June Progress Report and Photo Gallery

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Returning to 365 World Headquarters from a tour of the fabulous new Washington Court Apartments in the Dubuque Casket Company building (also home to Crescent Health Center), we happened to be driving down Main Street when we noticed a huge cement mixer pouring concrete down a ramp into the Old German Bank building. Curious, we parked and cameras in hand decided it was time to do an update on the progress of the Gronen Restoration project to restore the historic structure that is best known as the former home of the Silver Dollar Cantina.

Lurking about for the perfect photo op, we came upon project manager Steve Behr and Silver Dollar owner Steve Althoff. As they were pointing out some of the work in progress, John Gronen arrived and invited us on a tour of the upstairs apartments, or maybe more accurately, what is left of them as they are currently being demolished to the point that full restoration can begin.

Though curious to see the raw apartments upstairs, we proceeded with a fair amount of trepidation as Behr had just finished explaining to me how the removal of one of the massive concrete bank vaults necessitated installing temporary supports to hold up the entire back end of the building. In fact, the concrete we saw being poured is to create pads for new columns that will support the new first floor and reinforce the structure up through the second and third floors of the building. Once columns are installed, joists for the first floor will follow. Crews are also doing prep work on the south wall to tuckpoint the brick and excavating to run new water and waste pipes to serve the restaurant and apartments above.

Speaking of the apartments above, hardhats in place and confident that the massive steel I-beams would hold the building up, we proceeded around to the front to go upstairs. As we did not see the condition of the apartments before crews began to demolish the lath and plaster walls that were no doubt either fire or water damaged, we can only image how much work has already occurred. Nevertheless, it is probably safe to say the amount of work has been great as many of the walls are torn down to the studs. The few remaining will be restored and re-plastered, though much will be replaced by drywall. Some of the wood floors might be able to be refinished but some will need extensive repair or possibly replacement.

Gronen and Althoff moved from room to room, discussing what each was used for historically or in more recent history, and where new fixtures might be installed. While it’s pretty exciting to see where they are in the process, one has to acknowledge that sometimes to make progress, you have to make a pretty big mess. “It’s a mess,” Gronen says, grinning. Having overseen some of the city’s most dramatic restorations, we get the sense he is no stranger to big messes and that he probably understands better than most that this is but one stage of the process.

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