Masons from Abstract Masonry Restoration in Salt Lake City including Jeff Eakle, top, Jason Peterson, center, and Kevin Hadfield, work on the terra cotta on the Old Overton Gym. The decorative trim was damaged by rocks thrown from the ground below.

By Mike Donahue

Moapa Valley Progress

A team of Utah stone masons this week completed a nip ‘n tuck face lift on the decorative terra cotta circling the upper reaches of the Old Overton Gym that will restore and help preserve the structure’s facing.

The renovation was done by a four-man team from Abstract Masonry Restoration of Salt Lake City and was paid for with a $65,000 rehabilitation grant from the Nevada Historical Preservation Office that was awarded in 2009, said Chris Green, a member of the Old Overton Gym board of directors.

The Old Overton Gym, 353 West Thomas St., was constructed in 1937-38 and for decades was an important part of the entire Moapa Valley community as well as the high school. It was used for innumerable athletic events over the years and was the site of an untold number of community and school dances, according to a website about the structure.

A new gym was constructed in 1964 and over the years it gradually took over the duties of the old gym until 1990 when the first structure was condemned. Within 10 years the old gym had fallen into complete disrepair and was literally on its last legs when a group of local residents formed a non-profit agency to restore the building to its past beauty.

Since 2001 workers have been rehabbing the building inside and out and the recent work on the terra cotta is just another phase of the restoration.

Guy Eldy of Abstract Masonry Restoration, grinds away a damaged spot on the Old Overton Gym terra cotta during recent restoration work.

Although new terra cotta for building decoration is fabricated in only two companies in the U.S., Abstract is one of several that do restoration work on existing structures, according to Kevin Hadfield, foreman of the crew who worked on the Old Overton Gym. Terra cotta, from the Italian for “baked earth,” has been used for thousands of years as a medium for sculptors as well as engineers who use the material in a variety of ways.

When glazed it becomes waterproof and adds a decorative beauty to brick and stone buildings.

Rocks, apparently thrown from the sidewalk and street below, caused severe damage to the terra cotta ornamentation on the “Old Overton Gym,” and the cracks and chips to the glazing was allowing water to seep in, further damaging the substance, Green said.

To repair the terra cotta, masons remove the damaged areas with chisels and grinders, and then fill the sections with a special material they mix on site, Hadfield said. Then they re-glaze the repaired areas.

Abstract’s masons also cleaned and re-caulked all the joints on the terra cotta.