Restoration efforts underway for Firestone facade

The face of Firestone Library is looking drastically different this spring, its usually prim façade covered by scaffolds, netting and a crew of stone masons. The project underway is the restoration of the masonry envelope in the library tower and the frontal face of the building.

"Firestone was built in 1948, so it's over 50 years old, and the intent is to make sure that it's good for another 50 years," said John Hlafter, director of the Office of Physical Planning.

The $500,000 project is much simpler than the recent renovation of Cleveland Tower and the Chapel, said David Howell, senior project manager in charge of the restoration. Work began Feb. 1 and will be completed by June 30, after which renovations on Firestone plaza will begin.

But even though Firestone has fewer pinnacles and no stained glass windows, the task of renovation is still formidable. It requires repairing stones that are broken, cracked or exfoliated; cleaning masonry surfaces; reviewing windows; and re-pointing thousands of feet of masonry joints, which means grinding at least an inch of the mortar out of the joint and putting new mortar back in.

Howell explained that over time the mortar between stones loosens, allowing water to seep through the joints. "In order to do effective restoration on the inside, you have to have a waterproof masonry envelope," he said, noting evidence of leakage inside the tower.

Firestone tower itself houses an eclectic assortment of leftovers from the rare books collection and a faculty office. The rooms boast floor-to-ceiling windows and gorgeous views, though the atmosphere is currently marred by the renovation work.

"It's much like being inside a giant's mouth while his teeth are being drilled," said English professor emeritus Samuel Hynes, who has had the office for over 20 years.

Since moving into the tower, Hynes has written several books and edited the collected works of Thomas Hardy in five volumes and Joseph Conrad's shorter fiction in four. Hynes retired in 1990.

"It isn't that I've been using [the office] to sleep," he joked. "I don't take naps up there. In terms of books per year I think it's been pretty cost effective."

Although the 90-foot-high tower is notoriously uncomfortable — "bitterly cold in the winter and unendurably hot in the summer" — Hynes said the view has more than compensated.

"It's very impressive from up there. You get a sense, not only of the college, but of the community, which is a benevolent and bucolic place. It's good for the mind, I think."

Charles Green, keeper of the rare books collection reading rooms and employee of the library for 42 years, told a slightly different story. "It's my understanding that 25 years ago they would put a junior faculty member here," he said. They were delighted at first, he explained, but quickly moved out when it got cold. He said he was not aware that anyone currently had an office there.

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In the rare books storage room, the only faces around to admire the view are the collection of death masks – casts of the faces of the recently deceased. They are a respectable crowd; Green opened a box marked "Fortuna — Woodrow Wilson," revealing the pointed features of the University's former president.

"It's an attic," Green said as he looked around. "You would never store anything very valuable here." Green pointed out the room is too damp for books, too small for receptions, too remote for a study space and too big to be an office. "I can't imagine what it was ever intended for."

But regardless of the tower's purpose, the workers outside put their noses to the grindstone, literally. On an average day, the work crew includes four stonemasons, two stone carvers and two restoration specialists.

The contractor, Masonry Preservation Group of Merchantville, N.J., also won the industry's Golden Trowel Award for their restoration of the Chapel in 2002.