Berglund Construction provided construction services to the Chicago Cultural Center to restore the Grand Army of the Republic Rooms and the Healy & Millet stained glass dome. In the 1970s, these once vibrant rooms decorated by Tiffany were painted over in muted tones. The dome, composed of 62,000 pieces of glass and spanning 40-feet-wide, was covered in dirt and artificially lit by electric bulbs.
Over the course of a year, the project team removed and restored the stained glass from the dome, removed the artificial lighting and exposed the dome structure to natural light utilizing an exterior skylight. In the Grand Army of the Republic Rooms, preservation teams restored the Tiffany paint scheme, performed historic plaster repairs, cleaned all mosaic floors, restored the historic wood doors and hardware, and replicated the historic light fixtures.
“The Restoration of the Grand Army of the Republic Rooms was an incredible project, the team was able to utilize conservation techniques to meticulously uncover the original paint and gilded finishes to bring the space back to its original grandeur. Preserving our cultural heritage enriches our communities, particularly so at the Chicago Cultural Center, which is a rare masterpiece that is free and open to the public.”
Preservation Manager
Read about how our teams replicated the historic light fixtures:
Historic Light Fixture Replication
Photography By Tom Rossiter