Windows returned to former grandeur
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HOLLIDAYSBURG -- The second floor of the older section of the Blair County Courthouse has had a distinct odor lately.
That's because crews were varnishing the sills and trim around 13 large cathedral-style windows in Courtroom 2, another step to preserve repairs to address damage by water leaks.
"There's no need to ever go back to painting," contractor Christopher Cook said recently in reference to the windows.
Cook, who works with Albert Michaels Conservation Inc., and senior conservator John Rita spearheaded the latest effort to repair and refinish the courtroom windows and their carved filigree toppings. Starting late last year, the courtroom's windows and filigrees were removed and pieces of plywood were put in their places.
Off-site, Cook and crews removed multiple layers of paint from the window sashes. They also fixed broken pieces of wood in each window filigree while clearing paint from those large carved structures.
"We had to remove every bit of paint in every crevice," Cook said.
About two weeks ago, the on-site work resumed. After removing the plywood, crews used a rolling scaffold to hoist the long vertical windows back into place, along with their crowning filigrees.
And after the windows were back in place, crews pulled out brushes and went to work with Marine Yacht varnish traditionally used for historic restoration work. It's a type of varnish known for withstanding harsh elements and lasting a long time, one of the workers said.
In addition to an odor, the application of the transparent fluid created a shiny finished surface of lighter and darker shades depending on the type of wood it covers.
The trim around the windows is a lighter shade because it's yellow pine, said Commissioner Terry Tomassetti, who has taken a lead role in the ongoing efforts to stop water from leaking into the structure and address the resulting damage.
When the courthouse was built, yellow pine was used not only as a trim, he said, but also as a contrast to darker shades reflecting the use of walnut and ash wood. That's now evident with the windows where the yellow pine trim bumps up against darker sashes holding the glass in place.
Aside from appearance, the repairs to the windows and the varnish add up to what Tomassetti refers to as "long life expectancy," something he believes was always intended for the courthouse based on the structure's design, construction and purpose.
"There are a great many reasons behind what they did when building this courthouse," Tomassetti said.
But since the structure's dedication in 1877, measures taken and measures not taken over the years have threatened the structure's future. Two-and-a-half years ago when Albert Michaels Conservation Inc. began an initial phase of the window restoration work, the efforts focused on repairing and replacing rotted wood in the window sills, frames and sashes.
"There were holes big enough to put your finger through," Tomassetti said.
"The windows now are a sign of improvement, a long-term improvement," he said.
As this year's window work progressed, an effort developed to keep the window sills clear of all materials and especially of any beverage containers with the potential to mar the surface. Notices were printed for each window indicating that they're off limits. And when attorneys gathered recently in that courtroom for a review of pending criminal cases, Judge Daniel Milliron asked for compliance prompting the removal of some papers placed on one of the sills.
Tomassetti said he expects no change in that position after the varnish dries and time passes.
"The windows have been repaired at great expense, and the goal is to preserve them and not let the cycle of neglect commence again," he said.
Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 946-7456.
Window fees add up
The cost of window restoration work in Courtroom 2 of the Blair County Courthouse is nearing $100,000, paid for with money secured through a bond fund borrowing.
– $59,823 to Albert Michaels Conservation Inc. for removal of the 13 windows and filigrees, wood repairs, paint stripping, new finishes and reinstallation.
– $31,275 to Albert Michaels Conservation Inc. for wood repairs and restoration work to three dormers fronting Allegheny Street and five large window sashes on the courtyard side of the courtroom.
– $6,579 to Caldwell Windowares of Pittsburgh for new window blinds.