The Evanston Post Office at 1101 Davis St. has the kind of details you don’t see on many public buildings anymore, including a limestone facade, lobby statues finished in gold leaf, and rows of bronze PO boxes. After years of exposure, and years of smaller fixes, the building is now getting a significant exterior restoration that started this spring.
The renovation began as a targeted effort to stop leaks tied to masonry on the parapet wall. Once an architect evaluated the project last summer, the scope grew. Additional exterior issues were identified, turning a repair job into a broader restoration.
Project manager Liz Faron, who has handled building “problem calls” for more than a decade, said the masonry repairs were overdue. Restore Works handled the limestone and masonry work, including replacement of 4-inch-thick limestone panels that had deteriorated from salt and weather exposure.
The work also expanded beyond stone. The project included basement crack repairs in areas once used for mail processing, corrections to previous substandard caulk work, fresh paint in select areas, and repairs to entrance doors. It also brought in a mix of trades, including electricians, painters, and bricklayers.
Final steps include power washing the facade and exterior statues, then applying a sealant intended to help protect the porous limestone. With the entrance door repairs still to be finished, Faron said the project should wrap by mid-August.
Inside the building, longtime U.S. Postal Service employee Joyce Rutland, who oversees upkeep, said it is the first restoration of this kind she can remember. The maintenance crew is currently two people, and the post office is hiring two more. Rutland also flagged site issues that can affect building exteriors over time, including rat burrowing that has caused ground settlement and water collection near the base of the building.
A separate, community-led effort is also taking shape to improve the landscaping. Nature’s Perspective, a local landscaping company, has offered to design and install a low-maintenance native plant eco-garden, with the community expected to supply the plants.
Read the full, original article from Evanston RoundTable here.