Restoration – Diary of the Conservation

 The above image is An Architects Rendering – February 17, 1894. Published in American Architect and Building News. Courtesy of Providence Library.

The Purchase

On June 13, 1997, with the encouragement and support of the Massachusetts Historical Commission, who listed Ventfort Hall among the 11 most endangered properties of Massachusetts, and with the help of many private donations and loans and a 5 year loan from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Ventfort Hall Association, Inc. (VHA) was able to purchase Ventfort Hall for $500,000.

In 1993 the complex was accepted for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. The property consists of 11.7 acres. Besides the 28,000 sq. ft. mansion, it includes the original Carriage House and the walled garden. Two additional gatehouses, one on Walker Street and the other on Kemble Street are now privately owned and have escaped the deterioration of neglect and vandalism. The original parcel was much larger. Much of the frontage on both roads has been sold off over the years and Ventfort Hall is now surrounded by many private homes built since 1947. The Morgans also owned the land across Walker Street that is now the site of an apartment complex, Morgan Manor, which extends from Walker Street to Housatonic Street.

The Interior

The interior of the mansion is the most remarkable and elaborate interior in this area. No money was spared in the construction of the magnificent staircase and gallery. The Great Hall is two stories tall at one end with a complete plaster ceiling with pendants in the style of seventeenth century Scotland. The Long Hall is flanked with fluted columns and paneling and also has an elaborate plaster ceiling.

The Great Hall approximate date 1894. Courtesy of the Lenox Library.

Unfortunately much of the paneling in the reception rooms was removed by the previous owner in preparation to demolition. We are fortunate that, with the exception of a few choice missing pieces, most of it lies on the premises, but it is a very challenging puzzle to put it back. VHA focused on opening this central area to the public. In December, 2000, with the generous help of supporters like you, we opened our doors for our first public tours of the Great Hall.

The brilliant colors of stained glass echo the reds, greens and yellows of the fall leaves which were as much appreciated in those times as they are in ours. The Billiard Room has stained glass windows on three sides.

It will be a slow process to restore all of these spaces to their original beauty. But even today they dazzle us with what is still there.

The basement was the workroom for the house. Ice boxes and walk-in coolers remain from that period. Storage shelves, wine cellars, massive cedar closets… Corridors behind the scenes… Secret doorways… A bowling alley…

We began by concentrating on the ground floor restoration. As of June 2001, we have been able to open the Great Hall, Dining Room, Morning Room, Butler’s Pantry, and part of the Long Hall for use and tours by the public. We installed a new electric line, a new water line, drainage, a new gas line… Very boring and expensive but most necessary…

VHA chose the firm of John G. Waite Associates, Inc. as architects for the work on the interior. They have extensive experience with restoration and VHA is very fortunate that they can work with us.

The Masonry

1. The North wall in original condition. Note the missing gable which allowed the penetration of water and ice which extensively damaged the wall and the interior in this area.

2. Work in progress. All the face brick was removed, cleaned and re-laid. In several areas the original masons had skimped on the back brick. This left dangerous weak points which have now been filled and properly rebuilt.

The North Masonry Wall

Ventfort Hall Association received a $50,000 grant from the Massachusetts Preservation Projects Emergency Fund which is under the chairmanship of William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. As soon as the architectural and engineering studies were completed masonry work began on the north wall. All the veneer brick was taken down cleaned and reinstalled. The brick on the Ventfort Hall mansion was hand struck and very dense and so far it has not been possible to find an exact match. Every face brick has to be cleaned and reused. The wall is four inches thick and some of the interior brick was badly damaged and even missing.

This area was completed and it is now stronger than it ever was. The roof behind the three decorative gables was reshingled and flashed. One area of rotten roof rafters was repaired. The gutter system was restored using the original gutter boxes. The windows have been reinstalled.

In addition to the $50,000 granted by the state, VHA spent another $30,000 made available by large and small private donations by the time this wall was finished. With VHA’s hard-working volunteer Board of Directors it was possible to spend almost all the money raised for construction. Administrative costs have been kept to an absolute minimum.