Historic Courthouse Restoration

Salas O’Brien conducted a structural assessment as part of Wise County’s historic Master Plan for a Texas Historical Commission restoration grant. After suffering from years of extensive roof leaks and resulting water damage, it scored the highest of 19 projects considered during that grant cycle. Salas O’Brien then provided structural engineering services for the restoration of this historic landmark. Part of the project scope included removing 1960s-era infill, which restored the two-story volume, and reconstructing the curved, steel-framed balcony in the courtroom based
on historic drawings.

During a previous renovation, the central atrium was infilled with a small elevator. Our team painstakingly worked through dimensional constraints in an adjacent quadrant of the courthouse to provide an ADA-compliant elevator and a new egress stair outside the central atrium. This allowed for the removal of the old elevator, opening up the space as originally designed with a skylight above.