By Thane Grauel

WESTPORT — Facade work on the century-old Town Hall is complete.

The $251,000 project to replace rotted wood and to recondition and paint columns, the portico ceiling and other architectural features at the front of the building, was completed in late June.

The plastic sheeting hanging in front has come down and the main doors to the former school building are again open to the public.

The six fluted Corinthian columns were stripped, refinished and repainted, according to Deputy Public Works Director John Broadbin. The wooden bases to the columns were replaced because they had rotted.

Button vents on the columns were replaced to keep air circulating and wood dry. The originals had been caked with paint over the many decades, he said.

“It looks great,” Broadbin said of the work. “I’m very happy with the way it’s come out.”

“They’ve restored the damage from over the years,” he said of Scholar Painting and Restoration of Seymour. “And short of total replacement of the columns, which would have been horrendously expensive, they’ve been reshaped, reformed essentially, by hand, by experienced workmen and given a weatherproof coating.”

The columns, Broadbin said, aren’t just for looks. They’re structural, supporting weight, so supports had to be put in place while the segmented structures were worked on.

The contractor offered to work through the winter, Broadbin said. That’s why plastic sheeting was hung, so heat could be blown into the area to keep the workers warm.

“Fortunately, this went well,” Broadbin said. “No glaring errors, no excessive costs.”

The project, even with some extra painting requested by the town for the fascia and soffit, came in at $245,000, he said — $6,000 under budget.

The building on Myrtle Avenue has been Town Hall more than four decades.

It began life about a century ago as Bedford Elementary School. In 1978, work began to convert it to a new town hall. The Myrtle Avenue building replaced the old cobblestone Town Hall at 90 East State St. (now Post Road East).

The building is listed on the state’s Historic Register as a contributing property to the Myrtle Avenue Historic District.

Thane Grauel grew up in Westport and has been a journalist in Fairfield County and beyond for 35 years. Reach him at [email protected]. Learn more about us here.

Town Hall face lift complete, and under budget | Westport Journal