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City of South Bend and St. Joseph County Historic Preservation Guidelines 43 <br />Commercial Standards: Cornices and Parapets <br />General Understanding and Approach <br />Cornices should be repaired with materials like their construction . Missing features should be refashioned and installed using existing elements as a pattern . Maintain cornices and associated parapet caps to preserve the integrity of buildings by shedding moisture away from the building’s parapets and walls . Parapets should not be reduced in height or removed but maintained . <br />Read more about the history of cornices, typical materials, and construction methods here . <br />What is your project? <br />Repair an existing cornice <br />• Cornices should be repaired to match the existing cornice in <br />materials, color, details and installation method . <br />• Missing features should be refashioned and installed using existing elements as a guide, matching material, installation pattern, location, and details . <br />Install a new cornice where an original cornice has been removed <br />• Use historic photographs to determine design details of the original cornice . <br />• Where existing images are not available of the subject building, images from similar age <br />buildings in the District and designs appropriate to the original age of the building should be <br />used to develop the new design . <br />• A new replacement cornice can be constructed of traditional materials such as stone, brick, terracotta, stamped sheet metal, or cast iron . <br />• New materials such as fiberglass may be utilized if a mock-up demonstrates that the finished cornice will fit in visually with the existing <br />building materials . <br />• Parapet walls should remain in place and maintain enough cap to prevent water infiltration. <br />• Parapet wall caps may be covered in new aluminum so long as the color selected does not add a new visual element to the <br />cornice or parapet . <br />The following is not recommended and generally not approved by the Commission: <br />• Removal of an original cornice with no replacement planned . <br />• Covering over an original cornice . <br />Return to the Table of Contents <br />Cornices and Parapets <br />Administratively Approvable <br />Repair of cornices as <br />recommended.