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50 Monroe to get de-skinned?


GRDadof3

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  • 1 month later...

Updated photos (not a lot to see from the outside, but I heard internal demolition is humming along. And one “what’s that?!” photo below. 

 

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And... what’s going on here? New windows in the Veolia steam plant? I actually love this building (other than the power grid out back). Would love to be able to see what’s going on inside the building. And they should paint / light those smokestacks. Uplighting the steam in the cold months would look so cool!

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29 minutes ago, Raildude's dad said:

Wow, missed that! I hope they replace the windows with something a little more transparent (the other windows had a dark tint). 

Joe

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  • 3 months later...

It was probably that dirty. Recall photos in the postwar era of City Hall and the courthouse.  They were absolutely filthy.  It seemed they didn't know how to clean buildings so instead they covered them up or just tore them down.  So this got covered up.  Grime was still probably able to get inside between the skin and the brick and make things further dirty without any way to clean it over the past few decades.

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59 minutes ago, tSlater said:

It was probably that dirty. Recall photos in the postwar era of City Hall and the courthouse.  They were absolutely filthy.  It seemed they didn't know how to clean buildings so instead they covered them up or just tore them down.  So this got covered up.  Grime was still probably able to get inside between the skin and the brick and make things further dirty without any way to clean it over the past few decades.

You have to remember most everyone with a house and businesses were  heating with coal back then. I'm sure you have seen the photos of the factories belching black smoke. I suspect the belt driven machinery were powered with coal somehow. The City's Coldbrook Pumping Station was coal fired. They generated electricity for the pumps and the street lighting system.  You've seen  "The Stack" at the American Seating Company complex.  That building was the powerhouse where they burned coal for steam heat and electricity for the plant. They burned coal until the late 50's IIRC.  My dad worked at AMSECO and I can remember the guys at the powerhouse lighting fires under frozen coal cars to get the coal to come out the bottom hatches.

My folks built a new house in the Leonard Diamond area in 1947 and it had a coal furnace. My dad was very happy to put in a gas forced air furnace in about 1955 or 56. I remember a gentleman coming with a small dump truck and a Ford loader come and empty out the coal bin.  The coal bin had the coal chute removed, glass blocks put in and it made a great work shop. My dad put a dutch door in and that's where our dog spent his nights.

One other thought - I don't think there was such a thing as readily available power washer and  those nifty hydraulic man lifts that you can rent today didn't exist.  "We've come a long ways baby" :rolleyes:

Edited by Raildude's dad
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7 hours ago, GRDadof3 said:

Wow, that's crazy!

I drove by last night and it’s pretty amazing. I had always thought that the building was just the same color brick as the Kendall College building(s). Now I’m second guessing every brown brick building downtown. :)

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8 hours ago, joeDowntown said:

Took this photo tonight. Still amazed that it’s actually red brick. I also noticed that they are going around the old signs, so it looks like they are staying? 

 

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The AC Hotel rendering still showed it as a brownish colored brick. I wonder if everyone involved is a bit surprised by the unveiled color? 

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...
2 hours ago, GVSUChris said:

I just noticed yesterday that they’re starting to put some windows in and brick some others in on the alley side of 50 Monroe. I was on the move so didn’t have time to snap a photo. 

That's good news.  Its seems like it's been in the plywood window state for years now.  Seems to be taking a long time although I'm sure it's just my impatience, and it's following a completely normal schedule. 

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1 hour ago, MJLO said:

That's good news.  Its seems like it's been in the plywood window state for years now.  Seems to be taking a long time although I'm sure it's just my impatience, and it's following a completely normal schedule. 

It's funny, the morning DJ's at the radio station in there (can't remember which one it is now) keep saying that they feel like they're going to die with all of the construction noise going on throughout the building all the time. It does seem like it's taking a really long time.  But I get it it's two very old buildings. Or 3? 

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I didn't notice any windows on 50 Monroe, but did anybody see that they bricked in the windows on the entire southwest side of the building. Seems like a very strange choice. Don't know what the floor plan looks like but you'd think windows would come in handy in a hotel. :)

Joe

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I stayed at I believe a Hampton inn downtown Kc that was a similar size/scope renovated brick building in a room with NO window to the outside. It also faced Downtown and was high enough that it should have had good views. I even picked it it out before I arrived frbthat reason. After about 10 minutes I asked to move rooms. Later I walked outside and could notice there were windows in that space at some point, it was odd.

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I'm sorry, but there is something viscerally objectionable about the title of this thread. Pardon me for being old-fashioned, but IMHO more aptly put, one would query whether this building would be re-cladded or would receive either a refreshed façade or a completely new one. Anyway...it is looking nice no matter the nomenclature. 

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