DETROIT - Leave it to a handful of skilled masons to repair some of cracks in the federal justice system.

OK, that's taking a little editorial license with what's really happening at the Theodore Levin Federal Courthouse. But it is true that Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local 1 members, working for Grunwell-Cashero, are making repairs to the joints and seams on the limestone exterior of the building, helping assure that the impressive edifice will be there to host the federal justice for years to come.

Completed in 1934, the 11-story, 605,000 square-foot Detroit Federal Building/U.S. Courthouse takes up a city block at Lafayette and Shelby streets. Over the years, said Grunwell-Cashero Project Manager Rich Montmorency, the federal government has been a good steward for the building, keeping up a regular maintenance schedule on the exterior, which has helped keep water away from where it shouldn't be.

"The masonry is in good condition, it really just needs maintenance work like cleaning and performing tuckpointing, which is what we're doing," Montmorency said. "We're going over all sides of the building and making any necessary repairs."

Montmorency said Grunwell-Cashero has performed masonry repairs at the building over the last two decades, with the most extensive renovation being capstone replacement on the roof in 1988.

He said the building's designers used variegated limestone panels on the exterior. From a distance, the walls look the same, Close up, the panels are slightly different colors, and a mortar patch color was chosen to match the panels - and all the previous mortar repair work - as much as possible.

The project began three months ago with a thorough cleaning of the exterior. The process of patching and caulking is ongoing. Foreman Jim Tracht, Jr. said there is very little rust on the straps holding the limestone panels in place, so it's anticipated that only a few panels will need to be replaced. The job is expected to extend into next spring after a break over the winter.

"It's quite an amazing building, and I really enjoy working on it," Tracht said. "To me limestone buildings are really aesthetically pleasing, but they very rarely use limestone like this in new construction. The engraved murals and medallions on the upper levels are very detailed. You can even seen the pleats on the pants of one of the guys on a mural."

While not usually grouped with the collection of architecturally classic skyscrapers that downtown Detroit enjoys, the federal courthouse is a solid citizen among the city's buildings. It serves as the federal courthouse for the Eastern District of Michigan.

According to Emporis, the courthouse was designed "in a sleek moderne style," faced with limestone above a base of polished black stone. The building has an open center light court the public never sees, and relief sculptures of eagles and emblems about the Lafayette and Fort street entrances indicate the building's governmental function.

Inside, we're told by tradespeople who have done work that the building is ornamentally striking.

The space under the building is another story. The Federal Courthouse Building sits atop the site of the former Fort Lernout, Fort Shelby and then the 1897 U.S. Post Office, Courthouse and Custom House.

In 1927, demolition of the 1897 building at the site revealed some of the remnants of the long-buried Fort Lernout, which was built by the British during the Revolutionary War.

According to the Michigan Historical Marker at the site, "This marks the site of the southwest bastion of Fort Lernoult. It was here, on July 11, 1796, that the American flag was first flown over Detroit. The fort was built by the British in 1778-79 to protect Detroit against possible attack by George Rogers Clark and the American army.

"Overlooking the stockaded village and named for its commander, Richard B. Lernoult, the fort controlled river traffic and land routes. The fort was not attacked during the American Revolution. However, it was then the foremost British military post in the West, a base for Indian raids against American frontier settlements, and a guardian of the rich fur trade. Although the peace treaty of 1783 gave Michigan to the United States, the British did not evacuate the fort until 1796. In 1812, Fort Lernoult was surrendered to the British, but was regained by the Americans in 1813 and re-named Fort Shelby. The last troops were removed in 1826. The fort was leveled in the next two or three years."

BRICKLAYERS and Allied Craftworkers Local 1 masons Don Ross, left and Steve Malloy perform tuckpointing on the exterior of the federal courthouse building in Detroit.

ALL THE LIMESTONE panels and joints on the exterior of the Levin courthouse in Detroit will get checked for cracks and leaks.