30th Street Water & Electric Light Station
Words: Dohn Labiche
Words and Photos: Dohn LaBiche, MASONRY Magazine
Editor’s Note: MASONRY Magazine got the opportunity to talk with Dohn LaBiche of The LaBiche Architectural Group Inc, about the development of the 30th Street Water & Electric Light Station. The 30th Street Water & Electric Station has been renovated and restored to a community space in Galveston, Texas. Thank you to Dohn for taking the time to sit down with us.
The Galveston Water and Electric Light Station was
originally built in the 1800s but was destroyed by a hurricane in 1900. In the
second iteration of the station, a fire broke out, and the work that was being
completed was burned down. In the third construction process, the foundation of
the original building was built upon, which was the white stone seen at the
ground level. With that, the city hired an engineering firm that then hired The
LaBiche Architectural Group to take on this new project of transforming an old
water pump station into the building that it is today. The building went
through various reconstruction efforts throughout this time but was not
transformed into a community meeting facility until The LaBiche Architectural
Group, with Dohn H. LaBiche, began the work of restoration.
The main area of the building is a large open room and had
pits built into the flooring above the original water pumps. As a community
center, the building had to take on various roles, such as hosting large events
and community meetings, making it difficult to maintain a floor with that
depth. The team came in and took the old pumps out in order to fill those pits
and create level flooring in the center of a multipurpose space. Behind the
main area, there was originally a space that contained the electrical
generator, a backup generator, and storage. The room was transformed into a
small meeting room while the rest of the back of the area was built with new
restrooms on the ground level. Next to the exterior wall, there was a
two-story, narrow space for preparations of a caterer. The interior bathroom
and patterns are from the 1930s in keeping with the historical value of the
building. Some of the doors were replicated to match, giving the building “a
new lease on life in a totally new purpose,” Dohn states.
After Rehabilitation, April 2020: Interior view of Main Assembly Room. Level floor created over equipment wells, Air conditioning added, high efficiency lighting added, color scheme based on paint analysis for c. 1930 palette.
After Rehabilitation, April 2020: New public toilets, ADA compliant.
The Galveston Water and Electric Light Station is part of
the Texas Historical Commission’s registered property, so it was imperative to
restore the outside to its original condition and look. All of the existing
masonry was tuckpointed after noticing the broken masonry around the front and
sides of the building. On the rear side of the building, there was a section of
brick that was taken out and used to repair the three sides that the public
faces. The rear side of the building was re-established with new masonry. “It’s
very obvious where that is in,” stated Dohn. The team bought some new brick
that was close to the original color and patched the back side of the building.
The patch is not visible as it is mostly covered by mechanical equipment.
After Rehabilitation, April 2020: Reconstructed cast stone pilaster capital, brick pointing with red lime-based mortar, window rehabilitation.
The cast stone column capitals, the keystones, and the other
cast stone detailing was done on the exterior of the building. Unfortunately,
most of the original cast stone detailing was gone leaving the team with little
to no material repurposing. With the little stone that was left, the team made
casts of those and created new cast stone column capitals to mimic the original
historical view. The columns weigh about 350 pounds each and require stainless
steel pins for the existing masonry backup. With the keystone, some of the
arches were missing various bricks and, therefore, were redone. The pediment at
the front of the building was gone and destroyed in the previous years. With
historical pictures and the reference to other Texas restoration work, the team
recreated the look, starting with fiberglass at the upper portion of the
building. The team traveled to the previous place of Texas restoration and
historical architecture, and they cast that particular component of their
building out of fiberglass, ensuring its durability. Along with the pediment,
the crown of the building that runs all the way around it was originally sheet
metal. Dohn had talked about the salt climate in Galveston affecting the sheet
metal, keeping it from being able to last a long time, and having the lack of
resilience that it needed for the environment.
Before Rehabilitation, May 2016: East / Entry Elevation. Cornice removed (c. 1930), porch added (c. 1930), cast stone pilaster capitals and arch keystones removed (c. 1930), fair-to-poor window condition, basement windows gone. Limestone foundation is from the original 1889 Pump House.
The steps and base of the building were redone with the
original limestone used in the building’s history. These were all tuckpointed
to the original profile, but the masonry joint that is in the stone has “a
bubble out profile or a pencil profile,” as Dohn mentioned. That was all
completed and restored back to the original look and feel of the historical
Galveston building. Around the building, the architects noticed that the
storing of chlorine around the masonry attacked the mortar leaving the mortar
damaged. The mortar had turned into a dusty material, and Dohn emphasized that
he could “… take it and scrape the mortar out of between the bricks with [his]
finger.”
The basement windows were completely gone except for one of
them, so the team was able to capture the profiles of that frame and compare
them to historical photos. With this, the windows had to be replicated and made
from scratch. The team did a paint survey of the building to determine the
original colors of the interior and exterior.
After Rehabilitation, April 2020: Interior view of Small Assembly Room. Window and door rehabilitation, HVAC and lighting, historic color palette.
To complete the look, the team restored the “rock drive” and
walkways that were surrounding the building so that the building would be
easily accessible and aesthetically pleasing to the public. With six awards in
restoration and architecture, the city of Galveston appreciated it and even won
the historic preservation for commercial buildings. At The LaBiche
Architectural Group, Dohn and his team are very thankful for these awards but
continue to emphasize the reason behind taking on these projects is not for the
reason that there are awards but to make a difference in the Galveston
community.
The Team:
Architect: The LaBiche Architectural Group, Inc.
Brick Manufacturer: Acme Brick Company
Mason Contractor: Marsh Waterproofing, Inc
Structural Engineer: AWC – Arceneaux, Wilson & Cole
Mechanical & Electrical Engineer: Lechtenberg Consulting
General Contractor: Ardent Construction, LLC
Historic Preservation Consultant: Source Historical Services
Roofing & Building Envelope Consultant: Hollon-Cannon Group