Metallic Accents Added To Historic Building in Downtown St. George
We don’t often work on historic buildings in the heart of downtown St. George. So when the general contractor on the project, Jensen and Sons, contacted us with the opportunity to be involved with the construction and restoration of the old Nelson Mathis Merchantile, we jumped at the chance.
The vision for the project is a combination of the old and the new. A historic building undergoing extensive renovation and upgrades as it becomes the new home of the Glendenning Companies. For our part, we knew it would mean creating and installing metalwork in places and ways we’d never done before. This was a unique job and it would require unique solutions.
The Nelson Mathis Mercantile
The Nelson Mathis Mercantile Building was built at some point in the early 1900s. The exact date of its original construction isn’t known but according to the Washington County Historical Society, Will and Ernest Nelson owned and operated the mercantile together until 1924 when they took on a third partner, Gordon Mathis. The building remained the home of the Nelson Mathis Mercantile for several decades with a listing in the local phone book until the early 1960s.
In the early 1990s, the building was restored with work done to repair and replace the original tin ceiling and the Douglas fir floors. The work earned the building a Mayor’s Award for Historic Sites in 1992.
Metallic Touches to a Historic Structure
Considering the history of metal work like the tin ceiling restored in the 90s at the Nelson Mathis Mercantile, the builder decided to incorporate touches of metalwork in the current renovations. But much has changed in the more than 100 years since the building was first constructed.
In addition, the vision for the new structure includes modern touches throughout and a mixture of natural woods, brick, and metal.
We created metal frames for the geometric windows that create a bold exterior statement with wood surrounding the glass of the windows. We also installed metallic longboard in the courtyard at the heart of the new building. And metalwork was also placed over a couple of sections where the building meets the historic Electric Theater next door and where the historic structure meets the new building being built behind it.
Finally, we installed a new copper awning at the front of the building. Historically there was a facade of glass prisms at the front of the Nelson Mathis Mercantile. They were painted over by subsequent owners of the building. To create a new yet similar statement for the building, we installed a copper-wrapped, mantle-like awning. It truly creates a beautiful addition to the cascade of the building.
