Fisher Building
Visitors to Fisher Building on West Grand Boulevard in Detroit's New Center area, home of the Fisher Theatre, can feel its grandness. But over the past several years, they could also feel a certain tiredness to the building, which was in dire need of a facelift.
That's happening. Ann Zienewski of the Detroit Free Press reports:
The building known as Detroit's "largest art object" is in the midst of a makeover.
Expert artisans perched high on scaffolding inside the Fisher Building are meticulously repairing and touching up the ornate murals that cover the soaring, vaulted arcade. The two-month project is the first in a series of renovations planned for the historic Fisher by its new owners, the Platform, a Detroit development firm.
Water damage from leaky pipes, layers of grime and poorly executed previous restorations have all taken a toll.
"We started with a conservator and a plasterer, and we’ve got two decorative painters out there now," said Terry VanderWell, director of restoration for EverGreene Architectural Arts, the company performing the restoration.
The conservator traced patterns, documented colors and sized up plaster and canvas damage, VanderWell said. Multiple areas of damaged plaster had to be repaired, including on the dome that joins two long corridors, before painting started.
