Medina County Courthouse + Bell Tower Restoration

History Of The Medina County Courthouse

The Medina County Courthouse was built in 1841 and is located in the Victorian-style town square of Medina, Ohio. This building is still in use as it houses the “Medina County Court of Common Pleas and its juvenile, domestic relations and probate divisions (Supremecourt.Ohio.gov).” Over the years, the tower developed a slight lean. In 2010, Medina County officials chose studioTECHNE to help them assess the Medina County Courthouse building. 

According to the Medina Community Design, "The Medina County Courthouse is a significant asset both historically and architecturally.”

The Medina Courthouse & Bell Tower Restoration Project

The original courthouse was built with stone, brick, and wood to emulate the Greek Revival style of architecture. In the late 1800s, both north and south wings were added as well as a central cupola. These were created to mimic the Second Empire architecture. When we came to inspect and assess, we identified numerous problematic areas from the outside in. At studioTECHNE, we pride ourselves in not only offering expertise in architecture and design but also building maintenance. We help cities, facility managers, and owners to develop and effective, long-lasting Building Maintenance Plan that will prolong and restore the building to its former glory while maintaining the original style’s integrity. As part of our thorough building maintenance repair and structure repair process, we took time to analyze the building’s structural capacities, condition of building components, historical designation, and other maintenance aspects.

There were many reasons why the city was in need of a bell tower and courthouse restoration. The brick exterior was crumbling and displaced. The roof had failed, allowing rain into the building causing wood rot in the framing and structure. The rot meant the building support systems needed to be replaced to keep the structure from collapsing. Altogether, we identified areas of improvement and drafted plans for the Medina Courthouse restoration. These included steel beams to lighten the load of the original trusses, masonry, roofing, over 20 new windows, wood and joints, new cornices, trim, and framing.