After many years as a vacant location, the 130 year old building at 100 W. Chapman Ave in Orange, CA, has been fully restored and re-opened as Urth Caffe. This much-anticipated addition to the community is the 4th building Spectra Company has helped to restore in the historic Orange Plaza. Spectra Company was the General Contractor and oversaw all of the historic rehabilitation, seismic mitigation and interior improvements.

Originally constructed in 1888, the building housed the offices of Hemphill & Morse Real Estate, Loans & Investments. A second story was added in 1907, during which time a mural for the company on an exterior wall was plastered over. During the restoration, the mural was rediscovered, beautifully restored and incorporated into the interior design for the new Urth Caffe. This was just one of the many hidden treasures that were discovered during the restoration process. In addition, remnants of the storefronts were uncovered and historic photographs were used to restore them to their original design.

Spectra Company carefully removed the inappropriate cement plaster finish on the building's exterior to restore the original brick facade that could be seen in historic photographs. Spectra was also able to expertly recreate and restore the exterior column capitals that had been hidden underneath many previous renovations.

This structure was an unreinforced masonry building, so a complete structural retrofit was performed to include an interior moment frame.

Spectra Company's project scope also included Urth Caffe's kitchen, coffee bar and specialty finishes. We are proud to have partnered with the Urth Caffe team on this exciting historic rehabilitation project!