BEST RESTORATION/REHABILITATION/MAINTENANCE PROJECT

Montgomery Ward Building — Ohio-Kentucky Administrative District Council

Signatory Contractor: WR Restoration

Originally constructed in the 1920s as a department store and featuring a terra cotta facade crowned by "the Patroness of Commerce," Ashland, KY's Montgomery Ward Building lost its luster over the years. In the 1950s, the original terra cotta was covered with an aluminum screen façade.

In 2016, the prominent East Main Street building was bought by Scott Donley of Good Deed Entertainment. A native to the area, Mr. Donley set out to return the building to its original grandeur — restoring the terra cotta façade and the Patroness of Commerce figurine.

Over a five-month timeframe, BAC craftworkers of the Ohio-Kentucky Administrative District Council rebuilt and restored the façade on this historic building.

To achieve such a dramatic change to the building, workers had to remove, salvage, repair, re-glaze, and re-set existing terra cotta elements. They had to replace three I-beam lintels, in addition to designing, fabricating, supplying and installing new decorative terra cotta elements, and re-glazing 150 square feet of spalled terra cotta surface to match.

Upon completion, the Montgomery Ward Building’s original beauty was restored. A “new” Main Street in Ashland, Ohio provides economic benefits to every building owner. It is a downtown that will always be grateful for the talent of the OH-KY ADC members.