An application has been lodged with York City Council for repair work on the Masonic Hall in St Saviourgate, due to damage caused by water run-off and trapped moisture.
The repairs, if approved, will deliver "a substantial visual enhancement to the streetscape and the wider York Central Historic Core Conservation Area."
The work will involve scaffolding at the front of the building, but St Saviourgate would remain open to traffic.
There is also extensive paint flaking and bubbling, as well as weeds growing in rainwater pipes and algae staining the first floor windowsills.
Repair work will include clearing weeds, fixing compromised render and striping back failing paint layers, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
Plans stated the repairs "represent a highly beneficial, restorative, and essential intervention" aimed at preserving the historic building.
It said: "Adopting a strategy of minimal intervention ensures that the historic fabric is structurally safeguarded, avoiding the accelerated decay, freeze thaw spalling, and internal dampness that would inevitably occur under a do nothing scenario.
"Ultimately, these sensitive repairs will restore the building's classical symmetry and architectural clarity."
The hall was originally built and opened as the Institute for Popular Science and Literature in 1846 before being converted into a Masonic Hall in the 1880s.
