City announces $2.6 million to stabilize Old First Church exterior

The exterior of the historic Old First Church will be stabilized and repaired over the summer.
Reminder Publishing photo by Sarah Heinonen

SPRINGFIELD — Old First Church, one of Springfield’s oldest and most recognizable buildings, will receive some much-needed work to stabilize the exterior of the building.

Mayor Domenic Sarno announced that the city would be using $2.32 million in funding from the federal American Rescue Plan Act on the project. The project will also see an additional $300,000 in Community Preservation funding.

“Old First Church is a part of the history of America,” Sarno said. Springfield founder William Pynchon organized the church. Former President John Quincy Adams laid in state in the center aisle. It was also a stop on the Underground Railroad, sheltering people who had escaped slavery. Notable visitors to the church included Daniel Webster and abolitionist John Brown. “This is where people came to celebrate, to mourn and to debate,” Sarno said. He shared his vision of the rehabilitated Old First Church as a “marquis meeting space.”

A methodical study of the church was undertaken in 2020, “board by board, inch by inch,” said Municipal Buildings Director Jon Carignan. After the study was derailed by the coronavirus pandemic, Gale Associates of Rockland picked up where the previous study left off.

The work will mainly focus on the building’s exterior. Carignan explained, “It’s the outer shell — sheeting, siding, it’s painting, replacing boards. There’s some masonry,” Carignan said. The most important part of the stabilization will be sealing the building’s outer envelope and making it moisture tight. The project encompasses both the original wood-sided church and the attached brick parish house, which needs roof repairs.

Kronenburger & Sons Restoration won a bid to tackle the project. Asked about the possibility of hazardous material remediation on the church, Carignan said the city has a hazardous materials consultant on board, and all vendors must be lead-safe certified. “Some structures this old pre-date lead paint,” he said. The cost of any hazardous material remediation will be covered by the 20% contingency built into the project’s cost.

“The interior is in remarkably good condition, actually,” Carignan said, although some minor interior safety repairs that will be included in the scope of the project.

The church’s weather vane was removed in 2018 after it began leaning, and it has been stored in a climate-controlled facility since. Carignan said the vane may be restored as part of the project, provided there is enough funding, but Chief Development Officer Timothy Sheehan said he is pushing to include the vane’s restoration.

Sarno thanked U.S. Rep. Richard Neal for guiding ARPA through Congress. Matthew McAndrew, speaking on behalf of Neal, said the representative was “incredibly proud” to help fund projects that “respect and enjoy the beautiful history” of Springfield.

Sheehan described the church as an “iconic” symbol of Springfield and a cornerstone of the Court Square campus. He said the city had addressed other projects in Court Square, such as 31 Elm. Now it is the church’s turn. He also promised that this is the first tranche of funding that will be dedicated to the church’s full-scale rehabilitation. Carignan could not provide an estimate of the total project but said the city would take it “in bites.”

When it comes to the timeline for the work, Carignan said, “We’re treating it very much as a summer slammer.” ARPA funding must be expended by Dec. 31.

The plans for the project have been submitted to both the Springfield Historic Commission and the Massachusetts Historic Commission. The church was built in 1819 and is the oldest structure in downtown Springfield.