The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
HISTORIC COURTHOUSE RENOVATION UNDERWAY
Gutted building will be ready next year
Renovations have started in the building that for years served as the seat of Lorain County government.
Contractors have gutted the Lorain County Historic Courthouse, 308 Second St. in Elyria, which is in the midst of a remodeling and updating project costing at least $5.19 million.
The 1878 Renaissance style building, 31,715 square feet in size, has been fenced off in Ely Square.
It is closed to the public and won’t reopen until late winter or early spring 2018, said Karen Davis, facilities director for the Lorain County Commission.
On July 26, Davis and Architect Ron Cocco of Clark & Post Architects Inc. of Lorain, toured the building with Lorain County Commissioners Lori Kokoski, Ted Kalo and Matt Lundy. They were joined by Lorain County Probate Judge James Walther, who worked in the old courthouse for 11 years, and Bill Bird, executive director of the Lorain County Historical Society, along with local reporters.
Many of the improvements will be visible to the public.
The sandstone exterior is being cleaned and the west parking lot will gain 19 spaces for a total of 61 parking spaces.
“I think it cleaned up extremely well,” Cocco said.
The tan color of the Amherst sandstone blends well with the Justice Center and the First Congregational United Church of Christ across Court Street, he said.
There will be new concrete sidewalks around the building, new lights on the façade and a crosswalk across the courthouse block connect the Lorain County Justice Center, 225 Court St., and the J. Grant Keys Administration Building at 226 Middle Ave.
“I’m super, super, super glad that the building is being adaptively reused.” — Karen Davis, facilities director for the Lorain County Commission
The most dramatic change to the building will be the new public entrance under construction on the south side of the building.
Inside, the building will have a new public lobby with a capacity for 80 people.
The first-floor rotunda will remain, but much of the interior space will be converted to new offices for the county probation department and presentence investigation group, which evaluates defendants before they are sentenced in court.
There will be a new elevator and new systems for electric power and climate controls.
The courthouse was built with a grand courtroom on the second floor. It had an upper gallery for observers.
Workers are adding steel I-beams to divide that space, extending the third floor. That area is planned for future expansion of the probation department, the officials said.
Amid the wires and wall studs, the visitors spotted architectural features that dated from long ago.
“They’re all looking at the fireplace,” Davis said in one of the first-floor rooms. “Ooh, ahh, it’s like a baby in the room.”
The courthouse was built with multiple fireplaces. Its four chimneys are visible along the roof line and will remain, but they have not been functional for years, Davis said.
Residents sometimes ask what is behind the four round windows in the four triangular pediments on the four sides of the building, she said.
On July 26, Davis showed they really are functional windows to let light into upper floor spaces.
On the east side of the building, the round window sits above the space that will become a mechanical room.
The building so far has retained a few other reminders of its 1880s character, such as decorative original doorways and the newel post at the bottom of the grand stairway, Bird said.
“I’m super, super, super glad that the building is being adaptively reused,” he said.
People often point out the deficiencies of an old building as an excuse for tearing them down, Bird said. “And this building is built so solid and has such really neat architectural features on the exterior, I’m just really, really pleased that it’s being reused.”
It is disappointing that the interior has been compromised as much as it has, he said.
Bird noted many of the indoor changes took place before the current renovation project.
He said he appreciated the invitation for the construction tour.
“It’s fun to see that and have the opportunity to photograph for our archives,” Bird said. “Older buildings do have to be reused for a purpose. The less invasive you can be, the better, but that always is dependent on the project.
“And so the alternative here was for the building to go by the by. I think it’s great that it’s being reused, I really do.”