When David Stine returned to Toledo from the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893, he did so heavily influenced by the grand collection of neoclassical architecture that he’d seen there.

Mr. Stine — already a noted architect and accomplished painter — was hardly the only one. The Chicago exposition had a lasting effect on how the United States conceived public spaces and buildings for years to come.

Here in Toledo, though, that inspiration is perhaps best seen in the regal courthouse Mr. Stine would draw up for Lucas County the following year.

“He comes back with all these visions of grand architecture in his mind,” said Ted Ligibel, a local historian and director of Eastern Michigan University’s historic preservation program. “What’s interesting about our courthouse is that’s clearly the derivation for this design that Stine chose.”

RELATED CONTENT: Lucas County Courthouse dome set for repairs

Right now, the 120-year-old courthouse is undergoing the initial phase of a long-term restoration project to shore up the building and return its original splendor.

Lucas County Commissioners this year approved $686,525 for a project to stabilize the 45-foot tall dome and replace much of the ornamentation that adorns the top of the Beaux Arts building, bounded by Jackson, North Erie, Adams, and North Michigan streets downtown.

“We want it restored to whatever the brilliance when it was first opened,” said Lucas County Common Pleas Court Judge Gene Zmuda.

The county has contracted with Toledo-based Duket Architects and Detroit-based Grunwell-Cashero Co. to perform the work. Both firms have a strong reputation for conservation efforts.

The first task is replacing the deteriorated and leaky metal cornice work that surrounds the base of the dome rotunda. Grunwell-Cashero carefully has removed the decorative moldings, sending the best pieces away to serve as a model for new components.

Fidell Cashero III, who serves as general manager of Grunwell-Cashero’s Toledo office, said the replacement pieces will be made of copper-coated sheet metal that’s being hand-pressed and stamped to perfectly replicate the originals.

Grunwell-Cashero’s work also will include restoring glazed terracotta below the cornice. In some places the glazing has flaked off. In others, patches must be carved to match the original designs. They’re also fixing the mortar joints and matching the mortar color to the original work. Some had been patched in years past, though previous work was more piecemeal and far less precise.

“There’s a lot of thought that goes into putting this back together. You can’t just go to Home Depot and get a bag of Quikrete,” Mr. Cashero said. “We have skilled tradesmen who have been doing this work for a long time.”

Also set for replacement are the acroterion — the pale greenish palmette motif ornaments standing just above the cornice work. Originally made of thin stamped metal, new ones will be cast in aluminum and painted to match.

It’s a slow and deliberate process.

Just placing scaffolding to commence work was complex. 

Jeff Nowak, project manager with the county’s Department of Facilities and Fleet Maintenance, said original drawings in the county’s collection had pages missing or were lacking dimensions. Officials wanted to be sure the roof could support scaffolding and equipment, which Mr. Nowak said weighs approximately 70,000 pounds.

Scaffolding designed by a structural engineer went up in April. Restoration work began in July and is expected to take much of the rest of the year.

“It’s all hand detailed work,” Mr. Cashero said. “You can’t go up there and start pounding away at it. Everything’s got to be doing in a systematic matter with care and quality.”

Grunwell-Cashero’s contract is the bulk of the project cost at just over $450,000. Mr. Nowak said the new cornice and acroterion alone cost $189,000.

One thing that slowed work was finding that much of the ironwork behind the cornice was badly rusted and needed to be replaced. As the process for that is determined, Grunwell-Cashero will work on the terracotta. That too, will be a careful and painstaking process.

“Our goal at the end of the project is for us to not be able to tell we were ever there,” Mr. Cashero said. “Everything blends in and looks original. That’s the sign of a good restoration contractor.”

The Lucas County Courthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, or 32 years after the death of its architect. While the listing mostly is honorific — restrictions apply only if a project uses federal dollars — Lucas County has been adamant that all work stays true to Mr. Stine’s vision.

Born in Crestline, Ohio, in 1857, Mr. Stine became one of Toledo’s best-known and most prolific architects. 

Besides the courthouse, he designed both Scott and Waite high schools and Ashland Avenue Baptist Church. 

Mr. Stine also designed many large, stately homes in Toledo’s Old West End, including the 1895 residence of Edward Drummond Libbey on Scottwood Avenue.

But it was an earlier relationship between Mr. Stine and Mr. Libbey that set the tone for the courthouse. When Mr. Libbey wanted his own pavilion at the Columbian Exposition, he had Mr. Stine design it.

Amazing as that structure was — it included a working glass furnace — like most exposition buildings it was demolished when the fair concluded.

Built to last

The courthouse, however, was built to last forever. 

Constructed at a cost of $301,000, it has sturdy sandstone facing, four floors, and more than 130,000 square feet of space.

“They were meant to make a statement, and this one clearly did,” Mr. Ligibel said. “These are the royal palaces of America. We don’t have royalty, but our public buildings at the time were designed to be to some degree palatial, and certainly unique.”

Mr. Ligibel counts Lucas County’s courthouse among the grandest public buildings in the state, and he said the structure has been well-kept over the years.

Even so, the need for preservation has increased. 

“It just hasn’t gone through a comprehensive renovation in a long time, and it’s probably getting to that point in its life,” Mr. Nowak said.

The country project manager said the second phase of this part of the restoration will focus on the dome, which has a terracotta base covered with lead-coated sheet metal. Work is expected to start this week.

A small drone took 360-degree detailed images above and inside the dome to better understand its condition. 

A historic preservation consultant is examining them.

An initial study suggests the materials are in good shape, though a leak exists around the finial — the ornamental piece that sits at the very top of the distinctive dome.

“Obviously we want to do as much as we can to get anything that’s actively leaking now fixed, but the long-term plan may include the painting of the ball up there; it may include soldering some of the joins on that lead lined roof,” Mr. Nowak said.

Though not readily visible from the street, the ball atop the finial was originally covered in a gold wash. Today, only parts of it remain.

Restoration a priority 

A top-to-bottom restoration likely would cost millions. 

Auglaize County, in west central Ohio, spent nearly $8 million in 2011 fixing its 1884 courthouse. Wyandot County also recently restored its 1899 courthouse at a cost of $2.25 million.

Mr. Nowak said preserving the courthouse is a priority for county leadership, who will fully assess the building later this year to better understand its needs both inside and out. Those needs are expected to be addressed, though it’s likely a restoration will be conducted piecemeal to spread costs out over several years.

Judge Zmuda, who is on a building committee involved in the restoration, said this year’s work is a good start. He praised Lucas County Commissioners for seeing the crucial nature of repairs and restoration.

“They recognize the importance of this and they’ve planned and budgeted in capital budget dollars to repair this, as well as additional dollars into the future for the rehabbing of the courthouse itself,” Judge Zmuda said. “I’m glad we’re working cooperatively to accomplish that goal. It’s well worthwhile.”

While the leaky dome pushed the issue, Judge Zmuda said losing and replacing the Seneca County Courthouse was a sobering reminder of the need for preservation.

“We will not have what happened there ever happen here,” he said. “We will not tolerate that. We owe it to the community.”

Contact Tyrel Linkhorn at tlinkhorn@theblade.com, 419-724-6134 or on Twitter @BladeAutoWriter.

First Published August 6, 2017, 4:00 a.m.