Historic Preservation

First Parish Congregational Church, U.C.C., Saco

AdditionsHistoric Preservation

A tragic fire in August 2000 completely destroyed First Parish’s historic 1860’s church. The congregation voted to rebuild on their prominent in-town site at the corner of Main and Beach Streets.

Barba+Wheelock and Donham & Sweeney Architects teamed up in a joint venture to design the new 32,000 s.f. building. The new facility includes a 550-seat sanctuary, a lobby/atrium that connects both sides of the church, commercial kitchen, classrooms, fellowship hall, administrative offices, youth activity area and a chapel.

The new church is distinctly modern, yet the design respects the character of the surrounding main street scale. The atrium and steeple mark the center of the complex with the sanctuary and fellowship hall on either side. Modern materials, such as painted metal siding and pvc battens are used on the building’s exterior to create a Gothic Revival wood board and batten appearance. Certain elements, such as the stone foundation, the steeple design, and the use of brackets, evoke the memory of the historic church. The historic clock, which had fortunately been removed from the former church for restoration prior to the fire, was reinstalled in the new tower. The architectural firms, as design collaborators, shared the production of the construction documents.

The First Parish Church is featured in the Images Publishing book, “Houses of God: Religious Architecture for a new Millennium,” by Michael J. Crosbie, 2006.

First Parish Church, U.C.C., Gorham, Maine

AdditionsHistoric Preservation

This vibrant congregation wished to create an expanded and flexible group of spaces to better serve the worship experience. The goals were to better integrate the choir without creating a distraction from the minister or diminishing the historic integrity and simplicity of the sanctuary, as well as create a flexible chancel area that can also serve as a framework for other activities, such as plays and musical/choral performances.

A small addition (650 s.f.) was added to the sanctuary level to accommodate the expanded chancel, new organ chamber and exit stair. This expansion and reconfiguration of the dais and proscenium arch provided ample space for a 30-40 member choir, elevated choir director’s platform, organ console and all the chancel furniture. The solution maintains a focus on the spoken word, so central to the congregational church tradition.

The elaborate chancel rail disassembles into five pieces, thus allowing the chancel to serve as a stage for performance. A storage space located directly off the choir area provides ample room for storing the choir pews and the chancel rail when an open space is needed.

Memorial windows, previously backlit electrically, were relocated to new outside wall space to achieve natural daylight illumination.

New lighting, interior finishes, and design integration with the organ builder combined with a minimal architectural intervention, respect the history integrity of the space and cast a revitalized spirit of worship and celebration

Broad Bay Church

Historic PreservationMaster Planning

Winslow Homer Studio

Historic PreservationHistoric Structures Report

Included in the scope of services were: examination of the history and use of the structure, cultural landscape review, examination of finishes, systems and recommendations for its future use and preservation.

A team of professionals included: architectural historians, mechanical, structural and electrical engineers who specialize in historic structures, landscape architects, and forensic finish experts. Working together to produce detailed drawings of the current structure and site, chain of title showing its evolution to present day, and scenarios for future use, this team was assembled and led by Barba + Wheelock on behalf of the Portland Museum of Art. Interviews were conducted with the Homer family and Homer scholars across the United States for their personal knowledge and expertise in piecing together verifiable and anecdotal evidence.

B+W worked with noted scholar, Architectural Historian James O’Gorman. From the on-site and historical documentation we were able to create drawings of how the studio appeared during Winslow Homer’s tenancy. The preservation treatment recommendations became a combination of restoration, reconstruction, and rehabilitation, all based on the Secretary of Interior’s Standards. B+W worked closely with a professional model maker to create a scale model of the restored studio & site, the model was on display at the Portland Museum of Art.

Hathaway Creative Center

Adaptive ReuseHistoric PreservationTax Credits

Built as a textile factory on the shores of the Kennebec River in 1887, this building is known to most Mainers as the Hathaway Shirt Factory, its use from 1957 until 2002. Barba + Wheelock led a team of design professionals to redevelop this building and the surrounding site into a mixed-use building which now serves as an anchor for downtown Waterville.

