Condition Reports

Restoration: 1997 Architectural Report

The completion of a 1977 architectural study triggered a long overdue three-phase Courthouse restoration project.

The next comprehensive examination of the building occurred twenty years later in a 1997 study by Sue Licht, AIA, funded by the Iowa Historical Resource Development Program. The study identified incomplete preservation work performed in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, targeted continuing maintenance problems, identified new problems and proposed a prioritized course of action to correct the problems. Historic preservation was the major goal and the architects’ recommendations in both studies focused upon maintaining the visual integrity of the building.

The Board of Supervisors intended to use the 1997 plan to appropriate money for the preparation of construction documents and cost proposals for affordably sized packages, then solicit public support and funds to complete the work.

The 1997 architectural report stated, "The highest priority for the restoration and preservation of the Davis County Courthouse is to stabilize it and make watertight the exterior envelope of the building." The following information is taken from articles written by Linda Boatman for the Bloomfield Democrat in 2006, which present prioritized lists for Interior and Exterior Restoration from the 1997 report and a status report as of 2006.

Exterior Restoration

"Complete the stone restoration." Extensive repairs were completed, including the west side stone and steps. Unfortunately, damage was done to the new stonework when a drunk driver crashed a truck into the statue of liberty replica on the west lawn and tried to drive up the west steps of the courthouse in 2005. There is a lot of stone repair and restoration yet to be done. New flashing was recommended for all openings.
"Remove all window air conditioning units and install a central air system in the attic." Window air conditioners for the first floor were removed in 2005 and replaced with heat exchange units. No Air Conditioning units have been removed from the upper story windows. An HVAC plan for the second floor has not been completed.
"Complete repair and or replacement of window sashes throughout the courthouse." In 2005, the lower halves of the first floor windows were replaced with double-hung, vinyl clad windows with combination screens. The supervisors plan to have the exterior white frames of the windows painted to match the existing wood upper sashes.
"Remove the intermediate second floor ceiling that was added." These ceilings were dropped in the 1940’s, creating a seal which caused serious condensation and subsequent deterioration to the upper walls and windows, which was detected in the 1997 study. Since that time, most of the dropped ceilings have been removed. However, they remain in two offices on the second floor.
"The entry doors should be examined and repaired if necessary." The entry doors have not been restored.
"Storm windows should be installed on the interiors of the windows to provide a more energy efficient and controlled environment." See item 3 above.
"A complete examination of the roof needs to be completed simply as a maintenance cycle..." The roof was thought to be tight and in good shape. A white roof product was applied to the belfry floor in 2005.


The southwest corner of the courthouse shows need for stone repair. The AC unit has since been removed. Note the decorative lights are not attached to the stone veneer.		Two of eight heat exchange units that replaced window air conditioners on the first floor.		Damage was done to newly restored stone by drunk driver in 2005.		Double-hung windows replaced the lower halves of first floor windows.

Interior Restoration

More recommendations were made in the Interior Restoration section. It is interesting to note the prioritized order of the repair list does not reflect what was emphasized as most urgent in the body of the report: Repairs to the structure of the building damaged by water infiltration:

"There is interior brick repair required that is quite visible in the attic. There are several masonry window arches that are collapsing in the interior above the secondary wood frame ceiling. These need to be dealt with immediately. Other locations are potentially indicated by plaster failure and cracking, especially around windows, sills, jambs and heads. These are most likely areas where water has penetrated the building and weakened or washed out the original mortar from the interior brick walls."

In 1996, a preliminary paint analysis was done on the walls of the main first floor corridor and the staircase woodwork leading up to the second floor. It was determined that the staircase had two coats of varnish on it originally, the original one lighter than the other. The staircase was stripped of many layers of paint down to the original wood, which turned out to be a combination of walnut, oak and pine. The handrail and steps were varnished and the pine skirt boards painted and antiqued. The original pine woodwork had been grained to look like oak. The walls and ceiling were painted a shade of Ivory to match one of the original wall colors. There were 17 layers of paint on the bottom half of the wall alone.

The 1997 report ranked priorities for Interior Restoration:

Complete restoration of the Main Floor Lobby and Corridor. Repair plaster walls, then hire a professional decorative painter to finish sampling and create a sample of the proposed designs for decoration on the wall. The sample could be used to help raise funds and local interest in completing the entire Courthouse renovation project.
Continue stripping paint to expose the pine and oak of the entry doors, vestibule trim and frames. Patch and repair doors, replicating original graining.
Finish graining all remaining doors and frames in to the office areas off the lobby/corridor.
Re-grain the skirt boards on the stair to match the work done on the doors.
Restore the second floor Courtroom. Restore the ceiling and the decoration above the arched windows, repair water damage and repair wood courtroom dividers.
Repair water damage around the other second floor windows.
Restore the doors to the auxiliary spaces and the windows to the second floor lobby that are currently painted over.
Repair the plaster in auxiliary rooms as required and investigate individual decorative schemes for each room.
Complete the restoration of the wood trim in the rooms surrounding the courtroom.
Restore the wood floors in the courtroom.
Restore each individual office on the first floor, providing an appropriate color scheme.
Restore the vault doors in the first floor offices.


Members of the Davis County Community High School Class of 1965 and other Bloomfield residents gather in the partially restored courtroom to hear Loren Horton, historian, speak on the architectural significance of the Courthouse during the “Courthouse Homecoming Event” in October, 2005. The event was funded by a mini-grant from Humanities Iowa.		The Courthouse west doors and steps need repair and restoration.

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