Heritage Restoration, Inc.

First Baptist Church, New Bedford, MA

Waterfront Historic Area LeaguE (WHALE), hired Heritage Restoration, Inc. to reproduce the lantern in the spire of the First Baptist Church Project in New Bedford, MA. According to WHALE’s website,

“The project’s purpose is to perform a planning and architectural study of a theatre reuse at the historic First Baptist Church building (where Robert’s Rules of Order were first conceived) while also allowing the First Baptist Congregation to retain space for their services and mission work.”

HRI fabricated the Lantern in our shops, and will be shipping and assembling the pieces onsite. Enjoy the pictures….

  • WHALE craning old lantern off
Documenting Lantern for reproduction
Planning the soffit
Layout sticks
Layout sticks
Layout stick
Layout sticks
Walls being built
Walls assembled
Roof assembled
Corners of flat panels
Finished corner of flat panel
Gluing the corner boards
Drip Cap
Side rails of panels
Base cap
Batten on flat tongue and grovepanels
Flat tongue and grove panels
Reproduced louvers
Finial in original housing with wrought finial and collar
Wrought finial
Final housing opened
Final original housing
Where finial was housed
Wrought carriage bolts
Wrought iron rust
Removing the rust
treating the rust
Painted final top
Routing the new finial housing
New final housing
Packing epoxy in between wood and wrought finial
Seating the finial
Seating the finial
Final housing reassmbled
Finished finial