History and preservation of Depression era structural glass facades

Abstract

Structural glass was originally sold as a utilitarian material for use in sanitary areas. It originally was used to replace stone slabs, but soon found use in commercial architecture due to the characteristics of the material. Structural glass also gained prominence due to the Great Depression, the Art Deco style, the Modernize Main Street program sponsored by the Federal Housing Administration, and the advantageous marketing technique of the manufacturers of structural glass to take advantage of all these factors. Due to the effective marketing structural glass can be found as remodeled storefronts in many towns, small and large, across the country. Structural glass is a very durable material, meaning that many of these storefronts still exist but due to age are in need of repair. The purpose of this thesis is to determine the best methods of repair and in cases of renovation whether to keep a replacement glass façade or to return to an older one.