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Log inRestoration starts on East End 'pearl'
Restoration starts on East End 'pearl'
by Outspoken on Sat Aug 02, 2008 11:36 am
Restoration starts on East End 'pearl'
The work starts Monday on the Abyssinian Meeting House, the nation's third-oldest black church.
By KELLEY BOUCHARD
Staff Writer Portland Press Herald
Restoration work on the historic Abyssinian Meeting House in Portland's East End will start Monday after 10 years of planning and preparation.
In the weeks ahead, staging will go up, the roof will be removed and bowed exterior walls will be pulled in, said Leonard Cummings Sr., chairman of the Committee to Restore the Abyssinian.
The work will undo decades of structural damage that started in the mid-1920s, when two floors and six apartments were added within the once-open sanctuary space.
Built in 1828, the Abyssinian is the nation's third-oldest black church, after meeting houses in Boston and Nantucket. It was part of the Underground Railroad that helped slaves find freedom.
It also was a school for black children when Portland's other schools were segregated, and it was one of few buildings in the East End to survive the Great Fire of 1866.
"This building is the pearl of the neighborhood with all it's been through and all it represents," Cummings said. "With this phase of the project, we're accomplishing major aspects of the restoration."
Until now, the committee has focused on cleaning up and preventing further damage to the neglected building at 75 Newbury St., and studying the structure and grounds to determine its historical value and the best way to restore it.
The committee also has been trying to raise $3 million to restore the meeting house and establish a visitors center by 2011.
This phase is expected to cost about $280,000 and take four months, Cummings said. The committee has raised $230,000, including a recent $50,000 grant from the National Park Service.
Cummings said the committee hopes to raise the remaining $50,000 by December, through grants and donations, to replace the roof shingles.
The project is being overseen by Arron Sturgis, owner of Preservation Timber Framing in Berwick. He's an expert in timber-frame construction, which featured hand-hewn beams and boards.
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=202616&ac=PHnws
The work starts Monday on the Abyssinian Meeting House, the nation's third-oldest black church.
By KELLEY BOUCHARD
Staff Writer Portland Press Herald
Restoration work on the historic Abyssinian Meeting House in Portland's East End will start Monday after 10 years of planning and preparation.
In the weeks ahead, staging will go up, the roof will be removed and bowed exterior walls will be pulled in, said Leonard Cummings Sr., chairman of the Committee to Restore the Abyssinian.
The work will undo decades of structural damage that started in the mid-1920s, when two floors and six apartments were added within the once-open sanctuary space.
Built in 1828, the Abyssinian is the nation's third-oldest black church, after meeting houses in Boston and Nantucket. It was part of the Underground Railroad that helped slaves find freedom.
It also was a school for black children when Portland's other schools were segregated, and it was one of few buildings in the East End to survive the Great Fire of 1866.
"This building is the pearl of the neighborhood with all it's been through and all it represents," Cummings said. "With this phase of the project, we're accomplishing major aspects of the restoration."
Until now, the committee has focused on cleaning up and preventing further damage to the neglected building at 75 Newbury St., and studying the structure and grounds to determine its historical value and the best way to restore it.
The committee also has been trying to raise $3 million to restore the meeting house and establish a visitors center by 2011.
This phase is expected to cost about $280,000 and take four months, Cummings said. The committee has raised $230,000, including a recent $50,000 grant from the National Park Service.
Cummings said the committee hopes to raise the remaining $50,000 by December, through grants and donations, to replace the roof shingles.
The project is being overseen by Arron Sturgis, owner of Preservation Timber Framing in Berwick. He's an expert in timber-frame construction, which featured hand-hewn beams and boards.
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=202616&ac=PHnws
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Plato (427-347 BC)
Plato (427-347 BC)
