WILKES-BARRE--- People at the Luzerne County Courthouse on Friday couldn’t take their eyes away from the newly renovated rotunda.
County leaders said the sight of it was worth the wait.
“Everybody is looking up. Everybody is saying what a phenomenal job this is. I've had lawyers who have worked here for 30 years saying, ‘I never knew that was up there,’’ Luzerne County Manager David Pedri said.
The $2 million project began last August and it has been grueling work.
Rachel Gilberti worked on the rotunda by hand. She said it took a lot of endurance.
“I'm actually not a patient person naturally, but for this, I have all the patience in the world and it is meticulous. It's one little inch by inch every single day,” Gilberti, Head Conservator with the John Canning Company, said.
For the last couple of months, courthouse employees have dealt with a lot of clanging from all the scaffolding, but now it's being taken away.
“It’s been going up and going down and that causes a lot of noise but we put up with it to get this type of product,” Pedri said.
Workers are also putting the finishing touches on the south entrance of the building.
The last time the courthouse was renovated was in 1967. Some of the results this time around were really something to see.
“It's going to be here for our next generations, for our children and grandchildren. You don't build another building like this,” Pedri said.
All of the renovations at the courthouse are set to be finished in mid-April.