Courthouse returns to former glory

130-year-old building gets seismic upgrade and new technology

By Anna Johns

The Portland Tribune, Dec 20, 2005, Updated Oct 30, 2009

After nearly two years of construction, the $16.7 million historic renovation and seismic upgrade of Pioneer Courthouse is complete. The building, directly east of downtown’s Pioneer Courthouse Square, opened to the public last week.

Most of the historic renovations were done on the first and second floors of the 130-year-old building. The post office that once occupied the west end of the ground floor is now gone, replaced with a renovated lobby and restored skylight. A space that was once a workroom for postal employees was transformed into a stately law library with books stacked on dark-stained red oak shelves and replica gold sconces that match light fixtures throughout the building.

The renovation was not without controversy not only because of the loss of the public post office but because underground parking spaces were added for the judges.

“When we got in this space, it had been neglected,” said Jim Riley, senior construction manager for Sera Architects, a Portland firm that led the design project.

Riley said he and his team focused on undoing a lot of the damage done to the building during renovations in the early 1970s that included covering wood floors with vinyl asbestos tile and installing acoustic tile on ceilings. Crews were able to save some of the original wood floors, but some were too damaged to salvage.

Two former library spaces on the east end of the ground floor were transformed into a regal conference room and a visitors’ center complete with a video about the history of the building.

Crews discovered a beautiful, old wood floor under the carpet in the building’s only courtroom. They also gave the courtroom a technology upgrade by installing cameras and audio equipment so judges can preside over proceedings through teleconference. All the new equipment is cleverly hidden behind specially designed grills that look like part of the original courtroom design.

The majority of the changes, however, are hidden behind walls, under floors and even under the building itself, where 75 friction pendulum base isolators come between the building and the ground. The entire building rests on the base isolators, which will allow the building to move up to 18 inches in any direction next time the earth shakes. Seismic upgrades were also built into the walls, floors and even the cupola on top of the building, which is now secured tightly to the roof.

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