Coles County Courthouse Window Project, Charleston

2025 Landmarks Illinois Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Award for Environmental Sustainability

In 2024, Coles County wrapped up a two-year effort to replace 384 deteriorating windows on its historic courthouse, significantly improving energy efficiency at the 125-year-old building. Constructed between 1898 and 1900, the Coles County Courthouse was designed in the Richardsonian Romanesque style by C.W. Rapp, one of the brothers behind the famed architectural firm Rapp & Rapp that designed the Chicago Theatre and other well-known movie palaces. Located in downtown Charleston, the National Register-listed courthouse is among the most significant and prominent historic structures in Coles County and a popular gathering spot for community events. In 1966, the county replaced the courthouse’s original windows with aluminum windows that did not match the style of the building. Those windows deteriorated over the next six decades, creating an eyesore for the local landmark. The latest Coles County Courthouse Window Project involved installing historically appropriate custom aluminum-clad wood windows, replicating the design of the original courthouse while meeting guidelines of the National Register of Historic Places. The project has been transformative for the community. Not only has it drastically improved the look and sustainability of the historic Coles County Courthouse, but it has also inspired other local preservation projects and sparked economic development for the largely rural and historically economically distressed area.

(Photo credit: Noah Spence)

Additional Information

The Coles County Courthouse Window Project ran from March 2022 until February 2024. The county employed local construction firms and workers to complete the work, creating a positive impact on the local economy. Funding sources include a federal grant of $3,124,611 from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) and a $200,000 grant from the Charleston Charitable Organization.

 

Project Principals

• Coles County, Owners
• Centrica Business Solutions, Project Lead
• Jeld-Wen, Window Manufacturer
• Ed Carter Construction, Installation
• Triple A Asbestos, Lead Abatement

 

Why is this place important to you?

Historian Stacy Lynn

The Coles County Courthouse is one of the most significant historic and public buildings in Charleston. The courthouse was designed by architect Cornelius W. Rapp, the son of a Carbondale contractor. Rapp became cofounder in 1906 of the Chicago architectural firm of Rapp & Rapp, which became renowned for theater designs in the first decades of the twentieth century. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1977, the courthouse exemplifies the Richardsonian Romanesque style, which evokes a sense of permanence, certainly evident in this landmark building. The site of the present courthouse is associated with two significant historical events related to the American Civil War: the Matson Slave Case of 1847, in which Abraham Lincoln was an attorney and the Charleston Riot of March 28, 1864, instigated by furloughed soldiers and southern sympathizers. Monuments on the courthouse grounds commemorate local service in American wars and Abraham Lincoln’s legal practice in the Coles County Circuit Court in the 1840s and 1850s. The anchor of historic downtown Charleston, the Coles County Courthouse is a working historic building, a polling place and home to the Coles County Circuit Court, Coles County Traffic Court, as well as offices for the circuit court and county government officials. It is also a well-loved community gathering place, the setting for farmers’ markets, festivals, Christmas in the Heart of Charleston, the Eastern Illinois University Homecoming Parade, outdoor summer concerts and Tour de Charleston, a popular annual bike race.

(Photo credit: Greg Cooper/EIU Journalism)

How did saving this place impact people in your community?

Historian Stacy Lynn

The Coles County Courthouse Window Project, which employed a local construction firm and local workers, has had a positive impact on taxpayers, county government officials and employees, downtown business owners, Charleston residents, EIU students, tourists and people across the county coming to use the services within the building. Since the new windows were installed, multiple restoration projects are underway or have been completed, and numerous new businesses and a restaurant have opened on and around the courthouse square. Much of this development occurred during the difficult economic circumstances of the pandemic. While historic preservation and energy efficiency were the primary goals of the courthouse window project, it seems clear already that the project will motivate preservation and positive change in the community. The improved courthouse is a shining example of what preservation forces, government and community engagement can accomplish. Historic preservation is expensive and often requires enormous and creative efforts to secure buy-in and motivate stakeholders, but preservation initiatives such as the courthouse windows are proof to a community that such projects are not only possible but have wider, often unexpected, benefits.