Preservation Achievement Awards 2024: Three Varied Examples of Complex Preservation and Rehabilitation Projects
Many preservation projects are complex and take years to come to fruition. Others have the pressure of tight deadlines to succeed. Successful projects require research, committed leaders, the right expertise and adequate resources, creativity and tenacity. Here are three recent award-winning examples.
Friends of Centennial Hall: For the rehabilitation of Centennial Hall, North Hampton
Partners:
Town of North Hampton
Bedard Preservation & Restoration
Goodrich Carpentry and Construction
Lisa Mausolf, preservation consultant
Land and Community Heritage Investment Program
This former school with its large second floor meeting hall was built in 1876, an imposing stick-style landmark at a historic crossroads. When the vacant building came up for sale in 1997, a group of concerned citizens came forward and bought it.
Twenty-seven years later, the Friends of Centennial Hall have funded a complex, multi-phased rehabilitation effort of the National-Register-listed building and it is now a beehive of cultural and social activity.
The Friends began with a thorough building assessment, then carried out the renovation in phases. Funding came from three LCHIP grants, a Preservation Alliance / 1772 Foundation grant, town warrant articles, and lots of individual and corporate contributions.
Forty-four windows were restored, the slate roof replaced in-kind, a new boiler installed with piping to historic radiators, and a new chimney and flue were installed. Woodwork and trim were carefully restored, along with plaster and re-painting, refurbished kitchen and bathrooms, and new lighting. After putting in a full-building sprinkler system and restoring the grand ballroom there is just one final step—installation of an elevator—to make the building fully ADA compliant. Before the end of this year, the upper hall and stage will once again welcome a lively range of community uses.
Centennial Hall is a high-quality model of planning, incremental rehabilitation, and impressive volunteer and donor support
“Do not underestimate the dedication and determination of a volunteer board.”
Town of Ossipee: For the rehabilitation of the Whittier Covered Bridge, Ossipee
Partners:
Hoyle Tanner
Dobois and King
CPM Contractors, Inc.
Headwaters Consulting, LLC
3G Construction
Land and Community Heritage Investment Program
N.H. Department of Transportation
National Covered Bridge Preservation Program
Every surviving 19th century covered bridge is precious. This one, built in 1870 to replace a span from 1791, is both an engineering marvel and a cultural monument. It is a rare example of a single-span Paddleford truss--a New Hampshire innovation regarded as the most sophisticated wooden truss design of the 19th century. It was severely damaged in the floods of 1936, bypassed by Route 16 in 1955, renovated in 1982, and closed again in 1989. After the decaying structure was almost washed downstream in 2005, the town cabled it to a tree, sought engineering help, and recruited a Citizens Advisory Committee.
All agreed the bridge was in dire circumstances. It made the Seven to Save list in 2007. Eventually, with a combination of federal, state, and local funding, $850,000 was raised to slide the crippled bridge off its abutments to an adjacent field. After more delays and more fundraising, extensive repairs were completed in 2016. Finally, in 2021, with multiple funders, the abutments were repaired, and the massive Whittier Covered Bridge was put back in place, this time for pedestrian use only.
Although the nearby hotel where poet John Greenleaf Whittier spent five summers is long gone, his memory remains strong in this picturesque setting
Enfield Shaker Museum: For the rescue and acquisition of adjacent Shaker and La Salette landscape and buildings
With great energy, commitment, and vision, Enfield Shaker Museum raised just over 2 million dollars in only seven weeks to purchase and protect 28 acres and buildings that had once been part of the adjacent North Family of the Enfield Shaker Community. Their “Together Again” campaign attracted contributions from 344 donors in 24 states. Additional campaign donations will fund urgent repairs of the five historic Shaker buildings-–the Trustees’ Office, Laundry, Wood House, and two barns—and two La Salette structures.
Enfield Shaker Village was founded in 1793 and closed in 1923; the Missionaries of LaSalette purchased it for a seminary, retreat center and conference site. They constructed a replica of the shrine at La Salette, France, that includes a chapel, pond, Peace Walk and sculptural depictions of the Stations of the Cross on a hillside overlooking Lake Mascoma. In 2023 after the LaSalettes announced their intention to leave Enfield, the site was named to the statewide Seven to Save list. Preserving the historic structures and the cultural landscape of both the Shakers and the LaSalettes underlies this impressive effort. “For the first time in 96 years, the North Family and the Church Family of the Enfield Shakers will be together again, just as it had been historically," said Carolyn Smith, president of the Enfield Shaker Museum board.
“For the first time in 96 years, the North Family and the Church Family of the Enfield Shakers will be together again, just as it had been historically.”
Learn more about this year’s Award winners here. If you have a re-use profile to share, let us know!