PRESERVATION
The Chapel at The Principia College
Historic American Building Survey
Elsah, Jersey County, IL
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
FALL 2008
Bernard Maybeck’s Depression-Era masterpiece of campus planning and architecture sits on a verdant bluff overlooking the Mississippi River Valley. The Principia College is a National Historic Landmark District Comprised of Maybeck’s master plan for the campus, eleven Maybeck buildings, and 25 contributing buildings. The Chapel is the centerpiece of this landmark district located in Jersey County, Illinois near the town of Elsah.
The Chapel was built between 1931-1934 in a Colonial Revival Style. The irregular spacing of the windows of the Chapel, which is uncharacteristic of the Colonial Revival Style, is consistent with the picturesque qualities of the Chapel Green, on which the Chapel sits, and the English Village atmosphere Maybeck created through the master plan and the architecture of the other campus buildings.
The Chapel’s structure is reinforced concrete faced with Bedford Indiana Limestone that was “shot-sawn” during cutting. This left metal filings on the stone that later rusted to create the texture, color, and patina of age. Even the mortar for the stone was carefully chosen so that the sand aggregate matches the final patina of the stone.
The Principia College has maintained its original function as an educational and research facility for Christian Scientists. The period of significance for the Landmark District is 1931-1946. The creation of The Principia College was a focus for Maybeck beginning in 1923. Originally, there were thirteen Maybeck buildings on campus.
This project was undertaken in the fall 2008 by the graduate preservation class at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign School of Architecture to be entered into the 2009 Charles E. Peterson Prize competition. This project was conducted under the guidance of Professor Paul H. Kapp, AIA and Tim Penich, teaching assistant. The graduate students that performed the survey consisted of Ryan Anderson, Ryan Greenway, Lori Pawlias, Chelsea Pogorelac, Laura Stoller, and myself.
Library of Congress, Historic American Buildings Survey:
FALL 2008
Bernard Maybeck’s Depression-Era masterpiece of campus planning and architecture sits on a verdant bluff overlooking the Mississippi River Valley. The Principia College is a National Historic Landmark District Comprised of Maybeck’s master plan for the campus, eleven Maybeck buildings, and 25 contributing buildings. The Chapel is the centerpiece of this landmark district located in Jersey County, Illinois near the town of Elsah.
The Chapel was built between 1931-1934 in a Colonial Revival Style. The irregular spacing of the windows of the Chapel, which is uncharacteristic of the Colonial Revival Style, is consistent with the picturesque qualities of the Chapel Green, on which the Chapel sits, and the English Village atmosphere Maybeck created through the master plan and the architecture of the other campus buildings.
The Chapel’s structure is reinforced concrete faced with Bedford Indiana Limestone that was “shot-sawn” during cutting. This left metal filings on the stone that later rusted to create the texture, color, and patina of age. Even the mortar for the stone was carefully chosen so that the sand aggregate matches the final patina of the stone.
The Principia College has maintained its original function as an educational and research facility for Christian Scientists. The period of significance for the Landmark District is 1931-1946. The creation of The Principia College was a focus for Maybeck beginning in 1923. Originally, there were thirteen Maybeck buildings on campus.
This project was undertaken in the fall 2008 by the graduate preservation class at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign School of Architecture to be entered into the 2009 Charles E. Peterson Prize competition. This project was conducted under the guidance of Professor Paul H. Kapp, AIA and Tim Penich, teaching assistant. The graduate students that performed the survey consisted of Ryan Anderson, Ryan Greenway, Lori Pawlias, Chelsea Pogorelac, Laura Stoller, and myself.
Library of Congress, Historic American Buildings Survey:
- Principia College, Chapel, 1 Maybeck Place, Elsah, Jersey County, IL
- Call Number: HABS IL-324-A
- http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/il0974/
Anthony R. Latino © 2010-2023