Hurlbut Memorial Gate

[Bearinabox]

Something I'd rather see first is the conversion of Jefferson between Grand Boulevard and St. Jean into a boulevard, with some grass and trees in the median. There's a good number of people who live in that area, and I think Jefferson could become a more pedestian friendly retail area.

...because that worked so well on Livernois...

[rjprenaud]

I am a project manager for Quinn Evans Architects [[www.quinnevans.com) and I oversaw the recent restoration of the Chauncey Hurlbut Memorial Gate by Chezcore Construction Company. The scaffolding, although up for a long time, was necessary do to the complexity of the masonry restoration. Work proceeded the entire time the scaffolding was in place.

Work included the resetting of most of the limestone on the central dome, reconstruction of both end porches, rebuilding of both monumental stair, replacement of the metal roofs over each porch, the cleaning of the store, replacement of the gates, reconstruction and re-installation of the hanging lantern and the installation of the replicated standing lantern. The work proceeded on schedule and Chezcore hid an outstanding job with the restoration.

The lantern were reproduced by Carl Nielboch of C.A.N. Art Handworks, Inc. from phots found in public and private archives. The original lanterns were ornamental and were never lit.

The Gate was the entrance to Waterworks and is one of the only original structures left on the grounds. The fence was put up to protect the monument from vandals and help preserve it for the next 100 years.
Other recent projects Quinn Evans has completed in the city includes the River Park Place [[Whittier Towers) on Jefferson, Odd Fellows Hall, Graphic Arts Building, Lithuanian Hall, Garfield Lofts, The Inn on Ferry Street, Stuber-Stone Lofts, First Congregational Church, Motown Museum Hitsville USA, Wayne County Courthouse, Christ Church, Freer House, Hecker-Smiley Mansion, The Michigan Soldiers’ & Sailors Monument, and Orchestra Hall.

[Retroit]

My compliments to rjprenaud and company. When I am ready to bequeath my as yet unacquired fortune to the city for the erection of a monument in my honor, I know who to call.

[Whitehouse]

YEAH!!! Thats the ticket!!!

Lets RE-DO IT!!! Put in Ferris Wheels and, and the lagoons and stuff like that guy sez!!! And, and they'll come from MILES around, see? ANd, they'll bring their MONEY and all, and then we'll be RICH and stufff and all kinds of people will MOVE here and leave those dumps like New York and Chicago and stuff,!!!

It'd be GREATTTT!!!!!!

Is that Beavis or Buthead talking?

[eno]

My compliments to rjprenaud and company. When I am ready to bequeath my as yet unacquired fortune to the city for the erection of a monument in my honor, I know who to call.

Let me add my expression of gratitude for the excellent job done by the contractors and workers who painstakingly sought to reclaim a lost landmark. Windsor CBC TV, traditional channel 9 in Detroit, have public service announcements that give the history and significance of buildings and landmarks around their city. One would think that the same would be possible for one or all of the three network TV stations could do the same. It would give it's viewers an appreciation for those structures still standing and help to staunch the bleeding left by neglect and demolition.

[Hardhat]

