50 Monroe to get de-skinned?

[ironyisadeadscene]

[GRDadof3]

4 hours ago, ironyisadeadscene said:

That is sick! I know I'm probably too old to use the term sick but whatevs. 

[RegalTDP]

4 hours ago, ironyisadeadscene said:

It actually took me a second to realize what building I was looking at.  Strange, since I've been seeing pictures of the building's progress all year, but now with all the skin off it just seems completely different.

[ChevalierNoir]

On 11/1/2017 at 10:53 AM, joeDowntown said:

If anyone listens to Free Beer and Hot Wings, it's funny to hear them occasionally gripe about the building / construction. No hot water for the last six days, and I can't imagine trying to do a radio show with construction going on above and below. They do a pretty good job of canceling out the noise, but you can hear it on the show occasionally.  

Joe

They were talking about the construction this morning. Apparently the crews are finding black mold in the walls. I also learned that the glass atrium connecting the two buildings always leaked when it rained and never got fixed. 

[ctpgr34]

1 hour ago, GRDadof3 said:

That is sick! I know I'm probably too old to use the term sick but whatevs. 

and whatevs

[GRDadof3]

11 hours ago, ctpgr34 said:

and whatevs

Fo sho!!

[thebeerqueer]

2 hours ago, GRDadof3 said:

Fo sho!!

Syke!!!

[organsnyder]

17 hours ago, GRDadof3 said:

That is sick! I know I'm probably too old to use the term sick but whatevs. 

I'm a couple of decades too old to use the term as well, but I think it's spelled "siiiiick".

[GRDadof3]

11 hours ago, organsnyder said:

I'm a couple of decades too old to use the term as well, but I think it's spelled "siiiiick".

IKR? Or should I say, righhhhhtttt..

[Allison Slater]

I don't think anybody really says "sick" anymore. That's like, last decade. Or maybe 90s.

[crinzema]

[walker]

Coincidentally about the same time crinzema posted his pictures above, while looking for something entirely different, I ran across this article that shows the building that occupied the parking lot in his pictures until around 1956.  You can see the 50 Monroe buildings in the background.  Apparently this was an opera house originally but was taken over later by Mel Trotter (makes sense, the freight yards and the county jail weren’t too far away.)   

smiths opera house

I also found an interesting photo slide show on the Mel Trotter Ministries History page that has a few slides showing this location far back before the opera house was apparently remodeled and apparently before the 50 Monroe buildings existed:

mel trotter slide show

[JimInGR]

1 hour ago, walker said:

Coincidentally about the same time crinzema posted his pictures above, while looking for something entirely different, I ran across this article that shows the building that occupied the parking lot in his pictures until around 1956.  You can see the 50 Monroe buildings in the background.  Apparently this was an opera house originally but was taken over later by Mel Trotter (makes sense, the freight yards and the county jail weren’t too far away.)   

smiths opera house

I also found an interesting photo slide show on the Mel Trotter Ministries History page that has a few slides showing this location far back before the opera house was apparently remodeled and apparently before the 50 Monroe buildings existed:

mel trotter slide show

I really like the remodeled look of the Mission. It's a shame it was torn down.

[joeDowntown]

I took a few photos of the buildings today. As everyone has said, it feels much taller, and it’ll be amazing at the street level. 

There are also a couple of photos of the missing archways. I was looking at the rendering on the fencing, and while it would take some work, it doesn’t seem like a monumental task to reconstruct the arched windows. 

 

[john_denver]

In terms of infrastructure work, cosmetic work on the actual building, which one do you think needs the most attention, most work?

50 Monroe or the building Atwater Brewery is in?

50 Monroe is certainly an impressive project.

Edited December 5, 2017 by john_denver

[x99]

The cosmetic work required on 50 Monroe is almost mind numbing.  It isn't just a matter of putting brick back.  It's quite possibly a matter of having to have custom fired brick made specifically for the project, and reproducing a lot of stonework to get it right.  To get it really right and make the buildings as attractive as they were requires a whole cornice reconstruction (which won't happen).   Good luck to them.  I have to chalk this one up to a "thanks for being good to us Grand Rapids--we love you!" sort of show off project.  From a financial perspective, it just seems completely insane.   If I were Sam Cummings, and I were this far into it anyway, I would personally pony up the extra cash to put the cornice back on top and rename the thing the Cummings Building, carved into a huge limestone panel for posterity.  At least then I'd feel pretty good about the outlay.   I suspect it was not for no reason that the buildings with insanely expensive facades typically had the owner's name chiseled into them.  110 years later these guys are dead and gone, but their names live on, chiseled into the city they helped to build.  Beats a new poolhouse, in my estimation at least.  Smartest thing Frank McKay ever did was buy a big skyscraper and rename it after himself.

