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Grace Restaurant
Grace Restaurant
15, Chestnut Street, Portland, ME, United States
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Grace Restaurant
15, Chestnut Street, Portland, ME, United States
The circa 1856-57 building is on
the National Register of Historic Places, and is one of the few surviving
examples of early Gothic Revival style in Portland. The building dates to
before the Civil War, which is important because so many buildings of that era
were destroyed in the big Portland fire of 1866, said Amy Cole Ives, a
historic-preservation consultant from Hallowell who has been working with the
Verrills.
Ives said the building is also
important because its architect was Charles Alexander, who was very popular in
Portland in the 1850s and 1860s, "and this is pretty much the only
surviving example of his work."
"What is just outstanding
about the project that the Verrills have undertaken on this building,"
Ives said, "is that they have really gone the extra length to restore the
exterior of the building in terms of its stonework, and they have incorporated
a very modern use while maintaining essentially the historic character of the
interior."
The brownstone used on the exterior
was quarried in Portland, Conn., the source of the building's original
brownstone. Knowles Industrial did all of the exterior work, Verrill said,
"and I can't say enough about them. They're fantastic people, and they
worked in bitter, bitter, bitter cold outside."
The historic preservation aspect of
the project has been "a pretty crazy ride," Verrill said. The
structure itself is sound, so there were no big surprises like sinking walls.
No hidden passages or secret documents tucked away in loose brickwork, either.
But the workers did find a couple of old brick walls no one knew existed.
Another find? The huge wood pillars
in the church, which are believed to be oak, look stained. But closer
examination reveals that they actually have been painstakingly grain painted.
"Somebody went through and painted each individual line to make it look
like it was stained, which I guess was really popular in the late 1800s,"
Verrill said.
A giant round marble base –
perhaps part of a baptismal font – couldn't be saved. "It was
literally so heavy that they had to jackhammer it apart just to carry it out of
here," Verrill said. "We wish we could have figured out something for
it." Overall, Verrill said she found some of the historic preservation
guidelines to be "a little bit extreme."
"The mortar colors had to be
checked, like, 10 different times," she said. "It took us three
months to get the right color of mortar.” That’s because the goal
of masonry restoration is to leave a building looking as if it hasn't been
repointed, Ives said. The patching mortar used to rebuild the brownstone
details on the front of the building was very difficult to match to the Connecticut
brownstone. The natural stone is made up of a wide range of shades of brown,
from light or reddish brown to grayish brown with swirls of black.
"It really has a visual
quality that has a lot of depth to it," Ives said. "So matching that
with essentially a cement product is pretty difficult. But that's why I think
it blends, in so well. The design team took the time to go do sample after
sample after sample. The final effect," she said, "is really
amazing."
the National Register of Historic Places, and is one of the few surviving
examples of early Gothic Revival style in Portland. The building dates to
before the Civil War, which is important because so many buildings of that era
were destroyed in the big Portland fire of 1866, said Amy Cole Ives, a
historic-preservation consultant from Hallowell who has been working with the
Verrills.
Ives said the building is also
important because its architect was Charles Alexander, who was very popular in
Portland in the 1850s and 1860s, "and this is pretty much the only
surviving example of his work."
"What is just outstanding
about the project that the Verrills have undertaken on this building,"
Ives said, "is that they have really gone the extra length to restore the
exterior of the building in terms of its stonework, and they have incorporated
a very modern use while maintaining essentially the historic character of the
interior."
The brownstone used on the exterior
was quarried in Portland, Conn., the source of the building's original
brownstone. Knowles Industrial did all of the exterior work, Verrill said,
"and I can't say enough about them. They're fantastic people, and they
worked in bitter, bitter, bitter cold outside."
The historic preservation aspect of
the project has been "a pretty crazy ride," Verrill said. The
structure itself is sound, so there were no big surprises like sinking walls.
No hidden passages or secret documents tucked away in loose brickwork, either.
But the workers did find a couple of old brick walls no one knew existed.
Another find? The huge wood pillars
in the church, which are believed to be oak, look stained. But closer
examination reveals that they actually have been painstakingly grain painted.
"Somebody went through and painted each individual line to make it look
like it was stained, which I guess was really popular in the late 1800s,"
Verrill said.
A giant round marble base –
perhaps part of a baptismal font – couldn't be saved. "It was
literally so heavy that they had to jackhammer it apart just to carry it out of
here," Verrill said. "We wish we could have figured out something for
it." Overall, Verrill said she found some of the historic preservation
guidelines to be "a little bit extreme."
"The mortar colors had to be
checked, like, 10 different times," she said. "It took us three
months to get the right color of mortar.” That’s because the goal
of masonry restoration is to leave a building looking as if it hasn't been
repointed, Ives said. The patching mortar used to rebuild the brownstone
details on the front of the building was very difficult to match to the Connecticut
brownstone. The natural stone is made up of a wide range of shades of brown,
from light or reddish brown to grayish brown with swirls of black.
"It really has a visual
quality that has a lot of depth to it," Ives said. "So matching that
with essentially a cement product is pretty difficult. But that's why I think
it blends, in so well. The design team took the time to go do sample after
sample after sample. The final effect," she said, "is really
amazing."
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