Chicago Music Store Tile Restoration Project

This past weekend I spent three days volunteering for the Tucson Historical Preservation Foundation (http://www.tucsonhistoricpreservationfoundation.org ) The project was to restore the original tile at the Chicago Music Store on Congress St. Over the weekend we striped, cleaned, and re-grouted the classic yellow and black tiles, bring back to life the 1927 architectural details of the building back to Congress Street.

Chicago Music Store

The Chicago Music store was built in 1919 and has been owned by the current family since the mid 1940’s. I was invited to take a tour though the building, to include the mezzanine and basement. So much history is stored in this building. One of the greatest features was the original tin ceiling tiles…at least I thought they were awesome. The building itself has seen better days. Some additional support beams were introduced recently to keep the load from the roof stable, and about 7 years ago a truck crashed into the front of the building destroying the original tile work. Money and effort is minimal when it comes to preserving this building. The owners have received a matching grant for repairs, however matching the financial needs for this building is a daunting task.  

Original Tin Ceiling Tiles

Over the weekend we were approached by several people within the community and there was a great appreciation for what we were doing. The community had a great response to the newly exposed tiles. Unfortunately I forgot my camera on the last day so I have no photos (yet) of the final project. I will suggest that you take a walk downtown and see the amazing difference it has on the corner of Congress and 6^th. The yellow and black tiles just light-up that street corner and bring a smile to my face. 

Corner Column/ Down to the third layer of paint

While volunteering I was put in charge of restoring the original fire bell which can be found on west side of the building….it’s a beautiful candy apple red! Also, while on the scissor lift next to the Gus Taylor building (not sure if that’s the proper name for it) we discovered that the façade on that building was black glass tiles!!! After some minimal convincing I was allowed to expose one of the tiles. In doing so, I noticed that the sign above the door was made of the same material but was etched with Gus Taylor. Once again…minimal convincing, we were able to get approval from the owner to restore the sign! It’s an amazing sign that was covered with the same nasty red paint as the tiles. Congress is going to kick some downtown ass! Go check it out! 

Friends don't let friends paint tile