In 2022, a storm caused extensive damage to the c1897 building’s masonry. The decorative veneer was delaminating from the building and bowing outward, with high risk of failure. CPG was hired to assist with historic rehabilitation tax credits as a means of offsetting the costs to repair this building for continued use.
Commonwealth
Pythian Castle
Building Documentation & Scanning
Historic Building Renovation
Historic Research
Historic Tax Credit Consulting
Pythian Castle
Partners
Archsmith Studio
Museum Resources Construction & Millwork
Lynch Mykins Structural Engineers
Virginia Department of Historic Resources
National Park Service
Project Goals
Pythian Castle is one of the best surviving examples of Romanesque Revival style within the City of Portsmouth.
Project Design
The project team was carefully selected early in the project to address the extensive damage to the building.
Museum Resources Construction & Millwork was brought in to help replace the historic tin ceiling, which was beyond repair at the start of the project. Tin was replaced “in kind,” or to match the original, to retain the building’s interior historic integrity.
Challenges & Accomplishments
When CPG joined the project, repair work had already begun, making it critical to collaborate closely with the client, architect, and structural engineer to understand what had already transpired to build an effective tax credit application.
The historic building has been successfully rehabilitated for continued use as a restaurant and office building, effectively saving an important building within Portsmouth’s Olde Towne neighborhood.