Illinois State Capitol

Two Decades of Restoring a Second Empire Landmark

Designed by Cochrane and Garnsey with Alfred H. Piquenard, the Capitol was constructed between 1868 and 1888 as a masterwork of Second Empire design. The building integrates Renaissance Revival and Italianate influences through its massive dome, intricate decorative details, and distinctive mansard roofs.

Almost from the start of the 20th century, the building underwent ongoing alterations, system upgrades, and repairs, often compromising historic interiors and spatial volumes. Since 2000, EverGreene has maintained a continuous working relationship with the Illinois State Capitol, completing multiple restoration campaigns across the building’s most significant spaces. Across these efforts, EverGreene has brought together historic finishes investigation, design studies, maquettes, studio production, and on-site conservation—pairing traditional craftsmanship with contemporary preservation practices.

Rotunda & Alcoves

Our conservators treated five significant murals, including Gustav Fuchs’s monumental Treaty With The Indians and Robert Grafton’s Agriculture, Industry, and Commerce. Conservation work encompassed emergency stabilization, consolidation, surface cleaning, and careful inpainting. The historic decorative program throughout the third-floor rotunda and fourth-floor corridors was meticulously reinstated with hand-painted elements, faux marble, stenciling, and gilding.

House & Senate Chambers

EverGreene conducted extensive historic paint and plaster conservation studies, stabilizing deteriorated surfaces and replicating missing ornamental elements. We reinstated the period decorative scheme through stenciling, trompe l’oeil, gilding, and glazing, returning these working legislative spaces to their nineteenth-century grandeur.

Hall of Flags

EverGreene restored the elaborate decorative scheme in this ceremonial space (Room 400), including hand-painted swag and ornament panels, faux marble, and gilding. Three portrait murals depicting Lincoln, Grant, and a Union Civil War soldier received comprehensive conservation treatment to stabilize and preserve these important historical images.

Supreme Court

In the Capitol’s most richly decorated Room 212, EverGreene reinstated dozens of historic colors and finishes through metallic paints, stenciling, glazing, gilding, faux bois, and marbleizing. Unique carton-pierre ceiling ornaments were conserved, two scagliola columns restored, and the Justice and Eagle murals documented and stabilized.

West Wing

Our craftsmen and conservators restored Room 309, the grand staircase, and public corridors, reinstating hand-painted decoration, faux marbling, stenciling, gilding, and glazing. The historic Fuchs mural in the grand staircase and scagliola in the first-floor lobby received specialized conservation treatment.

EverGreene’s ongoing conservation work ensures this architectural treasure will serve citizens for many generations to come.