The most interesting part of working on the Abyssinian has been the process of discovery. When we first started working on the restoration, we encountered dank apartments and the absence of much of the original truss framing. There was little architectural documentation of the building at the height of its use, except for a turn-of-the…
Abyssinian before: Abyssinian after:
Last week, PTF was featured in two more articles, these ones about developments at the Abyssinian. The DownEast article focuses on the social history of the building as well as the people responsible for its restoration. It contains some of my favorite stories about the building, including its origin story, and how it was saved…
Sunday, the Maine Sunday Telegram printed an article about Preservation Timber Framing’s participation in the renovation of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: BOSTON – When the Museum of Fine Arts needed experts to complete a pair of 1700s period rooms in its new wing, a couple of craftspeople from Maine got the call to…
Built in 1828, the Abyssinian Meetinghouse is the third oldest African American meetinghouse in the country. PTF was fortunate to join the restoration project in 2005, removing the tenement apartments inside, and repairing the king post truss frame. In 2010, we rebuilt the cornice, and completed the roof and basement phases. In October 2010, archaeologists dug around the…
We’ve begun work on the Abyssinian Meetinghouse again. Last week, archaeologists dug test pits in the basement and driveway, while we worked on cutting a new front sill. After years of damage, no part of the original front sill could be saved. Click on the photos below for a complete description.