Denver's McNichols Building Undergoes Restoration

The soon-to-reopen McNichols Building will be both the guest of honor and hosting facility at a LIGHT Party, held on Wed. Oct. 24 and hosted by the Civic Center Conservancy and Arts & Venues Denver.

During the last three years, mason contractor Building Restoration Specialties Inc. (BRS) restored the stone structures at Civic Center Park, its Greek Amphitheater and Voorheis Memorial, as well as the City and County Building. As part of the ongoing renovation of Civic Center, BRS has finished restoring the historic masonry façade of the Carnegie Library, now called the McNichols Building, at the northwest corner of Civic Center Park.  

During the summer, BRS restored window openings back to their original intent and hand-carved the stone window surrounds that were removed in a previous remodel. After patching some areas and installing new stone where the existing stone could not be salvaged, BRS washed the entire building to return it to its original elegance. One of the challenges while working on the building was extracting large pieces of stone, some as large as 5,000 pounds, in order to build a new entrance into the structure.

“It’s been very gratifying to work on the McNichols Building,” says BRS President Rhonda Maas. “It is surrounded by other newly restored structures and the entire area is just beautiful now. We’re glad to see the revitalization of Civic Center Park and are proud to be on the team that strives to keep it beautiful.”

The LIGHT party aims to raise awareness of the McNichols Building as a unique venue for special events and serve as a fundraiser for the nonprofit Civic Center Conservancy’s efforts to revitalize Civic Center Park – elevating and sustaining it as an active and iconic cultural and community hub. More information about the LIGHT party can be found at http://www.civiccenterconservancy.org/event.