In order for the Washington County Planning Commission to decide whether it was feasible to preserve the dome of the county courthouse, an intricate scaffolding had to be erected for the preliminary examination: the scaffold could not touch the ornate terracotta nor could it be secured above the spring line of the dome. To further complicate the project, the supporting roofs had different pitches and elevations. The construction of the scaffold is described. Once the decision was made to save the dome, the existing scaffolding was doubled to an 180-degree arc; each quadrant was moved leap-frog to complete the work so no more than one-half the dome was enveloped by scaffolding at any one time. Construction of the scaffolding alone required 850 manhours.