The two-phase renovation converted a former dining room and parts of the kitchen dishwashing and storage areas into a new museum and archival storage. The Heritage Center houses archival collections, event space, and the Abraham Lincoln Foundation.

Initial work revealed the brick arch supporting the main level portico was failing and portions of the gypsum tile floor system were collapsing. Keast & Hood designed shoring for the arch, inserted a new steel lintel to carry three stories of brick bearing walls, and cast a new concrete vault. The gypsum system was replaced with concrete slab on metal deck supported by supplemental steel. The project included repointing the interior face of exterior walls, sistering overhead joists to support ceiling replacement, and penetrations through bearing walls for new circulation and utilities. Significant structural interventions accommodated a mechanical room that supports archival control systems.

The National Register-listed Union League of Philadelphia was built in 1865. Keast & Hood has provided structural engineering for ongoing renovations and historic preservation at the Union League for over two decades.

The two-phase renovation converted a former dining room and parts of the kitchen dishwashing and storage areas into a new museum and archival storage. The Heritage Center houses archival collections, event space, and the Abraham Lincoln Foundation.

Initial work revealed the brick arch supporting the main level portico was failing and portions of the gypsum tile floor system were collapsing. Keast & Hood designed shoring for the arch, inserted a new steel lintel to carry three stories of brick bearing walls, and cast a new concrete vault. The gypsum system was replaced with concrete slab on metal deck supported by supplemental steel. The project included repointing the interior face of exterior walls, sistering overhead joists to support ceiling replacement, and penetrations through bearing walls for new circulation and utilities. Significant structural interventions accommodated a mechanical room that supports archival control systems.

The National Register-listed Union League of Philadelphia was built in 1865. Keast & Hood has provided structural engineering for ongoing renovations and historic preservation at the Union League for over two decades.

CLIENT: Atkin Olshin Schade Architects
LOCATION: Philadelphia, PA

TYPE: Cultural, Historic, SERVICES: Adaptive Reuse, Historic Preservation, Renovation, Structural Intervention, MATERIALS: Masonry, Steel, Wood, SUSTAINABILITY: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Completed project photography courtesy of The Union League of Philadelphia