UniLu: Building Renovations in 2002

In 2002, an extraordinarily generous bequest from alumna Phyllis Louise Edwards enabled University Lutheran to begin some long-awaited renovations to the Sanctuary. A brief timeline:

June 9, 2002: The congregation authorizes allocation of the Edwards bequest toward renovation of the Sanctuary and Alumni/ae Room and replacement of the roofs.

June 11, 2002: The Church Council appoints Floyd Arntz, Mark Bautz, Faith Bloomquist, Ed Bucher, Lillian Habinowski, Peter Hedlund, and Tom Reiner to a Renovation Committee to oversee this work. The Council also votes to retain Rob Olson, of Robert Olson Associates, as architect for the project. (Olson was the architect for the 1999 renovations.)

July 2002: The Renovation Committee chooses Consigli Construction, the company that repaired our bell tower during the summer of 2001, as general contractor.

Week of August 12, 2002: The asbestos tiles are removed from the Sanctuary floor by the same company that performed work for University Lutheran in the 1999 renovations.

Week of August 19, 2002: Contractors begin refinishing the wood floors beneath the pews.

photo of workers refinishing Sanctuary floor

Photos by Pastor Joanne Engquist and Parish Administrator Sy Phan. Click on each image to see a larger version.

Week of August 26, 2002: An environmentally-friendly "marmoleum" floor replaced the tile, and the refinishing of the wood floors continued. The pews, lectern, and pulpit were moved into storage. Painting of the chancel, sacristy, and vestry began.

	Pastor Tom Chittick (left) confers with architect Rob Olson
	The tile has been replaced with marmoleum, and the wood floors refinished. Click the image to see a larger version.

Week of September 2, 2002: The refinishing of the wood floors continued, and the painting of the chancel, sacristy, and vestry was completed. We moved back into the Sanctuary in time for worship on September 8, with a new seating configuration facing the Winthrop Street wall.

The Sanctuary, ready for worship! Click the image to see a larger version.

Subsequent weeks: The wooden floor was refinished during the week of October 21. At a congregational meeting on November 17, the congregation voted to replace the lectern and pulpit with a reading desk ("ambo") dedicated to former pastor Ed Steimle, and to reinstall the pews in the Sanctuary. The pews were reinstalled in time for worship on November 24.

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