NANTUCKET MA: The Nantucket Historical Association (NHA) will present “Rediscovery & Restoration at the Historic Unitarian Meeting House” featuring architect David Barham, at the Food for Thought series, on Thursday, March 24, in the Whaling Museum, 13 Broad Street, at noon. Free admission; bring your lunch.
Built in 1809 as the Second Congregational Meeting House, the congregation embraced Unitarianism in 1837. The meeting house is well known for the trompe l'oeil decorative painting in the sanctuary, created by Carl Wendte in the reconstruction of 1842–46; its 1831 Goodrich organ; and the golden-domed tower encasing the massive Portuguese bell and the town clock.
Repairs and repainting have been undertaken over the years since 1846, but it wasn’t until the early 1980s that serious structural degeneration was identified, and the church was closed for four years. In 1982, the South Church Preservation Fund (SCPF) was established as a private, nonprofit fund-raising organization to support the preservation of the historic building, with no contributed funds used for congregational or denominational activities.
In 2006, the South Church Preservation Fund was reactivated to address funding for further deterioration of the structure, particularly the trompe l’oeil painting. Support for this effort has been generously supplied by the Community Preservation Committee, several private foundations, and by individual donors.
David Barham, a consulting architect, is an SCPF board member. He will present an illustrated talk detailing the research undertaken to discover the original character and colors of the painting in a power-point presentation of the restoration work currently being done.
The Thursday, March 31, Food for Thought will feature Dr. Greg Hinson, who will discuss “ACK Doc.”
The Thursday talks are free to the public and are given by notable Nantucket residents, on a range of topics. The Food for Thought programs are supported by a grant from the M. S. Worthington Foundation.
Each talk begins at noon; bring your brown-bag lunch to the Whaling Museum. For additional information about the 2011 Food for Thought series, please call 508-228-1894, ext. 0, or visit www.nha.org to view the schedule.
