Officials happy with memorial work

By SHELBY SCHROEDER

The cost of renovations to the Niles landmark is $100,000 over its original estimate.

NILES — A slow end to the renovation of a local landmark is pleasing memorial officials, even though the work is both over budget and past its completion date.

Fremont Camerino, vice president of the McKinley Memorial Library board, said there is significant progress on the library and historical museum building in downtown Niles.

“Bad weather and finding more things after [construction] got started dragged it out,” Camerino said. “We’re a little over the projected cost.”

Currently, the $1.1 million project is $100,000 over its original estimate, with a completion date pushed back four months.

In October, members of the National McKinley Birthplace Association granted funds to be spent toward renovating the 1915 building. Construction began the following month.

The progress Camerino speaks of is possibly most visible in the gleaming marble fa ßade of the memorial building.

Members of EIP Restoration from Cleveland were patching seams and holes in the marble Tuesday after a thorough power-washing to remove the filth buildup of 30 years, when it was last cleaned.

Other work details of the restoration are less apparent to the public.

The roof and the tiling around its perimeter have been replaced and repaired, and work has started in uncovering three original skylights on the building.

Patrick Finan, the library’s director, said the skylights were covered in a previous restoration because of the “style of the times.”

Camerino said restoring the windows would re-create the original atmosphere, along with bringing light into the second floor of both wings of the building.

Much of the renovation effort, such as replacing the roof, has been focused on repairing and preventing further water damage.

The construction team has removed the marble courtyard at the center of the building to create a drainage system. Afterward, they will be laying all new granite flooring.

Camerino indicated that he was not overly concerned by delays or costs, which will be fully paid through a private memorial fund set up several decades ago.

The project is in the third of three phases, and Finan estimates the job is 50 percent to 60 percent complete.

In addition to housing a library and museum, the building’s north wing has an auditorium. The courtyard features bronze busts of President McKinley’s acquaintances, surrounding a flower bed and large statue of McKinley in the center. Niles is the birthplace of the nation’s 25th president.