Fired Up by Historic Restoration
In the summer of 2015, an unfortunate arson incident led to the historic reconstruction of Eagan’s Old Town Hall. The final result was a more visible and true representation of historic colors including the roof, siding, and interior reconstruction of materials damaged by the fire and smoke.
The Old Town Hall of Eagan was built in 1914. It originally housed town board meetings and voting in the built in booths along the back wall. After an unfortunate arson incident the City of Eagan made the decision to re-commit to the history of their Old Town Hall by restoring the original building. Preserving as much of the historic materials as possible, the project team made every effort to restore the interior and exterior of this building to house the Eagan Historic Society collections and exhibits.
At first it seemed like two-thirds of the historic roof could remain in place. However at the start of construction, it became apparent that only one-third could remain as a sample of the historic construction methods. Approximately two-thirds of the roof was replaced with new trusses and the remaining historic roof was reinforced in place. The new roof is cedar shingles as it would have been originally (not asphalt shingles). The exterior reconstruction of the damaged wood windows was fairly straight forward. There were many examples of the same wood window. Replacing historic glass proved slightly more challenging. Modern glass production differs from 100 years ago. Glass also ‘slumps’ over time. To reconstruct the replacement window and select window panes required researching and comparing samples of glass manufacturers who mimic the historic methods. The impact is subtle, but honors the historic feel of the building.
The Old Town Hall has shot gun holes in the back wall. We had to pay close attention to the re-installation of the bead board because the contractor almost mistakenly replaced the damaged boards! These flawed pieces of wood tell the story of the Old Town Hall. One of the larger holes was plugged by a corn cob. The corn cob was salvaged and reinstalled in its hole and is a highlight of the Old Town Hall tours for school groups.
Reconstruction requires research, onsite investigation, and a mindful interpretation of the unknown. After the fire, not much was left or known about the interior. The interior finishes apart from the wood floor and bead board wainscot, were lost by either the fire, smoke damage, or water from putting out the fire. The interior of the Old Town Hall had been renovated several times and the historic photos did not show the wall color. Upon closer inspection, I found several hand-sized samples of the original interior finish below window trim that seemed like pressed paper. To mimic the historic material, we used a combination of thin plywood to match the original material thickness with a wallcovering to match the texture. It was then hand painted with slight color variations and long brush strokes to mimic the historic texture. We worked closely with the contractor and painters to align their methods with the historic process for an authentic reinterpretation of the historic town hall. The lights above the voting booths were rewired and reinstalled. Additional pendant lights and the ceiling pattern were selected as period appropriate designs since there was no documentation of the historic fixtures.
Many efforts were made to preserve the look and feel of the historic interior. However, reconstruction the Old Town Hall made a few updates possible to improve the functionality of the space. These changes improve the comfort of visitors and better preserve the displayed artifacts.
Insulated the walls and roof
Installed a wall mounted mini-split for cooling the space in the summer
Installed a new heater, painted to minimize the visual impact
Installed additional floor outlets for free standing powered exhibits
Regraded the front entry to replace the ramp with a sloped walkway and increase visibility of the restored front entry
Katie measured, drafted, researched, analyzed paint, specified, and managed construction administration (CA) on this project. Her work on this project was completed under the signing architect, Stuart MacDonald of MacDonald & Mack Architects and in collaboration with MMY Structural Engineers, Parkos Construction, and the City of Eagan. Special thanks to the Eagan Historic Society for their support and commitment to Eagan’s history.
Opening Ceremony (2016) after reconstructing damaged structure and trim, restoring historic colors, & integrating modern HVAC systems.
