The 2023 Historic Restoration Awards have been awarded to Jason Alberty for the Newburg Menswear Building, Miller & Horne Building, and Trane Building, La Crosse, Wisconsin, and to Samantha Crownover, Bruce Crownover, and Thomas Neujahr for the William Henry Brisbane House, Arena, Wisconsin.

About the Projects

Newburg Menswear Building, Miller & Horne Building, and Trane Building, La Crosse, Wisconsin (restoration over $1 million)

These four buildings were eventually all incorporated into Newburg Menswear with various renovations. This included removing the brick party walls between three of the bays and replacing them with steel column and beam lines. In 1973, the upper level of all four bays was covered with a metal slip cover. After the Newburg Menswear store closed, the property was home to a beauty school from about 1989 until sometime before 2010. The building then sat vacant for about a decade and was in a state of disrepair.

The mechanical, plumbing, and electrical systems were failing and the masonry was quickly deteriorating. The inside of the building had been gutted over the years. There were major structural deficiencies in both the wood framing and masonry walls. The cornices for all of the buildings had been removed. Most windows were replaced with glass block. Some of the masonry openings on the front of the building had been widened and lowered to accommodate the glass block. The oriel window on the Miller and Horne Building was removed. The cast iron storefront columns were removed and replaced with shorter columns and steel lintels. The transoms had been infilled with brick and then covered with precast concrete panels. Part of the front facade was leaning out toward the street as much as three inches.

Early in the project, construction work was halted and the building evacuated when a large structural crack began to widen due to vibrations caused by construction activity. After structural repairs were completed, regular construction work could resume. The front facades had structural connections added, tying them back to the rest of the building. A unique challenge was recreating the missing terra cotta cornice. The top couple of feet were removed when the metal slip cover was installed circa 1973. Through examining remnants on the building and historic photographs, full size drawings were created and given to the mason who created wood forms and cast new pieces out of GFRC (glass fiber reinforced concrete). The new pieces were allowed to cure and then had a special coating applied to match the terra cotta glaze. To help resist the bending forces of the cornice, steel bars were installed with epoxy into the wall below.

This project represents a main street success. A non-historic slipcover was removed to reveal the historic façade. The building now anchors Pearl Street in the heart of the La Crosse Downtown Commercial Historic District.

William Henry Brisbane House, Arena, Wisconsin (restoration under $1 million)

Samantha and Bruce Crownover and their business partner purchased the Brisbane House in April 2021. They fully stabilized, restored, and rejuvenated the main house and summer kitchen—and were awarded historic tax credits. With 30 years’ experience managing and restoring historic properties in Madison, Samantha Crownover created a team of expert advisors, enthusiastic local craftspeople, and friends. The former owners helped out with advice, history, support, and encouragement. Over 150 people were involved and their work included: removing a concrete sidewalk that abutted the entire perimeter; repointing mortar joints (two feet up and four feet underground) and chimneys; repairing fireboxes in the fireplaces; buttoning up the terne roof; rebuilding the eaves, soffits, and fascia; adding half-round gutters and downspouts; relocating a large colony of bats (the largest the pest control company had ever seen) and flying squirrel families; re-plastering all crumbling walls; refinishing the fir floors; repainting all other floors, walls, and wood trim; refinishing all doors; re-plating historic hinges; re-grading the land around the house; augmenting the heating system and adding central air conditioning, as well as installing HVAC on the third floor; installing a new septic system; installing a new well; upgrading and adding electrical and plumbing systems; renovating the bathroom; performing fine carpentry in the kitchen and various other rooms; building a screen porch; re-roofing the summer kitchen with cedar shingles as well as installing appropriate new Marvin windows; and creating a new bathroom. In one weekend, Samantha Crownover moved in furniture, furnishings, and art; the Brisbane House has been open to overnight guests since mid-August 2021.

In addition to being an excellent restoration of a historic building needing restoration work, special attention was paid to the history of the man who built the house in 1868. William Henry Brisbane was a man who formerly owned slaves but eventually became an ardent abolitionist. The Crownovers own a collection of original art by nationally-known artists of color and have decorated the house with that collection. They’ve also created a library of anti-racist literature, as well as books by Black authors.

The Brisbane House is a worthy project in a rural area (the Driftless), sensitively restored through the help of tax credits. It has a recognized connection to abolition, which adds a unique story to the property.

About the Restoration Award

The award goes to the best restoration work of a Wisconsin historic property that involves comprehensive work to restore a historic building, structure, object, or site.

Learn More

• Learn about the Historic Preservation and Restoration Awards

  Learn how to nominate projects for this award.

• Learn about the Board of Curators Awards