Tower Ribbon Cutting

Today The Bostonian Society and the Old State House hosted the Tower Restoration Project Ribbon Cutting. The ceremony marked the first "brick and mortar" project to be completed under the National Park Service's Centennial Initiative. The Centennial Initiative matches government funding with private donations for projects within the National Parks. Attendees included Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne, Director of the National Park Service Mary Bomar, as well as representatives from the Boston National Historical Park, and representatives from the City of Boston.

In this photo, Brian LeMay, Executive Director of The Bostonian Society, gives opening remarks.

South Scaffolding Comes Down

Last night the two piers or legs on the south side of the building were dismantled. The end is just about a day away. Seeing the entrance without scaffolding was a pleasant sight upon coming into work this morning.

Crane Day a Success

On Saturday night the crew from Marr took down the large, steel beams that supported the scaffolding levels. Working from about 7pm until 2am, the crew pulled down groups of small beams as well as four 24ft beams and four 60ft beams. The large, 60ft beams weighed a hefty 6,000lbs each and were taken away on an extended trailer. Once they left the site it signaled the end of the most nerve-racking portion of the project. The four piers or legs will be coming down over night this week and everything will be cleaned up by Thursday morning.

Scaffolding Down to the Beams

Today the crew from Marr Scaffolding took the staging down to the beam level. The big crane will be on-site Saturday night to lift the beams and fully reveal the tower. The piers on the north and south side of the building will be taken down Monday and Tuesday. The Old State House will be back to normal by the middle of next week.

Tower is Partially Revealed

Yesterday, a crew from Marr Scaffolding began to disassemble the upper stages of scaffolding. This work truly signifies that the project is coming to an end. The project team has been checking the progress and signing off on the work before each stage comes down. By next week the completed tower will be visible to all.

Scrolls Are Added

Yesterday marked the end of the carpentry work on the Old State House tower. After the electricians installed the tower lighting, the carpenters could finish the job they started back in April. The balustrades were the first pieces off the tower and the last pieces finished. The scrolls were mounted yesterday afternoon and it marked the end of the work for the carpenters, who have spent so much time here over the last three and a half months that they are now part of our family.

Balustrades Get New Flashing

The lower balustrades have been progressing towards the finished product slowly, but surely. After the balustrades were fitted together, the brackets were installed by chiseling out part of each balustrade. The quarter round trim, urns, and the top finish rail were then put into place. The scrolls were fitted and the base for them was installed. Last Friday, the corners of the balustrades were fitted with a lead flashing to protect the wood from water dripping off the urns. The balustrades were painted over the weekend and the scrolls will be installed this week, finishing the work to the lower balustrades.