Merced courthouse museum restoration underway, paint scraped, bee hives removed

Work is underway on a multi-million dollar renovation project to restore parts of the historic Merced County Courthouse Museum building that have deteriorated over the years.

Crews began erecting scaffolding around the building on Jan. 13, and work has commenced to restore the building’s deteriorating exterior. Merced County spokesperson Mike North said workers with Spectra Historic Construction, the restoration company contracted to perform the project on the historic building, have removed bee hives from the building and are in the process of scraping exterior paint and cleaning building surfaces in preparation for restoration.

North said the restoration project will focus on rehabilitation of the building’s exterior. The work will include cleaning, refinishing, restoration, repair and the painting of a majority of the buildings exterior features. North said that rain has had minimal impact and so far crews haven’t faced any notable difficulties or setbacks.

Built in 1875, the museum is listed on the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places. North said that due to this, the rehabilitation work to the building is being done based on the procedures and methods set by the United States Secretary of the Interior Standards for Rehabilitation.

North said restoration to the front portion of the building should be finished in October and restoration to the rear portion in March 2026.

The building served as Merced County’s courthouse for 100 years and housed multiple county departments including the Treasurer-Tax Collector, Board of Supervisors, Parks and Recreation Department and others. Designed by A.A. Bennett, who also worked on the California State Capital, the historic courthouse was built to resemble an Italian palazzo and is an example of Italian Renaissance Revival featuring a white plaster exterior.

In a December 2024 ceremony held to celebrate the start of restoration process, Merced County said it plans to bury a 100 year time capsule on the site upon completion of the restoration project. The time capsule will include various certificates from local and state elected officials, a county pin, a California quarter and possibly various small items removed from the building during the restoration process.

Funding for the project comes from $2 million in federal money, $1 million from the Merced County Board of Supervisors, $500,000 from the California Natural Resources Agency, and $50,000 from the Merced County Historical Society. During the restoration project, the museum remains open to the public from 1 p.m. - 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.

This story was originally published March 10, 2025 at 3:49 PM.