Preservation starts with a return to the beginning
A donor-funded restoration of Mary Lyon Hall is stripping away 177 years of paint to reveal and repair the landmark’s original wood exterior while also restoring its foundation, cupola and windows.
Right now, you can catch a side of Mary Lyon Hall that hasn’t been seen for 177 years.
The building’s trademark yellow and white exterior is gone, for now. In its place, the landmark’s bare wood exterior is on display, looking like it did during construction in 1849.
“From the layers of paint that have been removed, we are pretty confident that the building’s wood has not been stripped since it was built,” said Chelsea Knott, director of capital projects for Wheaton College.
The removal of all those layers of paint makes it possible to examine the building’s exterior wood closely, identify areas that have been damaged over the decades, and make strategic repairs, all before it gets a new coat of the signature yellow and white.
Removing all that paint is no easy process. Unsurprisingly, given its age, the older layers of paint contained lead, which requires careful work following safety guidelines. In addition, the effort needed to proceed cautiously so as to avoid damaging the old wood. The team—including CSL Consulting LLC, Wessling Architects and J.L. Dunn and Company—experimented with several different approaches before deciding to move forward with infrared tools, said David LaMarco, associate vice president of facilities and business services.
“The infrared tools that we are using allow workers to remove the paint from the wood in large sheets,” LaMarco said. “It’s a slower process but it limits the potential for damaging the wood.”
The project, funded by donors to the college, also includes repairs to its foundation and its signature cupola as well as replacement of all its windows.
The project began just before the end of the Spring 2026 semester with the installation of fencing and scaffolding as well other preparatory steps, including pruning and moving some plants that were around the perimeter of the building. The project is expected to be completed during the fall semester, before winter sets in.
The donors who contributed to the restoration stepped forward as part of All Together Now, a broad-based effort to raise support for the college. This initiative has generated more than $80 million in philanthropic commitments over the past four and a half years, including gifts to establish the Life and Career Design Institute, accelerate the growth of the nursing program, support student scholarship and establish new endowed professorships.
