The brick, marble and stone KC landmark, a half-scale replica of Seville, Spain’s 12th-century Moorish tower of Giralda, stands 138 feet tall in Country Club Plaza at West 47th Street and Mill Creek Parkway. Designed by urban developer J.C. Nichols, Giralda Tower was officially christened in 1967 – the same year Kansas City and Seville became sister cities.
The owners of Country Club Plaza contracted Western to address repair and maintenance items from the tower’s top patio down to its base. THP Limited provided project engineering and consulting.
Scaffolding was erected around the tower to allow safe work access and contain construction debris. Western started Phase I of the project in the winter of 2020 and finished Phase 2 in 2022. Work included demolition and replacing brick, cast stone, steel and other materials.
Western’s craftsmen salvaged existing, damaged pieces, which were used to create rubber molds to cast the stone replacement pieces. Hoists were used to lift and set the new pieces in place. Sections of existing brick were removed to expose the original shelf angles. The old shelf angles were removed and replaced with new stainless steel shelf angles for the new brick. Miscellaneous tuckpointing of deteriorated mortar joints and replacement of damaged brick were also performed on the tower.
All existing sealants were replaced with new silicone sealants. Each concrete balcony was removed and replaced with newly casted, concrete fabricated bases. The marble baluster and railing pieces were salvaged, restored and reset. The project’s final touches included washing the facade to remove years of biological and atmospheric staining, followed by applications of a sealer and corrosion inhibitor to protect the masonry and concrete.
The project challenges included phasing work tasks appropriately to work through the winter to shorten the project duration, providing protection to allow pedestrian walkways and sidewalks below Giralda Tower to be used, and installing replicated materials to blend in with the original cast stone, brick and mortar joints.
Western’s crew completed the $1.9 million restoration project within budget and on schedule in November 2022.
View the project press release
About Western Specialty Contractors
Family-owned and operated for more than 100 years, Western Specialty Contractors is the nation’s largest specialty contractor in masonry and concrete restoration, waterproofing, and specialty roofing. Western offers a nationwide network of expertise that building owners, engineers, architects, and property managers can count on to develop cost-effective, corrective measures that can add years of useful life to a variety of structures, including industrial, commercial, healthcare, historic, educational and government buildings, parking structures, and sports stadiums. Western is headquartered in St. Louis, MO, with 30 branch offices nationwide and employs more than 1,200 salaried and hourly professionals who offer the best, time-tested techniques and innovative technology.
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