Rehab of Tacoma landmark is making steady progress. Could its iconic bells be saved?
Work to bring Tacoma’s Old City Hall back to life continues, and that includes recreating, in modern form, the chimes heard from the clock tower.
Practically every inch of the building is undergoing scrutiny for repairs, upgrades or replacement, from the roof to windows to bricks, with special focus on the clock tower.
The building’s clock-tower bells were removed earlier this year as part of seismic upgrades for the 1890s-era building.
Eli Moreno is CEO of Surge Co., the owner/operator of multiple co-working spaces across Tacoma. Old City Hall will be the newest Surge site after renovations and rehab are complete.
Surge was selected by the city in the fall of 2018 to enter purchase and redevelopment talks for the building after a competitive bid process. An agreement was approved by City Council the following year. Estimates for the redevelopment of the property were at $14.5 million in 2021.
Moreno told The News Tribune recently that the bells, while gone, are not forgotten, explaining the removal was necessary “to make room for the seismic reinforcement of the walls and floors in the clock tower.”
“The new system that will be installed and reproduce the same beautiful sound of real cast bells and chimes, by utilizing very powerful audio speakers sitting on the tower, not noticeable from the street,” he said via email. “They will chime on the hour as the original ones, except at night.”
In a written update provided to The News Tribune on Aug. 4 in response to questions, the Surge team explained the challenges of stabilizing the clock tower and the bells’ removal.
“To construct a system capable of meeting the seismic requirements of the clock tower, we had to remove the bells from their perch,” the team wrote.
The team said that even after the seismic upgrades are complete, “the bells still won’t be allowed by code and regulation to be reinstalled in the clock tower due to their weight, the forces they create while ringing and the danger they present to the building and people if there was an earthquake.”
City media representative Maria Lee told The News Tribune in response to questions that the removal “was not a call that a city inspector had made.”
She also said the project is “in compliance with the Community & Economic Development Department’s agreement with (Surge) and on schedule.”
The redevelopment team first made public that the bells were “seismically unsafe and put the structural integrity of our landmark at risk” in a March online project update.
In the Aug. 4 update, the Surge team said the bells “have been safely stored and we’re currently searching to find the right home here in Tacoma for them, where they will continue to serve the community.”
The bells were mentioned in the site’s application to be added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places back in the early 1970s, noting, “The bells consist of 8,000 pounds of silver bell metal, a metal made especially to resonate.”
The application added, “Hugh Wallace of Tacoma ... gave the bells and chimes for the clock in memory of his daughter on Christmas Day, 1904.”
Wallace, among other roles, served as the U.S. ambassador to France from 1919 to 1921. Old City Hall was added to the National Register in 1974.
Exterior work
The building’s roof “has had four layers of pre-existing material removed to repair the framing and install new roof materials and shingles as needed,” according to the Surge team’s update.
“This past month we have finished repairs to the roof of the clock tower ... which presented special hurdles due to its height, limited working space and access limits,” they wrote.
The workers have completed restoration of various “exterior windows, frames and the brick building facade,” the team wrote.
“This area needed serious repairs, which is why there previously were non-original wooden supports holding up loose bricks in the arch masonry on the exterior of the building,” the team wrote.
“These wooden supports have now been eliminated, restoring the exterior to its original presence,” they added.
The team says they are “making tremendous progress ... specifically on the Commerce Street side,” which faces McMemanins Elks Temple and the Spanish Steps.
Foundation upgrades and brick giveaway
“Old City Hall is such a complex project because of the unreinforced masonry construction that requires substantial development to support the building in case of an earthquake,” the Surge team wrote.
This has meant installing nearly 150 micropiles (foundation supports) going as deep as 30 feet into the ground.
Micropiles are used to help shore up foundations, particularly in historic restoration projects.
“These are then tied into a framework of thick rebar that forms a cage around the inside of the clock tower that’s filled with concrete to stabilize the tower,” the Surge team explained.
They then reinforce with concrete over the rebar, ultimately “pouring concrete up to 2 feet thick along the entire length of the clock tower’s four walls,” they wrote.
Micropile footings are also being used to help secure the rest of the building.
“We’re currently relocating bricks, plumbing, electrical, mezzanine floors and supportive beams and then temporarily supporting these to accommodate for the construction” of new supportive walls within the building, the team said.
This has now led to a brick giveaway in areas where bricks are being removed to make way for the seismic supports.
“Surge Restoration is excited to repurpose 500 of the 135-year old bricks removed from OCH’s interior,” the team announced.
Moreno is now looking to deliver these bricks at no cost to any local community site “looking for a trailer full of bricks to put to good use.”
Those interested can call 253-650-0643.
When will it open?
Old City Hall’s ultimate reopening will come in phases.
Moreno said that Phase 1 will open next summer. That includes four floors that will have retail, office, restaurant and coworking space.
The remaining areas “that include affordable apartments, retail/commercial space and event space will be completed a year later,” he said.
