The reason we love working on older buildings is that they have a history.
Once in awhile, we discover something interesting that helps tell the story of the building we’re working on.
One of the most interesting finds we’ve ever made was right here, within our office. As we were renovating our conference room, we uncovered a 1930s era 24’ x 12’ advertising mural that used to be on the exterior façade of a neighboring building.
We preserved the mural, and it is currently a feature wall in our conference room.
This notice from the Austin State Bank was discovered in an old Oak Park garage - we believe the pierced holes at center say: PAID 7 27 22, which indicates that the notice is over 100 years old.
During a renovation project in Chicago, our carpenters uncovered this marked 2x10- the building was built in the 1890s.
This Oak Park plumbing inspection tag was found hanging on a pipe within a wall that had been undisturbed since 1908.
We found a pencil signature on a board just below the second floor overhang on the exterior of an Oak Park home. Obscured by siding for over a century, the signature probably belonged to one of the original carpenters.
Frank Foster - May 30, 1890
This group of ephemera was discovered beneath the floorboards in an Oak Park home that was built in the 1870s. The items probably belonged to a former owner – George Sharpe – and we believe they’re from the 1870s.
The removal of an attic ceiling revealed this 2x4 that was probably installed as an impromptu joist many decades ago. It’s stamped with “FROM - UNIVERSAL BLEACHER CO -CHAMPAIGN ILL” (this image has been rotated 180 degrees).
Our crew unearthed these objects beneath an Oak Park front porch that had been sealed up for decades. The objects are from the early 20th century- the large object with the circles on top is a floor sweeper.
A group of 19th century objects found between floors of an 1870s era house: a ticket, a shoe and a metal rattle.
This Japanese flag, from World War II, was uncovered during the renovation of an Oak Park bungalow. It contains inscriptions that indicate its presence at the Battle of Saipan from 1944.
This pipe was discovered within a soffit that had been undisturbed since the early 1900s.
When this old fir jamb was extracted, the pencil inscription “Wm Sinclair and Sons 300 Forest Ave.” became visible.