Auburn City Hall along the street in 2019, its brick reading as one range from the entrance block to the far wing
Case File 072

Correcting Two Areas of Poor Match at Auburn City Hall

Two areas of brick on this city hall did not match the wall around them. They were stained in 1999 to come closer to the brick they sat in. The building was photographed again twenty years later and certified then.

Case No. 072
Structure City hall
Location Auburn, Indiana
Stained 1999
Re-photographed 2019
Elapsed 20 years, Platinum level

1999

  1. An applicator on a ladder reaching over a window head with a brush, the pale cream pier beside him standing against mottled tan brick above the window During, 1999 View this photo larger
  2. A man holding a loaded brush against the cream brick of a corner pier, with rose brown brick running below the window sill beside it 1999 View this photo larger

What was wrong

Two areas of brick on the building were not the color of the wall they sat in. The file records the issue in two words: poor match.

The 1999 frames show what that meant at unit scale. A pier of pale cream brick stands in a wall of rose and brown, and an applicator is working it over by hand.

What was done

Mineral stain, brushed on unit by unit. Nothing was torn out and nothing was covered over. The correction in the file: "We stained the brick to closely compliment the surrounding areas."

2019, twenty years on

  1. The city hall from across the street in 2019, a two story brick front running from the entrance canopy to a stone band lettered CITY OF AUBURN 2019 View this photo larger
  2. A brick pier between two windows in 2019, its units an even rose and brown range with pale mortar joints 20 Years After View this photo larger
  3. The wing seen square on from the pavement in 2019, two storeys of brick reading as one range beside the older entrance block 2019 View this photo larger
  4. An outside corner of the wall in 2019 under a cast stone sill band, the brick even on both faces, with the Brickman certified stamp in the corner of the frame After, 2019 View this photo larger
  5. Close view of the brick at unit scale in 2019, rose, brown and mauve units in a running bond with a projecting course stepping out of the wall 2019 View this photo larger

What twenty years prove

The wall reads as one range of brick at street distance and at unit scale. On the certification scale that is Platinum, which covers twenty years and over. As of 2026 the work is twenty-seven years old, and the 2019 certification is the most recent record on it.

The signed file

Every certified job gets the same form, signed on the day someone goes back to the building. This is the one for case 072, transcribed beside the scan so it can be read on a phone and by a search engine.

Scan of the case study form for case 072, filled in and signed View the signed form full size
Project name
Auburn City Hall (1999)
Level
Platinum. The scale runs Bronze at seven to nine years, Silver at ten and over, Gold at fifteen and over, Platinum at twenty and over.
Hired by
Other. The eight boxes on the form read school or university, mason or contractor, brick manufacturer, homeowner, architect, brick distributor, business or corporation, and other. The mark is against the last.
Reason for project
Other. The four boxes on the form read complaint or problem, addition or makeover, color change, and other. The mark is against the last, so this case study carries no project type in the library filters.
Issue
"Poor match"
What was corrected
"We stained the brick to closely compliment the surrounding areas."
Storyline
"Major color changes in two areas on the building. It still looks great 20 years later!"
Authorized
Donald A. Foster, signed, dated 2019
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