Preservation North Dakota calls it the state's most endangered historical building.

But as of today, it's on the road to recovery.

The CCC Lodge was the first building to go up at the International Peace Garden back in the 1930s.

And, as Jim Olson reports, a months-long restoration project is now underway...

(Dean Poll, Contractor) "At the top and all along that top beam..."


(Jim Olson, KX News) The problems may sound overwhelming...

(Dean Poll, Contractor) "Rotten! This wasn't here this winter and now this spring, here it is. That one's already got mushrooms growing on it.

(Jim Olson, KX News) But don't get Dean Poll wrong

(Dean Poll, Contractor) "It'll be a good challenge."


(Jim Olson, KX News) He's looking forward to this job. And it's a job that goes from foundation to rafter - starting with the wood floor

(Dean Poll, Contractor) "We spent just about 20 man hours yesterday going through this building, board by board, on the floor."

(Jim Olson, KX News) Each piece of oak and maple flooring will be refinished and replaced in its exact spot

(Dean Poll, Contractor) "So all the people who've had weddings and parties and celebrations in this building, the same floor they walked on will be the same floor we put back in place."


(Jim Olson, KX News) After that, the work moves outside

(Dean Poll, Contractor) "Just like what happens when a log is laying on the forest floor with moss and rot, that's what's happened to this. It's completely rotten."


(Jim Olson, KX News) Some 76 rafters on the building will be replaced - including this one where birds have made it their home. And the foundation is also a problem - a problem visible inside, in this corner

(Dean Poll, Contractor) "You can see how everything is aiming down. That's because the concrete footing has given way."


(Jim Olson, KX News) And then there are the windows and doors

(Dean Poll, Contractor) "Water and time and lack of maintenance have taken their toll and each of these doors is shot. Rotted through."


(Jim Olson, KX News) But don't let the laundry list of problems make you think Poll is sour on the couple dozen men who built this lodge without electrical power or mechanized tools back in the days of the Civilian Conservation Corps - to the contrary, he's quick to point out the signs of great craftsmanship still visible today.

(Dean Poll, Contractor) "You have these brass, spring-loaded buttons to hold the window screens in. Notice all the iron work is all from a blacksmith shop. This wasn't purchased at Menards or Home Depot. You see all the hinges are hand-beaten on an anvil by a blacksmith - they still have the dents in there."


(Jim Olson, KX News) Poll considers it his mission to honor that quality work by restoring what's been damaged over time to the appearance it had 70 years ago - but with new technology to help it last into the next century

(Dean Poll, Contractor) "The timing is right, it's a great building, it's for a great purpose - to bring it back from the grave."


At the International Peace Garden, Jim Olson, KX News.

The restoration is expected to cost about 250-thousand dollars and be finished in about a year. watch the video | save this article / add to your favorites list