An old building gets new window frames

WITTENBERG — “Maintenance is tricky on buildings over 100 years old,” said Walls of Wittenberg President Elaine Knab. “But we’re happy to do our part to keep the WOWSPACE safe and beautiful.”

New anodized aluminum frames were installed last week on the front windows of the WOWSPACE building at 114 Vinal St. By replacing the deteriorating wooden frames, the windows will be more secure and will be easier to maintain, according to Steve Vera, a WOW board member who serves on the organization’s building committee.

Omni Glass and Paint in Oshkosh did the work on replacing the frames, and installers from their Wausau branch were in charge of the installation. Vera and local contractor Dan Wisotzke were on hand to help with the project.

“It’s always expensive to do this type of repair,” Knab said, “but we were able to reuse the windows, so that helped a lot.”

No one is certain when the building was built. The best guess, according to some court papers, suggests it was around 1884.

WOW is a nonprofit organization that raises money to pay for professional artists to paint murals on the outside walls of businesses and schools in Wittenberg. Their purpose is to promote tourism through art and education. Since it formed in 2005, WOW has sponsored 30 murals.

The WOWSPACE serves as an art gallery to four art shows a year and an event space for the yearly Dueling Pianos show, which generates money for the adjacent Art Park, and as a theater space for two productions a year. Some of the money generated from the theater productions pays for the bands hired for the three free summer concerts in the Art Park. All WOW fundraisers contribute 25% of the money raised to help support the maintenance and costs of operating the WOWSPACE.

Knab noted that WOW canceled its Wine, Beer and Cheese Gala, the main fundraiser of the year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The window frame replacement had been scheduled to be completed before the gala, which was to be held April 24. The gala serves as the opening of the spring art show, which had to be cancelled as well. The next show, which was to feature art from the students in the Wittenberg-Birnamwood School District, has also been canceled. Knab noted that the summer concerts in the Art Park may be canceled, depending on the status of the pandemic.