Two 135-year-old buildings on Liberty Avenue, Downtown, will be going back in time.

Traditional storefronts on the four-story structures at 805 and 807 Liberty will be restored as part of more than $50,000 in improvements being undertaken by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.

Inside, the Cultural Trust wants to join the upper floors of the twin buildings to create more space for offices, meetings and other purposes. The back sides of both structures also will receive extensive work.

The buildings date to 1870 and have historic significance as well. They are among the few remaining structures in Pittsburgh with cast-iron fronts, a popular but short-lived building fad here and elsewhere.

The Cultural Trust already has repainted the upper floors of both buildings and restored the windows. Next will be remodelling the street-level storefronts to match their original look as much as possible.

Michael D. Eversmeyer, one of the architects working on the restoration project, said there are no photos available of the original buildings so designers are concentrating on making them "look like something that could have been there."

Buildings from that period typically had large display windows in the front, a transom window that ran above the door and a signboard above that.

"We're just following that traditional pattern," he said.

Inside, the Cultural Trust plans to remove all non-historic finishes and false ceilings and return the upper floors to more of their original look. It also is planning to remove a common party wall to provide additional floor space.

Thomas Harley, the lead architect on the project, said the third and fourth floors could be used for office space and the second floors for educational outreach efforts.

The back sides of both buildings have fallen into disrepair and will get a lot of attention under the latest remodeling plan. The deteriorating back wall at 805 Liberty will be rebuilt and windows, many of which have been broken out, will be replaced.

At 807 Liberty, windows that had been removed and replaced with concrete block will be restored. The Cultural Trust also will build an enclosure to hide the garbage bins in the alley. Pitched roofs will be added to the backs of both flat-roof structures to provide more space.

Mr. Eversmeyer said, however, the new roofs will not be seen from the front so as not to alter the historic character of the structures.

Both vacant buildings are located next to the Cultural Trust headquarters at 803 Liberty.

All three are owned by the trust, along with 801 and 809 Liberty. The latter houses the Harris Theater.

Because the buildings are located in the Penn-Liberty Historic District, the remodeling plans will go before the city Historic Review Commission for approval next week.

Mr. Eversmeyer, who is the commission's chairman, plans to disqualify himself when the matter is discussed.

He said the buildings at 805 and 807 Liberty are among a half dozen or so remaining in the city with cast-iron fronts, an early form of prefabricated housing.

At one time, builders thought cast-iron fronts would prevent buildings from catching fire.

But that theory was disproved in dramatic fashion by the 1871 Chicago fire, when the cast iron failed under high heat.

Mr. Eversmeyer said the cast-iron frames, which were bolted to buildings, also could rust out if exposed to water over long periods. But he added the frames at 805 and 807 Liberty were in good condition.

The current storefronts date to the 1970s. Last year, the Cultural Trust concentrated on the facades on the upper floors of the buildings, restoring the double-hung windows on all floors except the second level of 805, where large pivot windows circa 1900 remain.