Our new WOW programs start in Springfield, Illinois
Adventures in Preservation launches WOW — AiP’s Weekend Warriors with a project at the magnificent Ursuline Academy Campus (May 21–22, 2022).
It’s the beginning of a new era at Adventures in Preservation (AiP). After 20 years, providing one and two-week hands-on preservation vacations at historic sites around the world, AiP is launching WOW — AiP’s Weekend Warriors! This new program will begin at locations in the US, and will focus on bringing students in preservation and related fields, professionals, and preservation enthusiasts to work on important historic sites within their own communities. With low fees and close proximity, this will open AiP opportunities to a much broader audience.
The first Weekend Warrior project will be at the Ursuline Academy Campus in Springfield, Illinois.
Ursulines, originating in Ireland, opened their academy in 1857 in downtown Springfield with an innovative mission. This Catholic secondary school provided college-preparatory education for women only. The Academy moved to the current location in 1867, focusing on women’s education until it became co-ed in 1981.
Ursuline closed in 2007, and Alumni Sarah Jones advocated for saving its 11 buildings. She wrote her master’s thesis on the Academy, in hopes that this would help save the school for re-use in some form.
Benedictine University used the campus until it closed in 2018, and at this point, Springfield locals, Tony and Ann Libri, stepped in. Ann wanted a space to provide music education through her non-profit, The Matthew Project, which also provides support and resources to homeless students within Springfield’s public schools.
The Libris found the perfect location in the St. Ursula Music Hall, the Academy’s 1908 music conservatory. The music hall will be restored and used for both music education and as a space that can be rented for public events such as weddings or conferences.
Under the Libri’s leadership, Preservation, Inc., a nonprofit, was established and purchased the entire 25-acre Ursuline property with its 11 buildings. Preservation, Inc. retained three buildings, and the rest were sold to raise funds for preservation efforts and to provide a diversity of businesses for the neighborhood, such as a senior living facility and restaurants.
It was at this point that Adventures in Preservation became involved. Tony Libri and Sarah Jones asked AiP to help with building conservation by providing hands-on preservation training over the next few years. Buildings slated for preservation are:
- the original 1867 Italianate Academy building
- the 1895 Romanesque chapel
- the 1908 St. Ursula Music Hall.
The partnership begins with the first Weekend Warriors session scheduled for May 21–22, 2022. This will be an introduction to the program, with NO FEES for volunteers.
Those attending will experience the remarkable architecture and beautiful decorative design within the 1908 music conservatory. This three-story brick and stone building needs to first be cleaned, scraped and painted before preservation work begins to transform the conservatory into both an event space for the community and a music school for children.
The first weekend allows Adventures in Preservation to be introduced to the community, the volunteers and local preservationists. Using supplies provided by Preservation, Inc., volunteers will concentrate on the 2nd floor of the Music Conservatory building, which contains the stage and music practice rooms. Sarah Jones reported the exciting news that Preservation, Inc. has been awarded a grant from Landmarks Illinois for the purchase of much needed paint and drywall.
Additional dates will soon be scheduled for weekends in June, July and August, when hands-on preservation training and work begins. Volunteers will pay a nominal fee to cover the cost of a preservation expert.
Join this important preservation project for one day or several weekends! Your efforts will help move the project closer to its goal of providing music education to Springfield’s homeless youth, as well as providing a beautiful historic space for community events.
AiP looks forward to meeting the Springfield community in May! If you love preservation, or want to see what all the excitement is about, watch for June, July, and August dates coming soon. All are welcome — no experience necessary!
- First Weekend Warrior session May 21–22, 2022
- NO FEE for initial weekend — Sat. lunch provided
- Work hours: Saturday 9–5; Sunday 8:30-noon
- Register onsite at Ursuline Music Conservatory, North Fifth St., Springfield, IL
- Take a video tour of the site:
About Adventures in Preservation (AiP)
Adventures in Preservation (AiP) is a non-profit connecting people and preservation through enriching cultural heritage travel and hands-on education. AiP was founded in 2001 by two women with a great love of historic buildings and a strong desire to travel and understand the world. While perusing the travel section of the Boulder Bookstore, the Volunteer Vacation section suddenly brought everything into focus. Judith Broeker and Jamie Donahoe combined their goal of saving historic buildings with the concept of experiential travel, and created AiP’s hands-on preservation vacations.
Work started on several sites in the U.S., and as word spread, requests for help began to pour in from around the world, underscoring the great potential of using volunteers to restore historic buildings. In supporting community-based preservation initiatives, we discovered that our love of old buildings could translate into environmental and economic sustainability for communities.
AiP is picking up the pace! As our hands-on experiential travel becomes more popular, we have new projects, new partners and initiatives to keep you excited and involved.
