Project Underway
The 1895 Beckwith building on South Street, which houses the Litchfield Post office, is owned in a limited partnership by the GLPT and other investors. The north side of the building was covered with brick patterned metal siding that had been patched over the years and was in need of repair/replacement. It was believed the metal siding, which matched in form the brick façade of the building to the north of the post office, was installed in response to the devastating fires of 1886 and 1888 when most of the wood framed and clapboarded buildings in the commercial district were destroyed.
In the spring of 2013, the Trust, as the non-profit managing partner, received a matching funds, Technical Assistance grant from the CT Trust to evaluate the structural integrity and condition of the north façade of the building. The firm of edm, Unionville, CT undertook the project determining the siding was in need of replacement and in addition, the 30 year old flat roof on the Post Office extension also needed replacement.
During the fall and winter of 2013 exhaustive efforts were made to find a fabricated material to replace the siding in-kind. Without suitable alternatives in either metal or fiberglass, the Trust, with the assistance and comment from both Greg Farmer, the CT Trust Circuit Rider and Stacey Vairo of the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), submitted an application and was approved by the Litchfield Historic District Commission to replace the metal with clapboard siding. The siding matches the south and west sides of the building and was considered the best course of action for the preservation of the building.
After going out to bids, a local contractor was hired to undertake the work. Begun in July, the project was completed in September.