The Long Branch Historical Museum Association
(LBHMA) has been awarded two grants totaling $472,136 to help complete the
exterior restoration of the Church of the Presidents. A New Jersey Historic Trust (NJHT) grant for $467,296 was
recently ratified by the Garden State Historic Preservation Trust, and awaits
final approval by the New Jersey State Legislature. A Monmouth County Historic Commission (MCHC) grant for $4,840 has
also been awarded.
Both grants will be used to restore/repair the masonry
that surrounds the lower exterior walls of the building – about 65 percent of
which must be reconstructed. In
addition, the NJHT grant will help to fund reinforced concrete footings
wherever the masonry is reconstructed, and will restore and replicate the
exterior clapboard, weatherboard, moldings, panels, and decoratively-cut
shingles along the sides and back walls of the church, as well as the lower
portion of the crenellated tower.
The building will also be completely repainted in
the original olive green, dark brown, and amber gold hues that graced the
church when it was first constructed in 1879.
This transformation began in 2008 when the top and mid sections of the
tower, as well as the eastern face of the building and its belfry, were painted
based on a thorough paint analysis by Historic Building Architects, LLC of
Trenton. Siperstein’s is donating all the paint for the
restoration. Before painting began, shingles and trim in the affected areas
were replaced or repaired as needed.
It is important to note that
the funding provided by the NJHT and the MCHC grants must both be matched 100
percent. This means that, to complete
the exterior restoration, the LBHMA must also provide $472,136
in funding that must be raised soon to ensure that the building does not
deteriorate any further, and that the paint applied last year is consistent in
tone and weathering with the painting required to finish the job.
The exterior restoration comprises Phase II of a
four-phase preservation plan that includes infrastructure repairs and upgrades
that must be completed before the site can be re-opened to the public. A stabilization project (Phase I) was
completed in 2003, saving the structure from impending collapse. A new roof and rain gutters were added in
2007 with the aid of NJHT and MCHC grants, as well as federal Save America’s
Treasures funding.
