Milwaukee City Hall after its recent renovation
The city of Milwaukee recently announced that its Milwaukee City Hall restoration project, claimed to have been the city’s largest public works project in the city’s history, finished under budget and on time. Architecturally, financially, and governmentally speaking, this project was a huge success for Milwaukee.
However, even though the restoration was a success on numerous levels, the project, not surprisingly, had its opponents as most restorations of historic structures do. Restorations, many claim, damage and devalue a building’s aesthetic and historic value; the building, in essence, looses its “character.”
Milwaukee City Hall's bell tower covered in black netting before its restoration
Yet, restorations are often necessary. Before its restoration, Milwaukee City Hall, which dates back to 1895, was literally falling apart. The city even had to sheath the building’s terra cotta facade with netting to keep chunks of debris from falling on the streets.
When done well, restorations can restore a historic structure to its former glory. Yet, restorations don’t always go as smoothly as it did in Milwaukee, fueling the fire for restoration naysayers. Greece’s ancient Parthenon, for example, has been in a constant state of restoration since the 1930s. However, when I visited the country last summer, the temple’s marble columns were still covered with scaffolding and probably will be for many years to come.
The Parthenon's ongoing restoration
Admittedly, restoring Milwaukee City Hall is nothing compared to fixing up the Parthenon; the Parthenon is, after all, a wee bit older. Yet, the two structures do share one thing in common: they’re both worth preserving.
Simply put, we don’t build structures like Milwaukee City Hall or the Parthenon anymore; materials like terra cotta and marble are too expensive and take too long to build for today’s society. That’s why we need to preserve what we already have. If we let these structures crumble, with them will go part of our architectural history.
Architecturally Speaking 