The project team included architects; mechanical, civil and electrical engineers; remediation specialists; historic preservationists; landscape architects and construction managers. Challenges included negotiating flood plain, increased traffic generation, planning board review and lengthy coordination with the National Park Service and Maine Historic Preservation Commission for Historic Preservation Tax Incentives Program. Among the services completed for this project was the successful application for listing on the National Register of Historic Places and a Historic Preservation Certification Application (Parts 1, 2 and 3).

Phase One was a fast-tracked construction project completed December 2008. The third floor was renovated to house offices for Maine General: HealthReach and the second floor for TD Bank’s insurance division. Completion of Phase Two followed in May 2009 with the construction of sixty-seven apartments on the fourth and fifth floors, exterior improvements, and core components for the business and retail occupancy of the first and second floors.

Barba + Wheelock continued to work on an array of fit-outs for offices, retail tenants and a radio station. When the third phase is completed, the 230,000 sf building, one of three in the original complex, will include: a restaurant, offices, apartments and amenity spaces for the residents, including a fitness room and business center.

Working with a team of two out-of-state developers, funding for this project came from a variety of sources:

Conventional Mortgage
Developer Equity
Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credits
State Rehabilitation Tax Credits
New Market Tax Credits
TIF Financing

Hathaway Center was awarded a Maine Preservation Honor Award in 2009.

Cumberland Club

Adaptive ReuseCondition AssessmentContextual DesignHistoric PreservationMaster Planning

Located in downtown Portland, the Cumberland Club occupies the historic, Federal-style Stephan McLellan Mansion. Built in 1802, the building has received at least six major campaigns of additions, including renovation designed by John Calvin Stevens.

B+W’s involvement with the Cumberland Club began with a master plan to study conditions, accessibility and expansion needs to all three stories for the 130-year old social club. Steeped in history, the Club was also looking to update its staid image with a new gathering space central to the operations: a bar that was traditional in style, complementary to the Maine Room and yet, innovative enough to set a tone to revitalize membership.

In the master plan, B+W established that the bar’s location would be adjacent to the Maine Room, in what once was a dining terrace with French doors. Later additions and remodeling had enclosed the space and hidden its character. The new bar transforms the once-tired interior into a comfortable, wood-lined extension of its adjacent room. A key challenge overcome in the planning was the design of the back bar, which integrated a sophisticated set of kitchen/bar equipment in a limited amount of space.

For the Cumberland Club brownstone main entry restoration, their embedded knowledge of the project details led them to serve as de facto construction managers, orchestrating a diverse group of construction specialists in achieving a unified project. They shepherded the project through the Historic Preservation Commission with unanimous approval.

– Paul Stevens, Cumberland Club, Building Committee, Club President

Two different species of wood were selected for the striped floor for their inherent characteristics to allow for a one-step process of clear finish. The granite countertop picked up the tonal quality of the room in a permanent and utilitarian surface. The German-made glass is transparent enough to allow views out from the room to a hint of the green landscape beyond, but translucent to disguise the identity of nearby diners. The leading pattern is modeled on the historic windows in the Maine Room. Daylight filters in through the glass wall illuminating the bottles; concealed specialty lighting augments the natural light and provides a sparkle. Scope also included furnishings and fabric selection.

The Bar’s name honors Maine native, former Governor, Civil War general and Club member, Joshua Chamberlain.

Barba + Wheelock undertook the design, specifications and construction management for the main entry rehabilitation. This included a study of options for the no-longer available brownstone including flipping the stones to expose the undersides, replacement in granite, precast or special stone polymer substitution material. The final finicky solution to the restoration of the original brownstone steps and cheek walls led the mason to remove the later inappropriate surfaces down to the original brownstone, infill with polymer solution (with brownstone dust and color agents to match) and finish the project with an appropriate coating.

The restoration also involved intensive, multi-layer lead paint removal and repair to the bases of the fluted wood columns. The engaged pilasters were repaired on site, while the freestanding columns were craned to a flatbed and moved offsite for steam softening of the paint for removal.

Rubber roofing, copper flashing, gutters and downspouts, lighting, and painting rounded out the project. We also engaged a cast iron craftsman to restore the stair wall balusters and provide new railings. B+W coordinated multiple specialized craftspeople in their respective trades.

Historic Preservation

Hathaway Center was awarded a Maine Preservation Honor Award in 2009.

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