Mac Writt

Is Iron Block the Finest Historic Restoration Ever Done?

City officials are wowed at ribbon cutting ceremony.

By - Jul 29th, 2014 05:19 pm

City officials are wowed at ribbon cutting ceremony. Back to the full article.

Photos - Page 5

Categories: Real Estate

8 thoughts on “Is Iron Block the Finest Historic Restoration Ever Done?”

  1. Justin A says:

    Why does it look like half of the west facing facade did not get finished?

  2. Jeff says:

    I think I recall that the facade colors are based on the original colors or are otherwise historically accurate. Either way, the dark brown is jarring and unattractive. But it’s great that the building was restored.

    Side note: I still miss the Harry W. Schwartz bookstore that was there!

  3. Justin A says:

    I was referring to the southern half of the building. The side that is facing the Chase Bank building. It looks like the southern half of the west-facing side of the Iron Block building is not finished while the northern half looks spectacular.

  4. That’s actually a different building constructed at a different time (~30 years later). It doesn’t match the original one perfectly.

  5. Justin A says:

    @Jeramey…Thanks for clearing that up. I guess I should have just looked at the “Before” photos.

  6. Interested Professional says:

    With a headline teasing that this may be “The Finest Historic Restoration Ever Done”, one would think the readers might be informed of who actually did said restoration. Involved in a project of this magnitude will be skilled architects and builders, both of whom certainly merit at least a mention, if not a full interview with published quotations.

    What the scribe has given us is stock quotations from politicos which could be identical from any number of ribbon cuttings, the name of Dental Associates’ President and a client. Those would be more appropriate in an article titled “Dental Associates hold Ribbon Cutting for Downtown Clinic”.

    Do better work, Writt. Journalism as an art needs more professionalism and effort, so be part of that solution.

  7. Rob says:

    the part of the building to the south was built in 1899 out of masonry after the building formerly in that location burned down. my firm (Spray-O-Bond Co.) did the restoration and I can give a couple of trivial points: 79 cast iron molds for approx. 4100 new pieces of cast iron attached to the building weighing approx. 31,422 pounds. 244 gallons of paint. grapevines are 5′ long. lion heads weigh 26 pounds each. new columns on west elevation are 13′ long and weigh 1400 pounds. all fun facts

  8. Meighan says:

    Spray-O-Bond Company did an excellent job! Robert Forrer and his crew restored the building with historic integrity and helping to improve the city skyline!

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