Ann Zaniewski

Detroit Free Press

The building known as Detroit's "largest art object" is in the midst of a makeover.

Expert artisans perched high on scaffolding inside the Fisher Building are meticulously repairing and touching up the ornate murals that cover the soaring, vaulted arcade. The two-month project is the first in a series of renovations planned for the historic Fisher by its new owners, the Platform, a Detroit development firm.

Water damage from leaky pipes, layers of grime and poorly executed previous restorations have all taken a toll.

"We started with a conservator and a plasterer, and we’ve got two decorative painters out there now," said Terry VanderWell, director of restoration for EverGreene Architectural Arts, the company performing the restoration.

The conservator traced patterns, documented colors and sized up plaster and canvas damage, VanderWell said. Multiple areas of damaged plaster had to be repaired, including on the dome that joins two long corridors, before painting started.

The ceiling restoration is estimated to cost about $500,000. In all, the Platform is expected to spend about $100 million between sprucing up the Fisher and turning the nearby Albert Kahn Building into residences, said Dan Austin, spokesman for the Platform. The company is also working on a number of other projects in the neighborhood.

The Albert Kahn-designed Fisher building, built by the Fisher brothers, opened Sept. 1, 1928, as a hub for shopping, business and entertainment.

More than 40 kinds of marble were used in construction. The interior is an ornate world of majestic mosaics, brass and bronze touches and beautifully painted ceilings in hues of gold, green, blue, red and orange.

Related:

► 10 fascinating facts about Detroit's Fisher Building

► A few minutes with... a man who built the Fisher building out of Legos

Hungarian artist Geza R. Maroti used elements that symbolized American prosperity and strength. One design feature is golden eagles with outstretched wings.

On Friday afternoon, artisan Brad Stewart of Indianapolis crouched on a raised platform under an arch, bright bunches of painted pomegranates overhead. He ran a small roller brush with a rusty red-colored paint over a taped-down stencil with triangle cut-outs.

Workers are mainly using acrylic paints, and as well as imitation gold leaf. They are preserving original details and replicating the areas that were lost using stencils made from other parts of the design.

There have been some challenges. In some areas, parts of the same pattern or design are painted in slightly different shades that don't match the rest. And the original hand-painted designs don't always have crisp or even borders.

Workers could see water damage on the interior surface of the dome, but didn't realize its extent until they got up close.

"Once we got up there, we tapped on the surface, and we could tell there was a hollow spot in there" where layers of plaster had deteriorated and began to separate, VanderWell said. "We injected consolidants to stabilize it."

The Platform is a co-owner of the Fisher Building, as well as the agent in charge of its restoration and event programming. The ownership group also includes New York-based HFZ Capital Group and Rheal Capital Management.

EverGreene Architectural Arts, with offices in New York City and near Chicago, has restored buildings all over the world, from churches, state capitals and theaters to famous landmarks like the Empire State Building.

"(The Fisher Building) is one of those few buildings where every surface was considered in terms of materials and decoration," VanderWell said. "It all tied together, from the designs on the floors to the materials used for the walls. It's a wonderful building that has a level of detail that you just don't see anymore."

Contact Ann Zaniewski: 313-222-6594 or azaniewski@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @AnnZaniewski.