In Tampa’s Ybor City, a long-running restoration effort at the Cuban Club is moving toward its next milestone: making the 1917 landmark watertight and stabilizing the exterior so deeper interior work can follow.
The current phase is backed by a $2.5 million state appropriation and is expected to wrap up by next July, according to Patrick Manteiga, the Cuban Club’s vice president and director of grants and construction. The priority is straightforward, he said: “You can’t really fix the building until you stop it from leaking.”
For mason contractors, the scope reads like a checklist of what historic masonry demands. Crews are removing failing mortar between bricks, replacing damaged units with custom-made replicas that match the originals, and stripping decades of paint off the exterior. Manteiga said the goal is to return the brickwork to its original appearance and let the masonry “breathe” the way it was designed to.
Restoring a building like this also means rebuilding details that time erased. Using historic photographs, the team is bringing back decorative lamp posts, reconstructing balustrades, restoring ornamental metalwork, and replacing wood cornices. Some small parts have been recreated with modern tools, including finials for wrought-iron railings produced through 3D scanning and printing after preservationists confirmed the replacements matched the originals.
Manteiga noted that preservation work brings added cost and complexity, including the need to custom-fabricate pieces, match mortar colors closely, and secure approvals before certain work moves ahead. Once the exterior work stops water intrusion, the project will shift indoors to repair damaged plaster, paint, and finishes without new leaks undoing that investment.
Read the full, original article from Patch here.