[GRDadof3]

16 hours ago, x99 said:

The cosmetic work required on 50 Monroe is almost mind numbing.  It isn't just a matter of putting brick back.  It's quite possibly a matter of having to have custom fired brick made specifically for the project, and reproducing a lot of stonework to get it right.  To get it really right and make the buildings as attractive as they were requires a whole cornice reconstruction (which won't happen).   Good luck to them.  I have to chalk this one up to a "thanks for being good to us Grand Rapids--we love you!" sort of show off project.  From a financial perspective, it just seems completely insane.   If I were Sam Cummings, and I were this far into it anyway, I would personally pony up the extra cash to put the cornice back on top and rename the thing the Cummings Building, carved into a huge limestone panel for posterity.  At least then I'd feel pretty good about the outlay.   I suspect it was not for no reason that the buildings with insanely expensive facades typically had the owner's name chiseled into them.  110 years later these guys are dead and gone, but their names live on, chiseled into the city they helped to build.  Beats a new poolhouse, in my estimation at least.  Smartest thing Frank McKay ever did was buy a big skyscraper and rename it after himself.

Totally agree. You take that money and buy a couple of new boats and a private island in FIJI and it will just get chopped up by your family after you die. No legacy.  

I ASSUME that they're going to paint much of that brick, like they did the side of the Trade Center Building? And then have an artist/muralist restore the ads?  At least the ads that are a little more historic in nature. Chic Cosmetology is a business still running today and not a tenant, so it might get axed/painted over? 

[GRDadof3]

On 12/2/2017 at 3:00 PM, tSlater said:

I don't think anybody really says "sick" anymore. That's like, last decade. Or maybe 90s.

You must not hang around with suburban high schoolers. I mean, I would hope not anyway, lol. I have to.

[andrew.w]

I think a reasonable brick match is that outlandish. We get reasonably close with our historic projects all the time. Bricks are still manufactured in all sorts of colors, shapes, and sizes. Missing stonework can be a different issue depending on what is being made. Missing limestone window sills isn't that big of a deal on the Monroe side. For split faced or ornamental pieces I have seen cast stone (concrete) pieces used instead reasonably effectively.

For anyone doubting what is possible, take a look at the restoration of the Scott Mansion facade in Detroit: http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2017/10/james_scott_mansion.html

I would personally prefer that since these buildings aren't painted, they not be painted (at least on the street facing sides).  The brick will be much healthier that way, a little patina doesn't hurt.

[GRDadof3]

19 hours ago, andrew.w said:

I think a reasonable brick match is that outlandish. We get reasonably close with our historic projects all the time. Bricks are still manufactured in all sorts of colors, shapes, and sizes. Missing stonework can be a different issue depending on what is being made. Missing limestone window sills isn't that big of a deal on the Monroe side. For split faced or ornamental pieces I have seen cast stone (concrete) pieces used instead reasonably effectively.

For anyone doubting what is possible, take a look at the restoration of the Scott Mansion facade in Detroit: http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2017/10/james_scott_mansion.html

I would personally prefer that since these buildings aren't painted, they not be painted (at least on the street facing sides).  The brick will be much healthier that way, a little patina doesn't hurt.

I kept waiting for the picture of when it looked better.  I think sandstone looks good restored and obviously not painted, but blanched/bleached out brick doesn't look great to me, unless it's part of the overall aethetic (mixed with some very modern touches). I don't see that happening with this project at 50 Monroe.  Maybe I could be convinced...

[x99]

1 hour ago, GRDadof3 said:

I kept waiting for the picture of when it looked better.  I think sandstone looks good restored and obviously not painted, but blanched/bleached out brick doesn't look great to me, unless it's part of the overall aethetic (mixed with some very modern touches). I don't see that happening with this project at 50 Monroe.  Maybe I could be convinced...

"Side brick" was never supposed to look good.  Someone else was always supposed to put a building there which would cover it up.  But that project in Detroit does at least show what is possible.  If the brick is a standard size and patters, it won't be too hard.  A full parapet restoration would really be something though.  Then they and the city would really have a winner on their hands.  

[GRDadof3]

8 hours ago, x99 said:

"Side brick" was never supposed to look good.  Someone else was always supposed to put a building there which would cover it up.  But that project in Detroit does at least show what is possible.  If the brick is a standard size and patters, it won't be too hard.  A full parapet restoration would really be something though.  Then they and the city would really have a winner on their hands.  

Exactly, that's what I'm saying. The chances that there will be a building next door to cover up the side brick is slim to none. Even a modern building, if built on the lot, would probably not abut the existing brick buildings. 

[ironyisadeadscene]

On 12/7/2017 at 7:29 PM, GRDadof3 said:

Exactly, that's what I'm saying. The chances that there will be a building next door to cover up the side brick is slim to none. Even a modern building, if built on the lot, would probably not abut the existing brick buildings. 

You don't think anything is going to go next to 50 Monroe?

[Allison Slater]

On 12/6/2017 at 8:27 AM, GRDadof3 said:

You must not hang around with suburban high schoolers. I mean, I would hope not anyway, lol. I have to.

I do where I work. Haven't heard it once.

[GRDadof3]

11 hours ago, tSlater said:

I do where I work. Haven't heard it once.

OK then nobody says it.