Inman Hotel:
BRILLIANT Terrazzo

Who knew transitioning from my 31st to 32nd year in this craft of terrazzo restoration would mean encountering my most fascinating job yet. On the corner of University and Walnut, downtown Champaign, Illinois, stands this unremarkable yellow building hiding an unbelievably elegant terrazzo, the likes of which I had not yet seen.

The Inman Fireproof Hotel was built in 1914 and named “Fireproof” because it was 2 hours south of Chicago. (No historical pictures of the original floor are available.) Currently, it is an apartment building with a treasure once buried under layers of glue, mortar, and 1940s carpet backing.

The owner and I cut a hole in the carpet, early 2023, to see if this venture would even be feasible. Young Final Finish started work in two big rooms totaling approximately 2500 sq ft. We anticipated this project would take 3 to 4 weeks.

What we discovered was so amazing I occasionally had a hard time settling down from the excitement. The hidden terrazzo base rolled up the pillars and the walls in half of the spaces. This floor in today’s money would cost $80-$100 per foot with the detail and the base. At 7000 sq ft, total cost would be $700,000.00.

This was the most intense restoration I had done. We added steps to our procedure just for this floor.

Areas not protected by carpet were extremely pitted due to lacking knowledge of terrazzo maintenance with protective seal coats.

Terrazzo had been worn entirely through in some areas, coming off the street originally and behind the drugstore counter. These areas were filled with concrete we finished with the terrazzo surface.

We patched over 1000 smaller holes. We even installed some new terrazzo where a wall had been removed and a hole had been filled.

During what turned into a 12-week project, we stayed in an apartment on the third floor. This enabled us to get to know staff and local residents. I loved this unforgettable project and tell others it was like a gift to me.

We will return in the Fall to polish one more time for a very glossy finish, even more glossy than it is.

This beautiful terrazzo waited in poor condition for decades when our team in 2024 made it look better than new with its high gloss, countertop finish.