Chapel Hall
Preservation of the Building
FSC is delighted to announce that a fresh face will greet you this summer! Grants awarded from The 1772 Foundation and the George A. and Margaret Mee Charitable Foundation have enabled us to begin work on the Chapel Hall Emergency Exterior Conservation Project, including restoration of windows, painting of the front facade and a new porch floor.
This project involves the restoration, repair and painting of the exterior original siding, wood ornamentation and windows of Chapel Hall. Our original intention had been to restore the exterior of Chapel Hall after foundation structural work had been finished. But, since the flood of 2006, the exterior of the building, although not directly damaged by the flood waters, has deteriorated rapidly to the point that it is essential to intervene now. The work is being completed by Cohen & Frazier of Franklin and Redpoint Builders of Cherry Valley.
I am glad to report to you that an outstanding preservation architect, Kaitsen Woo, recommended to us by the Capital Projects Program at the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), is overseeing this project and future work on Chapel Hall.
This year, theatre audiences will be greeted by Chapel Hall's newly restored and painted facade, windows, and porch, executed to the highest historical standards by Redpoint Builders of Cherry Valley and Cohen & Frazier of Franklin, under the guidance our new preservation architect, Kaitsen Woo Associates. We are very grateful to the 1772 Foundation and the Mee Foundation for the grants which enabled us to take these first steps toward the preservation of of Chapel Hall.
After years of planning work, FSC has now initiated a major fundraising effort for the construction necessary to ensure the future of this wonderful building. With the support of the A. Lindsay and Olive B. O'Connor Foundation and Walter and Karine Rich, a preliminary study was commissioned: Investigation and Recommendations for Stabilization and Associated Work, A Report Prepared for The Franklin Stage Company, August 16, 2004, by a remarkable team of experts: the late Misia Leonard, RA, Preservation Architect; Derek Trelstad, Structural Engineer; and Ken Follett, Stonework Construction Logistics Consultant. It presented a comprehensive plan for dealing with the conservation measures to be taken. A New York State Legislative Grant, awarded through the office of Sen. John Bonacic, then underwrote the costs of the Archeological and Site Surveys in the Spring of 2005. These preliminary studies enabled us to receive grants towards the design documents related to this work from the New York State Council on the Arts Architectural Planning and Design Program in September 2005 and the John Ben Snow Memorial Trust of Syracuse, NY in September 2007.
