By Vaughn Prost
info@prostarchive.space
Quality craftsmanship combined with technical historic preservation know-how. That’s Prost Builders for over 74 years.
That approach fuels our commitment and passion for our attention to detail and high-quality standards in the preservation and renovations of historic buildings. Correct historic preservation of the fabric of the building is a satisfying way of leaving a legacy. It’s about giving back to those who made history and preserving the historic buildings for future generations.
A prime example of Prost Builders being selected for historic renovation and restoration expertise was Mark Twain’s (Samuel Clemens) boyhood home in Hannibal, Missouri. A local example of Prost Builders building a sterling reputation for historic renovation and restoration was the complete renovation to the exterior of Jesse Hall on the University of Missouri campus. The project involved restoring stained glass windows, repairing the wood windows, and stripping 17 layers of lead-based paint off the dome — which towers 180 feet into the air. The cast iron columns were repaired and renovated while the entire brick exterior of the building was tuck-pointed and cleaned. The project was done in two phases over two years of work.
Prior to that, Prost Builders completed the Addition, renovation, and restoration of the historic Boone County Courthouse in downtown Columbia. The job involved putting a new copper dome on the courthouse, building a 76,000-square-foot Addition, and renovating and restoring the entire original 30,000-square-foot courthouse. The project used rift-sawn oak lumber for the ceremonial courtroom and four other courtrooms. The Tennessee pink marble was used in the original courthouse. It was found to exist in limited quantities at one quarry. The pink marble was procured and used for the new courthouse Addition’s marble base and wainscot to match the original courthouse marble base and wainscot in the public areas of the courthouse. The challenging and interesting two-phase project took about 20 months to complete.
Other significant renovation and restoration projects in Missouri include the following; the State Capitol building, the Missouri Supreme Court building, Felix Valle Home in St. Genevieve (the oldest existing structure in Missouri built by early French settlers), rebuilding and restoring the Union Covered Wooden Bridge across the Salt River near Paris, the Marquette Hotel in Cape Girardeau, the Palace Hotel in Butler, the Commercial Hotel/Ballantine House in Boonville, the Haas Dry Storage Building in Neosho and many more!
The attention to detail that Prost Builders prides itself on is true for both new and historic renovation/restoration projects. It reinforces the need to think about every step and every aspect, and to take pride in our workmanship. We were proud to be chosen as the general contractor on the above historic renovation projects by private clients, local governments, and the State of Missouri.
As the area’s premier historic restoration and renovation building expert, Prost Builders has proven by the impressive list of successful projects that have preserved the State of Missouri’s history for all to appreciate now and in the future.
