June 11, 2015

Ready for the summer - Old State House restoration work wraps up!

Crowds gather in front of the east façade
As many of you may have noticed there was more work being done on the Old State House last month. The return of warm weather at the beginning of May allowed the Society and its contractors, Commodore Builders, to complete the finish work to the balcony and east façade.

Last November the scaffolding on the west façade was removed to reveal the newly pointed and painted west end. At that time, work continued on the balcony and east façade. As the days of the month ticked away, the weather became our biggest enemy. When the calendar finally turned to December, our luck ran out. With all of the major work done, the weather called for the finish work to take a hiatus until the spring.

While no one could have predicted the winter Bostonians went through, the Old State House and its recently repaired façade, statues, and balcony handled it perfectly. Unseasonably cool weather and the large amounts of snow pushed our spring return for the finish work further down the calendar.

As April turned to May, sun and warmth was finally on our side. Commodore Builders came back on site with a lift for the finish coat of paint on all the wooden elements of the east façade. Completing the work in a week, the project which began last fall came to an end. Now on sunny mornings, the lion and unicorn sparkle, the balcony and windows show bright, and by the afternoon the west façade is illuminated to show a bright and sound façade.

The Society would like to thank Commodore Builders, Storeygard Associates Architects, Preservation Technology Associates, and Simpson Gumpertz & Heger for all their hard work.

By Matt Ottinger, Director of Facilities and Historic Preservation

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