McCelvey Center

01/02/2026

The McCelvey Center auditorium trusses are strong, all the scaffolding is gone, and the “house” is looking great with a fresh coat of paint. Now, we’re working on some non-structural items like stage lighting, audio/visual, curtains, carpets, fire alarms, and HVAC repairs to get the auditorium put back together and ready to host performances again. 2026 looks to be another busy year at the McCelvey!

12/31/2025

All Culture & Heritage Museums sites will be closed Jan. 1 for New Years! 🎊 See you on Jan. 2! 🎆

10/31/2025

09/19/2025

This week Bennett Presevation Engineering visited the McCelvey Center to review the hard work of Midwest Maintenance to stabilize the auditorium. We are getting closer to wrapping this multi-year project. During this site visit, we prepared a punch list of tasks to be completed over the next two months.

Looking closely at the wall, you’ll see 13 of the 40+ pattress plates used to help stiffen and hold the walls around the stage plumb after being pulled back into place.

08/07/2025

We have reached an important milestone in the McCelvey Center auditorium stabilization. The broken truss over the stage has been successfully lifted and repaired. A lot of complex engineering by Bennett Preservation Engineering, hard work by Midwest Maintenance Inc., and steel have gone into saving the auditorium from likely collapse due to the failure of the trusses. While there is still work to be done to get the auditorium ready for performances again, we are relieved to have the most challenging part of the project behind us.

The first photo shows the truss after stabilization with the second showing the truss prior to work. The truss had been severely overstressed due to its design, resulting in a break at the center which pulled the roof down and pushed the exterior walls out. Now, the truss has been lifted and the walls have been pulled back in. The century-old wooden truss has been left in place but reinforced with additional wood, multiple steel plates at connection points, and 2” diameter tension rods that run along its 60’ length. The work that has been done will allow the auditorium to continue standing into the next century.

07/02/2025

Work to structurally repair our auditorium roof continues!

Recently, Midwest Maintenance Inc. has been able to pull in the east and west walls pushed out about 10-inches when Truss 1, a 60-foot truss spanning the stage, broke at the center. Note in the first picture the reduction of the gap between the wall and box beam from May to June.

They’ve also been able to lift Truss 1 at the break 7-inches of the 9-inches it dropped when it broke without causing any damage to slate roof installed in 2012. They are now sistering the truss with LVLs to reinforce and strengthen the truss as designed by .

06/26/2025

Looking forward to having Yorkville Historical Society for their ice cream social on our lawn!

02/25/2025

Continued progress on repairs with Midwest Maintenance Inc.!

01/07/2025

Work has started at McCelvey Center to repair and strengthen the wooden trusses that support the auditorium roof. Five shoring towers have been built and our preservation contractor, Midwest Maintenance Inc., is selectively removing the millwork around the bottom chords of the five trusses. This is necessary so that jacks can be placed below the trusses to lift them back into place where they have deflected due to overstress. The original 1920s millwork will be reinstalled in its original location, and when the work is complete it will be difficult to tell that anything happened. But the roof framing will be strengthened so that the auditorium can once again be safely used for performances.

12/30/2024

Thank you for your support throughout the year! Wishing you all a very happy and healthy 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣5️⃣! All CHM sites will be closed on Jan. 1 for New Years.

12/30/2024

Discover more with membership! With a new year, comes new programs, events and more! Visit chmuseums.org/membership/ or text “Join CHM” to 833.630.1215 to discover what all we have to offer when you join our museum family! Membership includes exclusive events, free access to multiple museums for a full year, discounts and more!