Tuesday, June 9, 2020

Set in Stone Awarded Massachusetts Preservation Project Fund State Grant

In our March 16 blog post, we reported on our first-ever application to the Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC) for special funding to continue our Set in Stone masonry repairs. MHC oversees the Massachusetts Preservation Projects Fund (MPPF), a state-funded 50% reimbursable matching grant program established in 1984 to support the preservation of properties, landscapes, and sites (cultural resources) listed in the State Register of Historic Places.
This year, MHC received 33 applications with requests totaling nearly $2 million. UUCW’s application was one of only three applications that were pulled early and selected for emergency funding, based upon our compelling case and “high potential for loss.”
Our $50,000 MPPF grant, plus a matching grant received from the Robinson-Broadhurst Foundation, will enable us to begin urgent “Phase 2” masonry repairs on our bell tower. The rest of 2020 will now be very busy!

Monday, June 1, 2020

Gnazzo Repairs Coping Stones

Joseph Gnazzo Company, Inc. returned to UUCW today for one more week of stonework repair. The last vestiges of the Phase 1 funds are being used to seal the long coping stones that cap off the tall front gable, and repair a bulging section of granite blocks near the bell tower. This time, the work can be accomplished with only one worker in a bucket lift, instead of the multi-story scaffolding required last fall. No fear of heights for this mason!