ARCOLA – An open house is scheduled at 11 a.m. Friday to celebrate the transfer of a classical architectural facade to a building in downtown Arcola.

The facade of the Opera Hall building in Stewardson has found a new use in Arcola, serving as the storefront for the building that houses The Primitive Goose antique shop at 107 E. Main St.

The reuse of the storefront occurred through the efforts of Main Street building owner Wilmer Otto and the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.

The Stewardson Opera House facade, which dates from 1893, was one of many storefronts that the Mesker Brothers Iron Works of St. Louis created for hundreds of small towns in the Midwest.

But by 2006, the building had suffered storm damage and was deteriorating. As the city was preparing to raze the building, Otto contacted the preservation agency, looking for a Mesker ornamental sheet-metal storefront to replace the Arcola storefront destroyed by fire in 1950.

The agency put Otto in contact with Stewardson, and Otto arranged for contractor Henry Chupp to dismantle the Opera House storefront in 2006.

Arcola businesses J.B. Helmuth Inc. and Kaskaskia Metal Works sandblasted, repaired and painted the ornamental metal. In July, Chupp installed the facade on the building at 107 E. Main St. Today, Arcola has six Mesker storefronts.

Among those expected to attend Friday's open house are the mayors of Arcola and Stewardson, a representative of the preservation agency and David Mesker, a descendant of one of the Mesker brothers.

The open house begins outside the building with a few speeches, then moves inside an adjacent building at 101 E. Main St. for viewing of a PowerPoint presentation and refreshments.

Anyone having old photos of either building can bring them to the open house or e-mail them to Bill Harshbarger of the Arcola Flower Patch at harsh8@aol.com. Harshbarger, who has compiled some of the history of the buildings, will be master of ceremonies for the open house.