Architect:  MacDonald & Mack Architects Stained Glass Consultant:  Monarch Studios, Inc. General Contractor:  Gladstone Construction Marble Cleaning Contractor:  McPherson-Towne Company Stained Glass Contractor:  Bovard Studios, Inc. Total Square Footage:  500,000 cubic feet Project Cost:  $947,972 Cost Per Cubic Foot:  $1.90

Founders of the building envisioned a stately and enduring icon for defining the Minneapolis and Hennepin County landscape. The building Rotunda has served as a distinguished public forum for community meetings, inaugural celebrations, award ceremonies, and political addresses for over a century.

The Rotunda Restoration Project -- a capital project of the Municipal Building Commission with the City of Minneapolis and Hennepin County equally sharing in the cost -- was a yearlong project that commenced in November 2002. It was commissioned to recapture the majesty of the historic Rotunda space in keeping with the Civic Place Plan.

The project gave a facelift to the Rotunda of the City Hall and Courthouse building. It was the first such undertaking in almost a century, and was imperative for safety and aesthetic reasons. A hundred years of pollutants, Minnesota's extreme weather conditions and everyday wear-and-tear made it necessary for several repairs in the Rotunda space. To correct the damage, the Rotunda project included repair of buckling stained glass windows, cleaning and repair of marble, and installation of lighting fixtures in keeping with the historical character of the building.

Scaffolding was used to enable crews to remove the stained glass skylight and each of the stained glass windows in stages. Once removed, the glass was transported to an outside location for cleaning, restoration and re-leading. Stained glass repairs involved careful removal and reinstallation of each piece of stained glass. An estimated 72,000 individual pieces of glass were removed from deteriorating lead cames, washed, repaired and installed into new lead cames. It is anticipated that the repaired windows will have a lifetime greater than their first 100 years.

When the glass was reinstalled, lighting was placed behind it to provide a brighter, more natural-looking light. In addition, the stained glass windows found in back of the rotunda's ornate iron staircases were unbricked for the first time in decades allowing natural light to stream into the interior. Aluminum framed windows also were installed behind some of the glass to further protect it from the harsh elements.

One of the larger project tasks involved cleaning of the famed Italian Carrera marble found on floors, walls and ceilings. While much of the discoloration was largely the result of air pollutants, such as cigarette smoke (before smoking was banned), according to unofficial building lore, the yellowing of the marble has been attributed to a cleaning solution sold to the MBC by a "wily snake oil salesman" during the 1940s. Other aspects of the rotunda restoration included resetting and replacing marble and loose ceramic tiles found in hallways.

A final component of the Rotunda Restoration Project included lighting enhancements. Fluorescent lights on each floor surrounding the Rotunda were removed and replaced with more historically aesthetic fixtures. Directional lighting also was installed to shine on the Father of Waters statue and center staircase. Questions about this project may be directed to the MBC Project Manager, John Helgeson at 612-596-9516.

Image Gallery: Rotunda Restoration

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