WILLIAMS BAY — Construction crews have descended on Yerkes Observatory to begin a restoration so meticulous that workers are repairing the landmark one brick at a time.
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Photos: Crews descend on Yerkes Observatory to begin restoration
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Scaffolding stands about five stories high outside the main dome at Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, as construction crews begin masonry work on the 120-year-old landmark.
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A chain link fence is erected around the perimeter of Yerkes Observatory in areas where construction contractors have started work on restoration of the former scientific center now owned by a private foundation.
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A worker with Chicago-based Marion Restoration gestures from high atop Yerkes Observatory as crews get to work restoring bricks on the Williams Bay landmark, soon to be followed by repairs on the dome.
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Yerkes Observatory is barely visible behind scaffolding erected on the west side of the former scientific research center, as construction crews get started on restoration of the building.
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Dianna Colman, chairwoman of the private Yerkes Future Foundation, explains brick repair work that has construction crews checking every individual brick on the Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay.
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Bricks shown on the outside of Yerkes Observatory are being checked and repaired one at a time, in a project that is expected to continue more than a year on the 120-year-old Williams Bay landmark.
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Workers are shown high above scaffolding outside Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, where restoration work on the former observatory has been planned by engineers who also worked on the Wisconsin State Capitol.
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Standing in the library of Yerkes Observatory, Dianna Colman, chairwoman of the Yerkes Future Foundation, discusses restoration work getting started on the facility, donated to her private foundation this year by the University of Chicago.
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Yerkes Observatory and most of the surrounding lakefront land officially become property of the nonprofit Yerkes Future Foundation on May 1, securing the iconic site with new local ownership heading into the future.
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Bricks are piled up at the base of Yerkes Observatory as Chicago-based Marion Restoration restores the Williams Bay facility's brick structure by replacing decayed mortar with lime putty.
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Construction workers shown high atop Yerkes Observatory plan to continue their brick work until winter weather sets in, then return next spring to complete the meticulous effort of restoring the Williams Bay landmark one brick at a time.
