Civic Art Works, LLC was founded in 2006 by University of Illinois School of Architecture alumni and friends Zach Borders and Craig Carter with the intent to seek out under-appreciated or endangered historic architectural and planning documents and restore, preserve and celebrate their significance. The two feel that these works of art have the ability to generate renewed pride in a particular place and can educate and inform people about future design and development practices.

This venture had its beginnings in the spring of 2004 when the University's collection of original architectural, planning and landscape architecture documents, stored in unfortunate conditions, was revealed to the recent graduates. The archive includes original work generated by the world-renowned desginers of McKim, Mead, and White, Holabird & Roche, Charles Zimmerman, Charles Platt, Ferrucio Vitale, Daniel Burnham and the Olmsted Brothers. Hoping to get the documents moved to a safer location where the public could freely enjoy them, an initial donation of funds was made to restore the 1919 Campus Plan and find it a safe new home. Building upon that success, Zach and Craig developed a plan to parley these artifacts' beauty into restoration funds while spreading awareness and appreciation. Working with the University, that plan has been set in motion, and Zach and Craig have begun looking for new masterpieces to save.

Choosing from University and Museum Archives around the country, Civic ArtWorks ‘adopts’ an artifact and provides funding for a thorough restoration. Following the restoration, the artifacts’ likeness is reproduced and applied to fine art prints and other products, which then are available for purchase on this site. A portion of the profit from every product is reserved to help with future restorations.

If you know of a document in need of assistance, please email us at info@civicartworks.com. We would be happy to discuss how we could help!