The effort to restore Balboa Park's Botanical Building reached a huge milestone on Wednesday, but the renovations are taking longer than expected.
The cupola — the little domed structure that sits atop the middle of the roof — was reinstalled Wednesday morning. It's the latest step in the $21-million project to restore and revitalize the local landmark. The city contributed $13 million, and the state chipped in another $8 million.
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The Botanical Building, more than 100 years old, has been closed to the public since early 2022 as phase 1 of the restoration project began. The building was fenced off, and the thousands of plants that used to be on display were replanted throughout the park, while others were moved to an offsite nursery.
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Phase 1 includes upgrades to the structural building, reconstructing the historic window arcades, expanding walkways, adding two new building additions on the north side and interior planting, city officials told NBC 7 last year.
The goal is to restore the building to its original look, similar to how it looked in 1915, when it was built as part of the Panama-California Exposition.
Although the first phase was originally expected to be completed by December 2023, the renovations are taking longer than hoped.
"It is registered as a National Historic Place, so with the construction process, we had to be very delicate," Edgar Lozano, a senior civil engineer with the city of San Diego, explained. "It wasn't until we stripped all of the wood off that we exposed the steel, and then found a lot of the necessary repairs were actually hidden behind walls or behind the wood."
So far, 1,258 repairs have been made to the steel trusses. The old paint has been removed, and crews are using a new marine coating to make sure it holds up.
Restoration of the building is about 60-65% complete, with most of the west side complete. Now, crews are working on the east side.
The city expects to finish the renovations and reopen the building by late summer or early fall. Then, nonprofit Forever Balboa Park will start restoring all the outdoor gardens.
