Race Street Entrance
The front porch of The Urbana Free Library is slowly coming apart, and some year it will need to be rebuilt.
From the outside, the most visible signs are at the southeast corner of the porch. Blocks are beginning to loosen at the corner, and some stone blocks at the base of the balustrade are spalling. From underneath the porch, one can see the concrete deck slowly disintegrating, with rebar exposed in a few places.
Although there has not been a full evaluation by a structural engineer, it seems most likely that the porch will need to be disassembled, block by block, and new footings installed. After that, the porch can be reassembled, a few blocks of stone replaced, and a new concrete deck poured.
At the time of the 2002-2005 rebuilding of the library, the front steps were completely disassembled, new footings poured, and then reassembled. At this time, the center steps are in excellent condition and not linked structurally to the porch.
One of the unusual architectural features of The Urbana Free Library is its front porch. Porches are found on very few classical revival libraries. Urbana's porch is especially attractive because of the flower boxes and awnings, which make it a pleasant place to sit on summer days.
The cost of rebuilding the porch has not been determined, but an extremely preliminary estimate by the structural engineer working on the 2005 addition is $250,000.
Search CU Catalog
|
Search for:
|
| Search by:
|
Search This Site
Click HERE to download the free Adobe Acrobat Reader software.
Gifts to the Foundation
are tax deductable. For
more information, email foundation@tufl.info.
For questions about Foundation projects,
contact Executive Director Debra J. Lissak at dlissak@tufl.info or by phone at 217-367-4058.
