Royal Oak

Restoration project adds warmth to Addams

ROYAL OAK — Former Longfellow Elementary School parents and students fondly recall story time by the beautifully tiled fireplace in the kindergarten classroom.

So when the building permanently closed, efforts were made ensure that the cozy spot would follow students to their new home at Addams Elementary School.

On Sept. 24, during Addams’ curriculum night, parents had a chance to see the transplanted — and fully restored — faux fireplace in the school’s media center. Visitors could view a video and photos of the restoration process and talk with volunteers and tile experts who were on hand to discuss the project.

“It’s quite impressive,” said Addams Principal Judi Juneau.

Leading the charge in the preservation process was parent Diana Barrer, who couldn’t bear to see the fireplace go. The fixture includes decorative tiles made in the 1920s by the Flint Faience Tile Co., which was well-known for creating colorful nursery-rhyme and animal tiles for school buildings. Others shared Barrer’s passion for saving the historic tiles, and she was able to get more than 100 people to sign a petition to help move the project forward.

“It was all about the kids,” said Barrer. “They just appreciate the artwork.”

With permission from the school district, the tiles were removed from Longfellow in June 2007. After being cleaned and restored, the tiles, which also included a few from the former Franklin Elementary School, were installed at Addams in May. In addition, historic tiles were removed from a former drinking fountain backsplash and reinstalled in a hallway at Addams.

Most of the tile installation was done by Howell resident Larry Mobley, who is a member of the Tile Heritage Foundation. The tiles had to be removed one by one, numbered and then reinstalled in the same order. He pointed out that he sees tile restoration projects like the Longfellow fireplace catching on more and more.

Addams parent Laurie Eisenhardt  was another integral volunteer in the project, helping to fix some of the cracks in the tiles.

“I’m a tile maker and I have a natural love for the medium,” she said, noting that the fireplace adds “such warmth” to the media center.

Ken Galvas, author of “Flint Faience Tiles A to Z,” was also at the curriculum night to share his knowledge of the tiles.

“Some of these kids’ grandparents and great-grandparents saw them as a kid,” he said. “It’s a unique part of our history.”