Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Historic Courthouse renovations
Top priority: preservation of the 19th century building
WEST CHESTER — “Everything old is new again” — a variation on the lyrics of a popular tune — is a fitting way of describing the renovation and restoration work being completed at the Chester County Historic Courthouse.
In getting the first floor of the building ready for installation of one of the borough’s two magisterial district courts, the architects and contrac- tors working on the $1.46 million project have taken as their guiding principle that what was old was better than what was not, and inestimably worth saving.
Construction materials and building alterations that were made in earlier refurbishing projects in the 1930s and 1960s were scrapped in favor of what had been in place when the building was constructed in the 19th century.
Restoration and reuse, said project manager Jack Stewart and county Parks and facilities Director Steve Fromnick, was the key. “It’s the top priority,” said Stewart, during an informal tour of the building last week while construction crews continued their work. “Number one priority,” agreed Fromnick.
So when those associated with the project saw drop-ceilings in one of the original rooms that would be transformed into the court offices and judge’s chambers, out they went, revealing the high, arched, vaulted ceilings that original architect Thomas U. Walter had designated in his 1847 plans.
Gone, too, are the ceiling lamps that lighted the way along the great hallways that runs the length of the building. Those were not part of the original design — electrical lights not being available in those preCivil War years — and so the new plans won’t include them. Instead, string lights will glow out of the crown molding along the hall.
Although they were used regularly when the space was occupied by the county Prothonotary’s Office, two metal spiral staircases that allowed access to the basement storage vaults will be taken out of service, although they will still be on display for the public, one in the rear of the new main courtroom, with its walnut veneer bench and twin light poles.
The treads of the granite steps leading from West Market Street to the entrance the pubic will use when the building opens later this spring were preserved as well. Scuffed by hundreds of thousands of feet coming in and out of the courthouse over the century they have been in place, the blocks were removed, restored, and replaced just as they had been when first installed.
The project’s design was completed by Frens & Frens, the respected restoration architects whose South Church Street offices are just a few blocks from the historic courthouse.
“One of the reasons that Frens & Frens are on the projects is that they’re great working with historic building,” said Stewart, who has worked hand in hand with Dale Frens and Susan Frens during the construction. “We wanted to keep the historic nature of the building and not destroy anything. If we found something and it went back to the early 1900s, we left it in.
“The historic nature of the building is being kept intact,” he said.
The building was vacated in 2007 when the county opened the new Justice Center a few blocks away on West Market Street. Although the commissioners sold other parts of the courthouse complex — the so-called North Wing on North High Street and the Mosteller Annex on West Gay and North Church streets to a developer — they made a promise to the West Chester community not to sell the landmark courthouse that stands at the center of the county seat.
The Historic Courthouse was built in two stages. The first, with its distinctive copper clock tower, came in 1846 at a cost of $55,000 under the design of architect Walter, who also designed the dome of the U.S. Capitol, as well as the First Presbyterian Church of West Chester on nearby West Miner Street, and Girard College in Philadelphia. The second, known as the Courthouse Annex, was completed 1893, with large stained glass windows framing one of its two upstairs courtrooms.
After fielding various proposals for a new tenant for the courthouse, the commissioners decided to reuse it as home for District Court 15-2-04, one of the two borough district courts. The idea for returning the building to its original purpose — a court of law — was appealing in a cultural way. But it also freed the county from having to pay any rent on property in the borough to house the two district courts; the other court, 15-1-01, is located in the county Justice Center.
“This is a great repurposing,” said Commissioner Terence Farrell, who joined in the tour with Stewart and Fromnick and other county administrative staff on Friday.
“There had always been a commitment by past commissioners to the judges of the court that if possible they would get first dibs on using the courthouse,” Farrell said. “This will work out nicely, and in the long run will save the county money.”
Fromnick said that part of the challenge to renovating the building was making it compliant with disability access. The historic wings had to be sealed off from the North Wing, which had the only wheelchair accessible entrances.
So the county built a wheelchair ramp on the south side of the original courthouse, using the same type of materials in the stairs that led to the West Market Street entrance. It also installed an elevator that will run from the first to the second floor, even though it will be used only when the second floor is opened for special events in the old Courtroom One.
And even though antiquity was paramount in the mind of those working on the project, some concessions had to be made to modern design needs — such as a rubber floor in the prisoner holding cell, plastic coats walls there, and handicapped accessible restrooms that Stewart joked one could use as a football field if needed.
The manager said that in tearing out parts of the building so that the original structure would be revealed, earlier renovations from 1933 and 1966 were found. He said he began to learn what sections had been worked on when in finding the presence of “new” construction materials such as reinforced concrete and concrete block.
“I got to telling when the work was done by seeing what materials were used,” said Stewart.
The project gave crews some surprises and mysteries as they dug into the brick walls, including a hidden wood staircase at the rear of the 1847 courthouse, that was presumably connected to a back door that was shuttered by the 1890 annex. A hole in one wall of the original courthouse was also found, although no one was able to say what it might have been used for. A coal stove pipe, perhaps?
Construction work is scheduled to be completed next month, with relocation of District Magisterial Judge Gwenn Knapp’s court in April.
“It’s been an interesting project,” said Stewart, looking about the large space that will soon hold Knapp’s new courtroom. “I am always finding something new. I’ve seen some old buildings in my day, but here I am always saying, ‘Well, I’ve never seen that before.’ “