ARCOLA – The second-story front of a historic downtown Arcola building has been restored to its original design in an unusual architectural salvage operation.

Installation of an 1893 Mesker Brothers storefront started June 12 and is almost complete. Only the crowning pediment remains to be mounted.

The ornate facade originally adorned the opera hall in Stewardson, almost 40 miles away, but was carefully removed in the fall of 2006 before that building was demolished.

It wasn't economically feasible to save the opera hall, according to Illinois Historic Preservation Agency project designer Anna Margaret Barris.

The transplanted facade now at 107 E. Main St. in Arcola matches almost identically the building's original storefront, which was damaged by a fire in the '50s. At that time, the facade was replaced with aluminum sheet-metal siding, said Barris.

The restored facade is representative of a turn-of-the-century industry that made a lasting impression on America's main streets. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, thousands of store owners across the nation ordered, by catalog, "cheap, modern storefronts" such as this one.

These prefabricated, ornamental facades – designed to look like expensive stonework but at about a fifth the cost – were made of interchangeable galvanized steel panels with cast iron decorative components. Store owners could buy an entire facade, or individual architectural embellishments. These were installed over a wooden framework.

The Mesker Brothers Iron Works of St. Louis and the George L. Mesker Co. of Evansville, Ind. – owned by brothers but operating independently – cornered the Midwest galvanized storefront market, and the durable facades they produced grace downtown buildings in every part of Illinois.

In May 2005, the Historic Preservation Agency launched a "Got Mesker" initiative, educating and enlisting the help of the public to record more than 700 "Meskers" in 257 Illinois communities.

Preservationist Darius Bryjka, who implemented the initiative, said Arcola has an additional six buildings in town with Mesker facades or architectural components.

The restoration and reinstallation of the antique storefront were financed by Wilmer Otto, the owner of the Arcola building.

Otto is a local businessman with a degree in history, whose roots in Arcola go back four generations.

"When I acquired the building, I primarily wanted the adjoining building for my office because of its beautiful second floor turret on the corner. From that corner window I can see the spot where my great-great-grandfather stepped off the train in 1865 when he moved here from Summit Mills, Pennsylvania," said Otto.

Otto has restored six historic buildings on Arcola's main street. When he acquired this building in 2003, he asked the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency for restoration advice. When he learned the original facade was a Mesker, Otto responded "Great, where can I get one?"

Two weeks later, Bryjka learned of the opera hall in Stewardson.

Otto hired contractors Henry Chupp & Sons to dismantle and reinstall the facade.

"Henry Chupp and his sons are craftsmen of the highest order and deserve the credit for seeing how the disassembly and restoration was possible," said Otto.

In the three years between removal and reinstallation, the facade was in the shops of two local craftsmen. J.B. Helmuth of Arcola removed the lead paint by blasting glass beads at low pressure and, after repairs were made, repainted it with a strong enamel. Tinsmith Larry Miller made the repairs and replicated missing pieces.

David Mesker, grandson of one of the founders of Mesker Brothers Ironworks, has taken an active interest in the "Got Mesker" initiative and the Arcola facade transplant and has visited the Stewardson and Arcola buildings.

"There is an inherent natural beauty to the design, and it's ultimately the design that's so agreeable," Mesker said. "Many newer styles just look like they're trying too hard."

Elizabeth Cottle, who rents the building for her antique and folk art shop, The Primitive Goose, is pleased with the new storefront.

"Wilmer is truly a visionary and historian – he's really willing to go the nine yards. And Henry Chupp and Sons did an amazing job. I feel very blessed and very excited."