillinois.org and 217-525-2781.

With the help of a group of PACA volunteers, approximately 200 gothic stone pieces were moved from the basement of Lincoln Hall on August 22nd.  The limestone was stored in Lincoln in 1985 when it was donated to the University of Illinois’ World Heritage Museum from the Art Institute of Chicago.  UIUC transferred ownership to PACA in 2004.

The limestone pieces comprise parts of three Gothic windows, two doorways, two niches, and a column from a fifteenth-century castle or chateau near Poitiers, along the Clain River in west central France.

PACA is working with the UIUC Department of Architecture to find a permanent home for the stone.  If you are interested in helping with this effort, please contact Karen Kummer, pacaexdir@comcast.net.

Two area buildings will be featured in the latest issue of Historic Illinois, a publication of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency (IHPA).

An historic Mesker facade was moved from a building in Stewardson to one in Arcola after staff from the IHPA were able to connect an enterprising building owner in Arcola seeking to replace a lost Mesker facade with the owners of the soon-to-be-demolished Opera Hall in Stewardson.  The salvaged Mesker facade was installed on the recipient building in Arcola. Source: News-Gazette, 09/21/2009

Lincoln Square Mall located in Urbana’s downtown was the first indoor shopping mall outside the Chicago area.  Lincoln Square saw a steady decline in the 1970s and 1980s; however, a new owner is breathing new life into Lincoln Square by attracting mixed uses for the mall. Source:  News-Gazette, 08/30/2009)