The Oshkosh Public Library. May 4, 2026. PC: Fox 11 Online
OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The historic dome on top of the Oshkosh Public Library is getting a facelift. Work began on the 125-year-old roof Monday.
“It’s been in place since 1900. And it’s a tile roof, which historically those are roofs that have long lives,” said library director Darryl Eschete. “There’s a moisture barrier and a standoff that usually goes between the tile roof and the roofing surface that it’s under. And that really hasn’t been dealt with.”
Officials estimate the last time work was done on this dome was back in the 1950s. Now while the work is necessary, they said it’s primarily to establish a routine maintenance schedule.
“It’s not going to be like pulling up shingles. Some of these tiles are going to be reused, that’s part of the work,” Eschete explained. “Assessing the tiles, laying those aside that can be reused, reusing those, and then as needed replacing them with newly created tiles along the same design as the ones that we have.”
The project will cost just under $350,000. That money is coming from the city’s capital improvement fund.
A lot of it has to do with the fact that it’s historical remediation. The building’s not exactly a registered landmark but they wanted to make sure that the work that they were going to do on the roof was historically appropriate and structurally fitting.
A separate project working on elevators in the building will be happening at the same time. Eschete said the work won’t get in the way of usual library activities.
“The elevator serving the dome, we were able to, we rescheduled the work a little bit this summer so the dome will stay available during summer reading,” he said.
Eschete added the work ensures the dome will remain a landmark in Oshkosh for years to come.
Officials don’t have an exact timeline for the work, but expect it to take a few weeks.
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