Collections Assessment for Preservation (CAP) Program
- Preservation Planning
- Cultural
- Assessments
- Cultural Resources
Since 2001, McGuire Igleski has served as a Building Assessor for the Collections Assessment for Preservation (CAP) Program. As part of the program, McGuire Igleski provides an Existing Condition Assessment to small and mid-sized museums, which consists of a general conservation survey of the collection and the built resources that house the collection and the goal of enabling the institution to develop overall collections care, building care, conservation, and preservation programs through the development of short and long-term planning.
Each report includes an overview of the facilities, building and site description, analysis of existing conditions, and prioritized recommendations for planning, policies, procedures, accessibility improvements for the site, exterior, and interior, including recommendations to support the preservation of the collection. The assessment also includes relevant reference information and potential funding opportunities to undertake recommendations.
The CAP assessment is a technical assistance program supported through a cooperative agreement with the Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation.
McGuire Igleski has completed dozens of CAP reports across the Upper Midwest, including the Chanute Air Museum, Evanston History Center, Polish Museum of America, the Roger Brown Study Collection, National Blues Museum, and the International Museum of Surgical Science, among others. A few recent CAP projects are highlighted below.
Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Oklahoma
Foundation for Advancement in Conservation
Swedish American Museum
Founded in 1976, the Swedish American Museum has been an active presence in the heart of Andersonville, a traditionally Swedish neighborhood on Chicago’s Far North Side. It is located in the historic Lind Hardware Company building, a contributing resource to the National Register-listed Andersonville Commercial Historic District. The museum’s permanent collection captures Swedish heritage and the Swedish-American experience in the United States, particularly in Chicago and the Andersonville neighborhood.
U.S. Ski and Snowboard Museum and Hall of Fame
Since its founding in 1954, the US Ski and Snowboard Museum and Hall of Fame’s mission has focused on promoting skiing and snowboarding in the country and preserving their legacies through the collection, display, and care of artifacts and archives related to these snow sports. Located in its purpose-built and designed building in Ishpeming, Michigan, it was completed in 1992 and designed by the prominent local firm of Gjelsteen, Seaborg and Jensen Architects as the architectural embodiment of the Nordic and Alpine traditions of skiing.
Schweiker House
The Schweikher House Preservation Trust was created by Village of Schaumburg staff, Todd Wenger, at the direction of Village President Al Larson and the insistence of long-term Schweikher House resident Martyl Langsdorf. Architect Paul Schweikher built the House in 1938 as both a home and a studio and lived in it until the Langsdorfs rented the property in 1953. Many of the objects within the House and Studio reflect the life and careers of Martyl, an artist, and her husband, nuclear physicist Dr. Alexander Langsdorf. As innovative today as when they were constructed, the House and Studio are composed of “Chicago common brick,” first-growth redwood, Douglas fir, and newly invented plywood planes. The Schweikher House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987 and to the Illinois Council of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) 150 Great Places in 2007.