There's cracks in the doors of the Sumter County Historic Courthouse so wide that the sun shines through. Parts of the antique columns are chipped off and the mortar joints that are supposed to hold the bricks together are filled with holes.
And some of the building's water pipes are so corroded, they look more like tree branches.
But just one year short of its 100th birthday, a restoration project has started on the Historic Courthouse.
"We want to restore it back to its historic glory," said Douglas Conway, project manager, pointing to pieces of wood peeling from some window panes.
The Historic Courthouse was completed in 1913. Since that time, a number of attachments have been added to its east side and more floors have been built.
The restoration is part of a $7.3 million renovation project that will implement changes to the entire courthouse as well as the county's jail and other nearby areas.
The project is necessary to bring the entire building up to codes. The floor of at least one room will have to be leveled to provide better access for the handicapped. Some exit signs in the Historic Courthouse are made of paper.
But aesthetics is a big focus.
"We want it to look as close as it did in 1913," said Chris Wert, assistant public works director.
The restoration of the Historic Courthouse will be daunting. With the floor that needs levelling, construction crews will pull up the wooden planks and place them back down once the room is finished. Officials at times have to go online to find replicas of the period pieces they need to replace, such as the antique street lamps with the acorn light bulbs. One seems as it was broken in half and later welded together.
The mortar joints will be grinded and filled back in an attempt to hold on to the sand-colored bricks with black speckles that were part of the Historic Courthouse and to maintain a water-tight building.
Bricks of the additions come close, but have a subtle change in color.
"We really want to make a good impression," said Conway, pointing to a catalogue of egg-and-dart ornamental devices that match the top of the columns of the Historic Courthouse.
While criminal trials are held in the newer additions of the Sumter County courthouse, several court offices and civil trials are in Historic Courthouse.
Part of the State Attorney's Office and clerk of courts for Sumter County will be housed there once the renovation is completed.
Some parts of the Historic Courthouse will remain off limits such as a balcony off one of the courtrooms that still has the same tiger-oak pattern tables it had in 1913.