Workers from Angelina Stone and Marble remove the cupola from the dome of the Cabell County Courthouse on Wednesday, July 9, 2014, in Huntington. The cupola is estimated to be repaired and placed back on the dome by September. Click here for a photo gallery.
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — A large crane was parked behind the Cabell County Courthouse on the 5th Avenue side Wednesday, lifting the top dome of the courthouse bell tower off so the bell could be removed.
The restoration of the bell tower has remained incomplete, although the courthouse dome was restored in 1997.
The county just bid out the restoration project last month, which includes extensive reinforcement of the tower’s inner structure, along with the replacement of gold leaf on the outside.
Angelina Stone and Marble of St. Clairsville, Ohio, near Weirton, West Virginia, is doing the restoration at a base cost of $246,725. Cabell County is using $100,000 in grant funds toward the project, and paying the difference out of the general fund.
The bell itself will likely be displayed in the courthouse, or someplace outside the building’s front entrance…