MacLeod Consulting, Inc.
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MacLeod Consulting, Inc.
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Exterior repairs to Historic Church in Harvard Square
November 20, 2000 Designed by Alexander Esty and completed in 1870, the building at 1151 Massachusetts Avenue is the second home of the Old Cambridge Baptist Church. The congregation, chartered in 1844, sold its old wooden building, which was moved from the present lot to North Cambridge. The present masonry building survived a fire in 1889. Part of the steeple was blown off in a hurricane in the early 1900's. The parish hall is graced by a large window designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany. In the winter of 1997-98, the Old Cambridge Baptist Church asked MacLeod Consulting to prepare a Massachusetts Historical Commission grant application and construction documents to make repairs to the most urgently needed areas of the sanctuary roof and to portions of masonry in the steeple. The roof leaked at valleys, roof-to-masonry wall joints, and around dormers. Many slate shingles on the steep slope were mismatched from past repairs and many on the lows roofs were broken. The strategy here was to achieve a long-term repair by repairing all envelope fabric over the sanctuary to avert need for mechanics to walk on the slate roof for more short-term repairs. Traffic from these routine repairs had been breaking the slate shingles. The repairs kept with good preservation practice by using traditional materials. The Massachusetts Historical Commission approved a final grant for this work in January 1998. The Old Cambridge Baptist Church contracted for stained glass repairs separately but concurrently with roofing and masonry repairs. The repairs included slate repairs to the high roof over the sanctuary, recovering the dormers with metal siding, replacing the low roof slates, replacing flashing and gutters, restoring wood windows. To conserve funds, the Church contracted separately with five trades -- a roofer (Oak Roofing), mason (Brisk Waterproofing), wood restoration contractor (Muckle Associates), painter (McDoanald), and a stained glass restorationist (Lyn Hovey). In a great show of cooperation, these contractors worked well together applying a high level of craftsmanship to return the roof to a watertight state. Update: In the year 2000, Jose Mateo's Ballet Theatre of Boston made OCBC it's new home. MacLeod Consulting is providing engineering services for Brad Bellows Architects to make interior renovations. Work includes floor strengthening for removable seating, support for theater lighting, and floor strengthening in dance studios. For the first time (2001), this company will offer its annual Nutcracker performance in this historic building.
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Tel: 617-484-4733 |
