Cupola Arrives in Machiasport

A very large, curved, and curious piece of history has arrived in Machiasport on a flatbed truck.  The truck, en route from Blue Hill, headed for historic Liberty Hall, now undergoing restoration as a cultural and community center.   Transported from the workshop of Michael Hewes, the striking prow-shaped structure is the new mansard cupola for Liberty Hall, modeled on the original one, which disappeared many years ago.

Until now, the French-inspired Victorian style cupola has only been seen in historic photographs of Liberty Hall taken around 1900. 

“No one who’s alive today has ever actually seen it on the building,” says Frank Foster, an 88 year-old historian and retired executive.  “It will be fascinating to see it once it’s back up there.”

The ornamental roof, which will soon sit atop the belvedere tower of Liberty Hall, has been painstakingly rebuilt, using the old photographs as evidence.  John Turk, of TTL-Architects in Portland, created blueprints after careful examination of the historic images.  He also used a piece of curved framing from one of the original windows as a guide to determine the scale and measurements of the original mansard cupola.  The original piece of window framing was recently discovered in the collections of the Machiasport Historical Society.

Work Continues

The beautiful Fall weather continues to help the restoration efforts at Liberty Hall.  The rotten timber framing has now been replaced with new wood; the windows have been repaired and are back at the site; and the reconstructed weather vane is complete (for pictures, see Gallery).  

The north side of Liberty Hall (top picture) has been scraped and is ready for painting.  

Work is continuing on the south east corner of the building to repair the rot (lower picture).  

More pictures coming soon!

Given the poor condition of Liberty Hall's elaborate belvedere, it has not been possible to restore its original wooden frame. A duplicate is currently being made off-site at the workshop of Michael Hewes.  The original decorative features, however, are in good shape.  These have now been removed from the old belvedere and will be taken to the workshop where they will be attached to the new wooden frame.

For more pictures of the Phase 2 restoration process, see Gallery.     

Progress continues to be made on Liberty Hall.  A good deal of the work is being carried out off-site.  The windows and doors that have been removed from the south side of the building are currently being repaired and primed at the workshop of Highland Window Works.  Once this work is completed, they will be painted in "Cocoa Brown". The color is a match taken from a sample of the original paint found at Liberty Hall.

For more pictures of the wood restoration work go to Gallery.

Phase 2 Restoration 

Phase 2 of the restoration of Liberty Hall began on August 10th 2009.  Overseen by the architect, John Turk and the Maine Historic, the work is being carried out by Consigli Contracting and is expected to last until mid-November.  Its focus is the complete renovation of the building's exterior -- including restoring the intricately carved belvedere tower; removing and repairing damaged clapboards; removing, repairing, and reinstalling decorative wood trim; painting and restoring windows;  repairing and restoring the original doorways, and exterior painting of the structure’s wood surfaces.

August 2009

Staging has been completed and the windows on the south side have sent away for repair.   The condition of the building is undergoing full assessment by the architect, engineer and the contractor. Clapboards have been removed to reveal the state of the wood sills and structural framing. Particular attention is being paid to the building's four corners, with the south east corner showing the most damage (see Gallery).

September 2009