Uh, EastsideQT, it's great that you're starting a thread about a cool project. But when it comes time to cut and paste photos into your thread, please give credit, or at least a link, to where you lifted the photos.
That article below and photos can be found here.
http://www.detroitbuildingtrades.org...tml#waterworks
Trades work to reopen gate to the past
By Marty Mulcahy
Managing Editor
[[5/25/07)
DETROIT - The Hurlbut Memorial Gate at the city's Waterworks Park was completed in 1894 - in an era when communities were willing to devote the resources to build public art on a grand scale.
Unfortunately, over the last few decades it's been difficult to find the resources for even basic maintenance for such structures. But this year, the Detroit Water and Sewage Department loosened the purse strings for the renovation of the Hurlbut Gate - and now masonry contractor Chezcore and a crew of tradesmen are rebuilding the structure and taking it back to how it looked in its glory days.
"When we're finished in July or August, we will have disassembled half the monument, completely rehabilitated everything, and then put it all back together," said Chezcore Executive Vice President Pete Hanewich. "The intent is not to do a quick hit. We're restoring it to its original luster, making it safe and sound and watertight."
The monument is named for Chauncey Hurlbut, a Detroit Water Board commissioner who died in 1885. He left nearly his entire estate, about $250,000, for maintaining a library and improving the grounds belonging to the commission.
The Water Board opted to use $27,266 to build the memorial - which acted as a gate to Water Works Park. According to the Detroit Water and Sewage Department, the 110-acre park along West Jefferson on the east side of Detroit park was a popular attraction open to the public. It contained a pumping station for the city - and much more.
In 1894 it contained a man-made waterway encompassing two islands, three bridges, a small wading lagoon and a winding canal where rowboats could enter the park. Visitors strolled along pathways lined with chestnut trees, intricately-landscaped shrubbery and floral displays.
Water in the channel attracted schools of fish so numerous that anglers could catch all they could carry without baited hooks. There were tennis courts, a baseball diamond, a picnic area, teeter-totters and swings.
A 185-foot brick tower, dismantled in 1962 after it became a hazard from falling bricks - acted as a standpipe and a famous landmark for the water works. A floral clock was another attraction to the park that is now put away in storage. The gates were kept locked for security reasons during World War II and then the Korean War - and the park has remained closed since. The lagoon has been filled in and except for water distribution buildings that have been modernized in recent years. Today the Hurlbut Gate is the entrance to an empty field.
The gateway is 132 feet wide by 50 feet high and is adorned with scrolls and figures. Dual stairways lead to a terrace 12 feet above ground. A stone eagle, with wings outspread, occupies the crest at its dome. A granite bust of Chauncy Hurlbut, the monument's namesake, was located in the center of the monument but was stolen in 1974.
The years have not been kind to the nearly all-limestone structure, which is listed on state and national historic registers. Copper lining the dome has long been scavenged, and water incursion into the structure, plus the freeze and thaw cycle, caused the east and west walls to heave outward. Rusted anchors loosened numerous stones, and new tuckpointing and flashing is necessary throughout.
Mike Kroll, the foreman on the site from Chezcore and Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local 1, said 123 limestone pieces of various sizes will be removed, replaced and secured with epoxy and new stainless steel anchors.
"It's really an ornate piece of work," Kroll said, running his hand along across some fancy stone edge work. "They did this in 1893, and this wasn't machined, a lot of it had to be hand-chiseled. It's really nice work. Can you imagine the hours they spent doing this? We just never see the detail that you see here any more."
Plumbing and electrical within the structure will also be restored. There are two public restrooms in the memorial, and a pair of lion's heads guarding the entrance will once again spout water when the project is complete. And, wrought-iron gates at the monument that lead to the park are being re-fabricated.
The monument was listed last year as one of the 50 greatest architectural structures in the book "American City: Detroit Architecture 1845-2005."
"It is one of the most important structures from that period currently standing in the city," said author Robert Sharoff said in an interview, as quoted in the Detroit News. "It is a beautiful Beaux Arts monument. There's not a lot of that left in Detroit, and that's one of the really coolest examples of the whole era."

[LodgeDodger]

Closed for security reasons during WW II, I believe... to safeguard the drinking water supply from saboteurs...

After all, the underground reservoir vents are in full view.

Reopening the park to the public was discussed in the late '90s from what I understand, but then 9-11-2001 happened, and...

Never. It will never be reopened.

Never say never, Fury. ;-)

[EastsideAl]

Thanks for the good work folks. Despite my complaints about the park itself, it sure is nice to see something historic in this town actually be cared about and renovated.

[Rideron]

To properly preserve the restoration of the Hurlbut Memorial Gate; it should be immediately dismantled and placed into proper secured and guarded storage away from the public.

[Retroit]

^ And where would that be?

[DetroitZack]

What is the point of restoring it if it is going to be put in storage? It should be in public for people to see.

[cman710]

Does anyone know how the restoration was paid for? I am curious where in the budget the restoration funds came from, since the city has such a poor record with historic preservation.

[Retroit]

Does anyone know how the restoration was paid for? I am curious where in the budget the restoration funds came from, since the city has such a poor record with historic preservation.

From hardhats post:

...the Detroit Water and Sewage Department loosened the purse strings for the renovation of the Hurlbut Gate...

[cman710]

Thanks, Retroit. Clearly I was skimming the thread too quickly!

[Retroit]

Haste makes waste.

[Rideron]

For a complete understanding of waste, refer to Charles Darwins' "On the Origin of Feces"

[Retroit]

Or Leo Tolstoy's "War and Fece".

[Buy American]

I played on the stairs inside the gate back in the early 50's, before the park was closed for good. There used to be an oval pond somewhere in Waterworks park where you could wade in, I think that was been filled in many years ago.

[Rideron]

It needs to be dismantled, stored and protected because The Hurlbut Gate is a beautiful piece of art that belongs to the people and must be preserved. To expose it in this way to the public is reckless and absurd.

[Retroit]

It needs to be dismantled, stored and protected because The Hurlbut Gate is a beautiful piece of art that belongs to the people and must be preserved. To expose it in this way to the public is reckless and absurd.

We could put a ten foot high wall around the perimeter of the city and kick everyone out. Would that work?

[jcole]

How about a large glass bubble. That would surely add to the attractiveness

[Retroit]

Oh yeah, I forgot about the glass bubble. We'd have to make it opaque, though. People flying overhead might catch sight of Detroit's treasures and inform the unruly masses.

[jcole]

Well, if we glass bubble the entire city, the smoke and pollution should preclude the need for making it opaque.

[LodgeDodger]

On a tour of the Water Board building a few weeks ago, I asked the guide about the pear trees in Waterworks Park. [[I remembered a thread discussing these pear trees some time ago.) Thought I'd pass along that the last of the pear trees planted by the original French settlers died in the 1950's.

Interestingly enough, there are a number of pear trees on the property, but they were determined to be "wild" pears.

[DetroitZack]

I didn't know they offered tours of the Water Board Building, how can I arrange one?