Published: Dec 12, 2006
The University and the Chiselers Inc. have the perfect Holiday gift for their
first love: Plant Hall is getting new carpeting on the ground floor lobby and
hallways, and no time will be wasted in utilizing winter break for the
occasion.
Installation is scheduled to begin on Dec. 18, the first Monday
of winter break. The work is expected to take about three weeks to complete,
said Dave Ramsey, director of facilities management.
A combination of
University funds and a donation from the Chiselers will pay for the undertaking,
which is part of a project that will include new doors and office lighting,
Ramsey said.
Since their founding in 1959, the Chiselers have volunteered
to keep the University’s landmark building and registered national historic site
in tiptop shape.Donations, grants and Chiselers events, among them the annual
Chiselers Market, feed the organization’s restoration fund, said longtime member
and two-time past president Phyllis Kimbel.
“It has been designed for the
space,” Kimbel said of the new carpet. “The design is as true to the original as
we think we can come. We had a lot of choices. We looked at old pictures and
chose a bright oriental pattern.
”The colors may seem excessively bright
at first, Kimbel said, “but they will mellow.” The old carpet, which Ramsey said
has been in place since 1987, has become dulled with time and wear, Kimbel said,
and the new carpet may present a striking contrast until time and traffic subdue
the hues a bit.
The Chiselers allocated money to the restoration project
about two years ago, said president Pauline Crumpton ’57.“I’m just really
looking forward to it,” she said.