Prost Builders has been instrumental in preserving many historically significant buildings since 1949. The restoration of Mark Twain’s Boyhood Home in Hannibal was needed due to the home being out of plumb by almost 10 inches and needed stabilization with the repair of rotted timbers It was a complex project requiring shifting the whole structure in increments back to plumb. The building also added an addition that was needed to keep it historically accurate to when the Clemens family occupied the home. The home is a museum that draws history buffs and visitors from existing all over the state and country for a peek inside Mark Twain’s life.
Another example is one of the oldest buildings in Missouri called the Felix Valle House in Saint Genevieve, built in 1818 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Prost Builders restored the Federal-style Valle home but later became a commercial outlet, as well, for the Valle family. The home even has original mantles, interior trim and an exterior staircase that leads to the second-floor bedrooms, plus the original frame outbuildings on the property.
The 100-year-old Missouri State Capitol has needed restorative work which was undertaken by Prost Builders on several projects. One project was the historic restoration of the large, 30 ft by 30 ft barrel vault stain glass skylight over the Grand Staircase at the Main Entrance to the Capitol. The stained-glass skylight was taken down in pieces and shipped to a stained-glass specialist in Los Angeles for restoration. The stained-glass sections will be shipped back this year to be re-installed high above the Grand Staircase.
Another associated project Prost is performing is the removal of the massive Bronze Main Entrance doors into the Capitol. These bronze doors had become non-functional and were recently removed by Prost Builders and shipped back to New Jersey to be repaired and refinished by a bronze door specialist firm. The bronze doors will be reinstalled at the end of this year just in time for the Inauguration of the new Governor in January 2025.
Prost Builders also restored the Union Covered Bridge built in 1871 in Paris, MO, which is one of only four remaining covered bridges with the Burr-arch truss design. The bridge had fallen into the Salt River and Prost Builders raised it back up and completely restored it. The bridge was used by travelers in Monroe County for almost 150 years and remains as another notable place in Missouri history.
Prost Builders has been around for three-quarters of a century, and you can easily see our historic restoration work in Missouri when you look at Jesse Hall’s dome, the Boone County Courthouse, the Governor’s Mansion, the Bollinger Mill and covered bridge, the Armory Sports and Recreation Center, and many other significant structures in Missouri.
Our 75 years of knowledge and quality work reflect our high regard for both historic restoration and new construction projects for our clients.
Vaughn Prost is the owner and president of Prost Builders lnc., a design/build and construction services firm located in Columbia. Vaughn has over forty years of domestic and international design and construction experience as a cost and scheduling engineer, structural engineer, owner’s construction representative, and general contractor.
(573) 635-0211 | prostbuilders.com
3305 Crawford Street, Columbia, MO 65203
