All it took to transform an aging, spacious Tudor-style gem in Evanston, Illinois, into a world-class bed-and-breakfast was vision, a little elbow grease, and a brand new elevator.

“I wouldn’t call it dilapidated,” says architect Paul Janicki of the 133-year-old structure’s state before its three-year restoration, “but it had really been left to seed.”

The former residence that now houses Stone Terrace bed-and-breakfast was purchased in 2013, with developer and philanthropist Col. Jennifer Pritzker, a preservation advocate, as the principal investor. The circa 1883 building was constructed in the Queen Anne style before being re-imagined as a Tudor house in the 1920s.

Janicki and the project team restored the windows and much of the rotting half-timbering, replaced broken Ludowici roof tiles, peeled layers of paint from the stucco walls, restored the brick on the front terrace wall where possible, and stabilized the foundation. They added an exterior elevator to the building’s north side to ensure accessibility and ease of transporting luggage.

The five-room bed-and-breakfast opened for guests in May of 2016, and according to Tom Zipprich, who co-owns and operates Stone Terrace with his wife, Sue, it’s already a hit. “Everyone who stays here says that it’s really one of the best places they’ve ever seen, the way it’s been redone,” he says.