A historic Tamaqua building received much-needed love and care.

The front facade of the historic 1888 Daniel Shepp House at 204 E. Broad St. was starting to fade. Wood rot was visible, while windows were drafty. Property owners Linda Marchalk and Christine Holman had decisions to make, cover the facade with vinyl siding to prevent further damage, or restore the ornate original facade?

The property owners replaced the old drafty windows with new replacement windows that would preserve the original size opening and configuration.

The borough’s Historical Architectural Review Commission helped find a specialized contractor who would tackle the wood rot problems, make custom wood and metal repairs where necessary, and repaint the ornate facade in four historic colors after the replacement windows were installed.

For those types of specialized repairs and repainting, the HARC Commission contacted the artisans and craftsmen of the Tamaqua based “WagonWorks Art Studios” located just around the corner from the Shepp.

When Kevin Smith and Craig Bolger of WagonWorks heard about the dilemma being debated at the Shepp House, they stepped up to the plate and offered to tackle the detailed and complicated facade restoration project in order to help preserve this important architectural gem for the good of the community and the property owners.

Smith and Bolger replaced water and weather damaged wood areas with custom fabricated wood and metal replacements. The paint design scheme was done by Dale Freudenberger, chairman of the HARC.

The total project took several weeks to complete, and the weather was not always cooperative in June and July.

A celebratory private reception was held at the Shepp House last Friday to honor the completion of the project.