Step program in place for EG Town Hall

July 7, 2011

Photo: David Pepin The 207-year-old steps leading from Main Street to the East Greenwich Town Hall are to be repaired.

By DAVID PEPIN

Steps have been taken (literally) to make sure the historic steps at Town Hall will be repaired and ready to welcome visitors again by mid-July.

The $190,000 repair and replacement project, being performed by East Coast Masonry and Restoration Inc. of Johnston, is proceeding on schedule, Public Works Director Joseph Duarte said yesterday.
The stone steps, dating back to the building’s original construction as the Kent County Courthouse in 1804, had been visibly deteriorating in recent years, Duarte said.
“They were worn down and sagging in the middle, and there was very little between steps. At some point they could’ve collapsed,” he said.
While the deteriorated original stone was removed, the original side walls, however, have been preserved and will be restored as part of the renovation.
As soon as the concrete cures for five to seven days, the steps will be installed from the bottom. The steps will be eight inches high, as they were historically, Duarte said.
The project is being funded by a combination of grants from historic preservation organizations and the Town Hall maintenance account, he said.