The historic three-story Carson Block building was constructed in Eureka, CA by the local lumber baron, William Carson, in 1892. The building is 110' by 140' and has full-height, full-length unreinforced brick masonry walls at the north and east sides. Three exterior turrets existed from the second floor up to the roof and extended over the sidewalks at 3rd and F streets. The original design was performed by a San Francisco Architect, Samuel Newsom, and included the lavish two-story Ingomar Theater on the second floor. The exterior was designed in the Romanesque Revival tradition and included detailed redwood siding, terracotta tile and curved glass windows in the turret offices. Many of the historic elements of the original building were either removed or covered by subsequent owners, including decommissioning of the Ingomar Theater and installation of a third floor in that space. The bottom two-thirds of the turret at the southwest building coiner (at 3 rd & F), had been removed and had to be restored. The Northern California Indian Development Council (NCIDC) purchased the building in 1986, and their goal since has been to re-construct the Theater and restore the original grandeur of the building. By January, 2014, the owner had obtained sufficient funding to begin construction of a complete seismic renovation and restoration or replication of all historic features except the Ingomar Theater. They are very determined to eventually obtain enough funding to complete the restoration of the Ingomar Theater. Structural Renovation challenges solved by CYS Structural Engineering, Inc. included: 1. Providing strong and stiff lateral force elements that are not visible behind the all-glass south and west walls and preserving virtually all of the historic fabric in those areas. 2. Stabilizing the full-height north and east masonry walls of the theater. 3. Restoring stability for the north end of the west wall that was existing in a very precarious condition due to previous remodeling projects. 4. Providing a Risk Category Ill-level renovation design for portions of the building to be occupied during performances at the future theater.
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