The historic nature of our work gives Independence Day special meaning for us here at PTF. Two of our recent projects will be holding special celebrations to unveil their restored buildings: July 4, 2013, New Castle Congregational Church, New Castle, NH – Parade and ribbon cutting at the New Castle Congregational Church, 10a-2p. We have…
Last week, the National Trust for Historic Preservation announced it’s list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Properties. The Abyssinian Meetinghouse had the dubious distinction of making it on the list. Inclusion on the list indicates the importance of the third-oldest standing African-American meetinghouse in our nation’s history, but also sheds light upon the lack of…
On Sunday, the restoration of Bernard Langlais’ wooden sculptures was covered in a full page spread of the Maine Sunday Telegram. It was a pleasure to talk with Bob Keyes, and Shawn Ouellette, of the Portland Press Herald, and to meet the with the folks who raised the money to make this restoration possible. The…
Tony Grassi, owner of the Mill at Freedom Falls, will be discussing its rehabilitation with Jennifer Rooks on MPBN’s Maine Watch this week. The show airs Thursday, December 13 at 8 pm, Friday at 9 pm and Sunday at 5 pm. It will also be on the radio on Friday at 12:30 pm. Read more…
Our clients often comment on a pervasive artistic sentiment within the PTF crew. Shawn Perry and David Ford pursued careers in drawing and ceramics, respectively, before becoming timber framers. Ed and myself majored in art as undergraduates, and a portrait of Reese (scroll down) hangs in the National Portrait Gallery (Reese’s friend Megan Ledbetter took the photo,…
At PTF, we have a passion for preservation. It’s been joked that Arron, our boss, wants to save every old barn and church steeple in New England, and that isn’t so far from the truth. This passion brings PTF to projects large and small, far and wide. Using the “my maps” function in Google Maps,…
Last week, the Wall Street Journal published an article about I-Farm and Chris Barensfeld’s efforts to restore it. Online, the story was accompanied by a video and slideshow. From the article: For years, Christine Barensfeld dreamed about fixing up and living in a property down the street from her home: a historic white barn, carriage…
Maine Preservation recently released an independent study of the economic impact of Maine’s Historic Preservation Tax Credit. Read all about it. Since the start of Maine’s Historic Preservation Tax Credit in 2008, $135 million has been privately invested by developers rehabbing historic commercial buildings in the state of Maine . This $135 million comes in…
On Thursday, June 9, Maine Preservation presented their Annual Honors Awards as part of the Vital Maine Communities Conference. Maine Preservation presented an award of Excellence in Craftsmanship to the craftspeople who restored the Brown-Pearl Hall at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. These included Robin Neely, Maker of leaded windows, Ben Coombs, Glass Blower,…
Last week, PTF was featured in two more articles, these ones about developments at the Abyssinian. The DownEast article focuses on the social history of the building as well as the people responsible for its restoration. It contains some of my favorite stories about the building, including its origin story, and how it was saved…