A restoration and renovation to a 100+ year old historic building
to build Elmhurst's first fragrance blending and gathering house.
During our first site visit, we discovered that the existing plywood, wood shake and asphalt shingle exterior both covered the original storefront and enclosed a “room” that was technically an outdoor space. The false facade also covered signage adhered to the building from past decades. Due to plaster and paint applied directly to the face of the original masonry, it was no longer salvageable to leave exposed as-is and too fragile to strip or clean as initially planned.
As we peeled away layers, we found not one but TWO historic signs! The first was an ORIGINAL sign from the '50s and '60s — Bon-Dell's Sewing Machine Repair Shop! With help from the Elmhurst History Museum, we traced the building's story and uncovered a piece of our town's past. Doing further research of the building's history, we discovered it may have been connected to the railroad tracks; possibly a carriage house or storage unit. As we peeled away layers, we found not one but TWO historic signs: the 1950s-60s sign from a sewing machine repair shop, and underneath that, the ORIGINAL 1930s sign painted on brick, Elmhurst Glass Shop!
Our redesign began to embrace and celebrate the historic retail architecture of the building’s original era. Fire-rated trim and paneling would cover/protect the damaged masonry, while the now exposed and highly-visibly side 'courtyard' would still showcase original brick. The new exterior would reflect the building’s original era and use, while complementing the new retail aesthetic and meets current building codes (unlike the materials we removed!) Stay tuned to see this Elmhurst storefront continue to come to life!