The grand fireplace that welcomes visitors to Waveny House is getting a $17,500 brush-up and restoration, thanks to the local nonprofit group that advocated successfully for New Canaan to pursue listing the beloved mansion and park grounds on the National Register of Historic Places.
Here’s the ‘before’ photo: The limestone fireplace in the Great Hall at Waveny House is getting a spruce-up next month. Credit: Michael Dinan
No government funds, state or federal, will be used to restore the limestone fireplace in the Great Hall at Waveny. The New Canaan Preservation Alliance has donated to the town $27,830 that it raised during a 100-year anniversary celebration of the historic Waveny House in 2012, and the major portion of that money will be used to restore the fireplace, officials said Thursday.
“I’m excited to get this thing going and it will be a real nice addition when you walk into that building to see that fireplace in good shape,” First Selectman Rob Mallozzi said as the Board of Selectmen voted 3-0 to allocate the funds, during a special meeting held in the Training Room at the New Canaan Police Department.
A closer look at the fireplace in the Grand Hall at Waveny House. Credit: Michael Dinan
Restoring the fireplace has been a goal of the NCPA since it began last spring navigating town approvals for a separate effort—the National Register listing.
The work will be carried out by Jersey City, N.J.-based Zakalak Restoration Arts, a firm vetted by the town and NCPA and one of four candidates for the job that submitted proposals, according to Bill Oestmann, the New Canaan Department of Public Works superintendent of buildings and fleet.
Selectman Beth Jones during the meeting asked whether the work would disrupt events at Waveny, and Recreation Director Steve Benko said it would not. The job will get done some time in a three week period between mid-February and early-March, Benko said.
Selectman Nick Williams said: “I want to thank the Preservation Alliance for the terrific work and support of Waveny, including the historic designation.”
The selectmen approved $19,250 for the project (including contingency funds).
What follows is a press release from the NCPA on its donation to the town:
Photo: Left to right: Amy Weber Reid, Co-chair Waveny 100th Celebration!; Rose-Scott Long, President, New Canaan Preservation Alliance and member NCPA Waveny Projects Committee; Robert E. Mallozzi III, First Selectman; William Oestmann, Superintendent of Buildings and Fleet; Stephen E. Benko, Jr., Recreation Director. Not present: Arianne Faber Kolb and Rebecca Stedman, co-chairs Waveny 100th Celebration!; Lawrence DeVito, John Lowry, and Richard Thomas, members NCPA Waveny Projects Committee.
The New Canaan Preservation Alliance presented a check in the amount of $27,830 to the Town of New Canaan to establish an account for the purpose of depositing funds raised on behalf of Waveny House at the Waveny 100th Celebration! This highly successful fundraiser was hosted by the Alliance in partnership with several other Waveny-based organizations in the Fall of 2012 to highlight the centennial of beginning of construction of Waveny House and to fund projects for the purpose of restoration or improvement projects at Waveny House. Since then the Town and the Alliance have been working together to identify and prioritize needed projects; develop a Scope of Work for those projects; and identify craftsmen with the appropriate expertise and experience to bid on such projects.
Currently the Town and the Alliance are finalizing the establishment of the Waveny House account. The selected contractor, Zakalak Restoration Arts, will perform a sample repair for approval by the Town and the Alliance as the first step in restoring the damaged veneer flooring in the Great Hall. Zakalak has also been selected to clean and repair the ornate limestone fireplace in the Great Hall. The Alliance hopes that, working with the Town, these two projects will be the first of many to maintain, restore, and improve Waveny House as the beloved showplace of New Canaan.
Congratulations to Steve Benko and NCPA for locating a qualified restoration specialist for the delicate cleaning of the one hundred year old carved limestone fireplace. It is fascinating to watch the experts perform their job and interesting to learn about the materials and the actual processes they use.