New facades — and one giant pickle — grace Eph's Downtown and Foran's Irish Pub

Two of downtown's oldest buildings have gotten facelifts. Work began two months ago on the facades of Eph's Downtown and Foran's Irish Pub on Woodward. And, while it will not wrap up until the spring, visible progress has been made — most noticeably with the installment of a Taru Lahti-designed stainless steel sign and huge three-dimensional pickle at Eph's.

Jerry Belanger, owner of the Park Bar, is acting as the project manager for both facades. The first order of business for Eph's was the removal of five layers of paint from the building's exterior. "Clay brick should not be painted because it has to breathe," says Belanger. "We had a very difficult job -- it had been painted since at least since 1913 based on historical photos." Non-toxic organic Back to Nature Bio-Wash was used for the job.

The building was also tuck-pointed and re-mortared. Extra work was added when it was discovered that some of the brick had been replaced with newer common brick. "We harvested brick from the interior, where the aesthetic isn't as important," says Belanger. "It was an intensive process to get it right, to get it historical." He credits his crew, which includes building owner Scott Martin and masons Jerome Ferretti and Tom Belanger, with attention to craftsmanship and detail.

Windows will be replaced over the winter and cornices and window bonnets will be installed in the spring. Belanger estimates the job is 70% complete.

Foran's owner Tim Tharp chipped in at Eph's, and he also did the bulk of the work on his own building. The concrete brick was cleaned and painted while the paint was removed from the original terracotta tilework.

In the spring, the building's facade, which is not original to the former Grand Trunk ticket office, will be replaced with doors that will open out to the sidewalk. "It's going to be a really nice, all-wood, really beautiful storefront," says Belanger.

Up to 50% of the cost of the improvements will be reimbursed by the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation when the job is complete.

Future plans include the replacement of both building's interior and exterior lights with LEDs. "We want to integrate green technologies into historic buildings," says Belanger. "We will marry something very efficient without detracting from what is historical and significant."

Source: Jerry Belanger
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh