Jacob Riis Park Fieldhouse

Consulting Architect

Forma, Inc.
Chicago, Illinois

Copper Roofing Installer

Progressive Dynamics
Streamwood, Illinois

Built in the late 1920s, the Riis Park Fieldhouse, with its distinctive batten seam copper mansard roof, serves as a venue for events, park programming, and recreational activities. It contributes to the park’s certification on the National Register of Historic Places. The building was fully renovated from 2023 to 2025, a process that included a complete roof replacement, additional insulation, replacement sheathing as needed, and installation of new copper cladding.

This building’s unique, angled copper mansard roof, or “skirt,” includes integral copper gutters, copper scupper boxes, copper cleats, copper coping, and copper downspouts — all functioning cohesively to shed water down past the façade and below grade on the tight, corner site.

The architectural team consulted copper system reference information and technical expertise from CDA during the project, specifically to develop the complex integral gutter design and to specify appropriate copper weights based on the application. The installation included a system mock-up to facilitate communication with and smooth installation by highly skilled copper roofing contractors.