Milwaukee County Historical Society Cast Iron Window Restoration

Here comes the sun

J.F. Cook lets the light shine in old facility

By Jennifer Pfaff

A sunny day means more to the Milwaukee County Historical Society than it ever did before.

Maybe that’s because when the sun is shining outside, it’s also shining more on the inside of the old building on Old World Third Street in Milwaukee. And for an organization that had some of its windows painted over to protect the documents and artifacts within, a little more sunlight marks a big change.

That change came about through a $1.42 million cast-iron window restoration project that J.F. Cook Co. Inc., Oak Creek, completed on the 93-year-old building in December.

“These were very, very unique windows,” said Thomas Druml, J.F. Cook’s vice president. “I’m not sure if there are any other buildings I know of with a similar appearance.”

Each of the building’s 27 window openings included multiple pieces of glass in varying shapes and sizes. Some of the window frames held radius glass, a curved glass that is much more difficult to procure than its standard cousin.

The building’s original architects, Milwaukee-based Kirchhoff and Rose, modeled the neoclassical revival style structure, originally built in 1913 as the home of Second Ward Savings Bank, on a French design. But time took its toll on the building, which came under the ownership of the Milwaukee County Historical Society in 1965.

Some windows were covered, and the cast-iron mullions were coated in flaking beige paint.

On top of that, each month’s utility bill showed the age of the thin panes of glass, which acted like thermal sieves.

But all was not lost.

“Given the age of the building, the frames themselves were still in relatively good shape,” Druml said. “They were in an advanced state of rust and deterioration, but they still had plenty of life in them.”

Project Name: Milwaukee County Historical Society Cast Iron Window Restoration

Location: Milwaukee

Submitting Company: J.F. Cook Co. Inc., Oak Creek

General Contractor: J.F. Cook Co. Inc.

Architect: Uihlein Wilson Architects, Milwaukee

Owner: Milwaukee County

Project Cost: $1.42 million

Start Date: January 2005

Completion Date: December 2005

J.F. Cook’s team sandblasted and made some minor repairs to the cast-iron structures before covering them with two coats of epoxy finish.

First, however, the project team had to erect containment structures on the inside and outside of each window to collect lead and asbestos that subcontractors removed from the frames. That was particularly challenging because the society remained open throughout the restoration process, and passersby on the sidewalk also could be exposed to the hazardous materials being removed.

The window work also presented challenges, with each piece of glass requiring a field measurement and templates. Although each window opening had a similar design, no two pieces of glass were exactly alike.

“There were a multitude of configurations,” Druml said.

Oldcastle Glass, a national firm with several offices in Wisconsin, manufactured most of the glass pieces, but the team turned to an Oldcastle Canadian office to provide the more specialized radius laminated glass.

The new glass is twice as thick as the original, so new steel stops were fabricated and installed. The result is a more thermally efficient window that remains true to the building’s original design, Druml said.

“The new windows bring a whole new, clean and refreshing look to the building,” he said.

To dramatize the completed work, New York artist Robert Wogan designed a light-emitting diode system to create a changeable light display on the windows at night.

The computer-controlled LED system is installed in the bases of the windows, and the colors and patterns glowing on the windows can change with the season, proving that even historical treasures can keep pace with today’s urban environment.