A downtown Ann Arbor building whose 
historic features were once covered up with paneling will soon have another final detail restored to its original splendor.Ed Shaffran, president of Shaffran Companies, says restoring the original cornice at the top of his three-story building at 306 S. Main St. is the final piece to the renovation that started in 1994.
When the company bought the building, the brick facade and windows were covered with porcelain panels. Most of the structure was then restored, minus rebuilding the cornice on the uppermost portion. At the time, about $1.5 million was spent on interior and exterior restoration, Shaffran recalls. About $200,000 of that sum was incurred to restore the facade from damage from the porcelain panels alone.
"We thought, at some point in time we'll put the cornice back on," he says. "We felt the time was right to finish it all off."
With the project's recent historic district approval, they've started by scheduling the removal of the existing metal paneling, which will probably be reinstalled on a wood subsurface. It will likely then be installed in 8- or 10-foot sections. They're pretty sure it was aluminum, or pressed metal, but they haven't been able to turn up historical documentation to that effect, Shaffran says.
The building was finished in 1896 and originally housed a corset manufacturer, later serving for years as Kline's Department Store. It now consists of nine apartments over ground-floor retail.
Shaffran says the project will probably run about $50,000, and they've come up with a drawing to replicate the egg-and-dart molding based as best they can on an original 1896 photograph of the facade.
"We're excited about it," he says. "This is the completion of the building."
Source: Ed Shaffran, president of Shaffran Companies
Writer: Kristin LukowskiPhotos:1) 306 S. Main St. in its original state
2) 306 S. Main St. with the porcelain tiles
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