When the Opa-locka Community Development Corporation acquired the Hurt Building it had suffered the ravages of fire and over ten years of  neglect.  Keystone  Restoration   was   retained as   general contractor for the building’s exterior and major   portions  of  the interior. The  two story  Hurt   Building  is listed  in  the  National Register  of   Historic  Places.  Our  firm’s  work  not  only adhered  to   the   Secretary  of   the   Interior’s Standards  for  Historic  Rehabilitation  but   adapted the former  retail and  residential space to  the needs of a modern office building.

Designed in 1926 by noted New York  architect Bernhardt Muller for Glenn H. Curtiss’ Opa-locka Company, the building was the gateway to the new community’s commercial district. Originally it functioned with the post office, retail shops and a garage on the first floor and apartments on the second floor.

Opa-locka is affectionately known as the Baghdad of Dade – a town whose architectural theme is a fantasy interpretation of  the   Moorish Revival  style based on the set of   the  Douglas  Fairbanks 1920’s film the Thief of  Baghdad. The Hurt Building, along with  nearly 100 remaining  buildings, serves  as a unique   set  piece from the theater of Florida’s 1920  real estate boom Festooned with  minarets,  domes,  key  hole  arches  and Arabian  styled details. The Hurt  Building  and others constitute  the   largest  collection of  Moorish  Revival  architecture in the   United  States.

In 1987, Keystone Restoration, Inc., was commissioned by the Opa-locka Community Development  Corporation to implement restoration  architect   Thorn Grafton’s plan. The firm’s  work  included restoration  of   the exterior and  major  portions of the  interior including: three domes, minarets, ornamental masonry, doors, windows, hardware, painting and   structural  stabilization.  In addition,  we added a two story   addition  with  an  elevator to  meet  the  American   Disability  Act. New Spanish   style   roof,  steel    structural   work, electrical, plumbing,  elevator  and   life  safety improvements were all  a part  of  the   project. The Hurt  Building  was featured in a number of    newspaper  articles   about   Opa-locka’s revival.   Keystone  Restoration,  Inc.   received an award for   meritorious  achievement  from the  Florida  Trust  for   Historic  Preservation in  1992  for  its  role  as   general   contractor on the project.             

“As Awards Committee Chair for the Florida Trust for Historical Preservation, Keystone Restoration, Inc.’s projects exhibited award- winning attributes by their craftsmanship, attention to detail and overall quality. As of this writing, Keystone Restoration has won more awards from the Florida Trust than any other contractor.” Michael J. Maxwell, Florida Trust for Historic Preservation Trustee (1988-1995)