Marquette Park Pavilion recovers from vandalism
By Michael Gonzalez Post-Tribune correspondent January 26, 2012 6:00PM
Rich Buehring of Universal Restoration Services (left) and Lam Davis, assistant site manager for of Advance Construction Services Skillman Corporation, talk about cleaning soot from the ballroom walls at the Marquette Park Pavilion in the Miller section of Gary, Ind. Wednesday January 25, 2012. Work continues at the building to repair damage, including soot from a fire, done by vandals who stalled the restoration project of the pavilion. | Stephanie Dowell~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: February 28, 2012 8:11AM
GARY — A local firm hired by an insurance company has begun the cleanup of the damage done by vandals and thieves at Marquette Park Pavilion last month.
The pavilion is the centerpiece of the Marquette Park Lakefront East rehabilitation project, funded by a $28.4 million grant from the Regional Development Authority. Police have arrested two suspects who allegedly broke into the pavilion and stole copper and industrial tools and set several fires in the building, causing burn and smoke damage throughout the more than 80-year-old building.
Rich Buehring of Griffith-based Universal Restoration, hired by Traveler’s Insurance, the carrier on the project, said his workers began trying to clean up the soot and smoke damage on Tuesday.
“It doesn’t look that bad, but it is,” Buehring said of the cleanup.
Some spots will have to be replastered and repainted, while others just need a wipe with chemical-coated sponges. Time is essential, because other trades can’t come in and do their work — in several cases having to redo work they’ve already finished — for completion of the pavilion project, Buehring said.
As his team worked on the first level, where most of the damage was done, Buehring pointed to spots throughout the second-floor ballroom. Facades at doorways were washed by hand with a degreaser and deodorizer, but his crew will have to erect scaffolding to determine how much damage was done to the ballroom’s vaulted ceilings.
“This is a hard project, not only because of the height and extent of the area that’s covered but also because of the texture of the surface and the amount of soot,” Buehring said, waving his hand across the expansive ceiling.
Hard burn marks are evident in several spots of the building, as are the odors of soot and smoke. The vandals spray-painted several areas with comments like “Crack head gone wild” and “I didn’t get enough,” but those can be painted over after Universal Restoration finishes its work, maybe by the end of next week, Buehring said.
“I hate people who do what they did to this place,” he said.
In the foyer, Mike Mitchell of Gary and Jeff Marquiss of Hobart, both of Nims Construction in Hobart, were busy replastering areas they covered before the damage.
They said they did some initial cleanup with sponges and water just a few days after the incident, partly in an effort to move the project along.
“The painters aren’t coming back til we’ve got all this,” Mitchell said.
“Besides, we didn’t have anything else to do,” Marquiss added.
Two managers on site, who asked not to be identified, said it’s hard to know how much work other trades will have to redo, since they have to wait for the completion of the soot cleanup.
New city planner Dwayne Williams, who inherited the pavilion problem from the previous administration, said insurance would cover the cleanup costs and the building rehab remains on schedule for completion in May.
“A lot of it can be wiped down and painted over because it’s not that type of (extensive) fire damage a lot of people think of when they think of cleaning up after a fire,” Williams said.
Williams said the whole lakefront project will be completed by December.
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