Luckily, the museum has a talented team of preservationists and craftspeople dedicated to the cause. Below are a selection of projects that are underway on PEM’s campus:

Ropes Mansion (318 Essex Street)
Repairs to the exterior of the Ropes Mansion will begin in late fall 2024 and soon the Ropes Mansion Garden Greenhouse will have ventilation windows added to its north side.

Cotting-Smith Assembly House (138 Federal Street)
A soil repair and drainage project on the front of the Cotting-Smith Assembly House recently completed and a new selection of period-appropriate plants will be identified and planted in spring 2025. PEM will also be designing and replacing a missing balustrade that was once installed above the house’s portico but was removed in the early 20th century. How do we know about it? This detail was almost lost to history, but appears in two historic photographs in PEM’s collection.

Peirce-Nichols House (80 Federal Street)
Recently, the fence at PEM’s Peirce-Nichols House underwent repairs following damage from nearby trees. Expect further repairs and enhancements to the fenceline and shutter repair will take place in fall 2024. Currently, several of the house’s shutters have been deinstalled for restoration that is underway and expected to be completed in late fall 2024. Future projects at the Peirce-Nichols House will include stabilization of the balustrade as well as roofing and copper work restoration.

Crowninshield-Bentley House (126 Essex Street)
Work is underway to update the house’s mechanical systems, including the installation of a new HVAC and furnace system.

Gardner-Pingree House (128 Essex Street)
Work will soon be underway to repaint two rooms on the second and third floors of the Gardner-Pingree House as well as re-grain and varnish several exterior doors. With an eye to increasing accessibility, PEM also expects to conduct an ADA study of the house.

John Ward House (9 Brown Street)
A casement window restoration project recently completed and four additional wooden-sash windows on the rear, saltbox portion of the house are currently undergoing complete restoration.

Andrew-Safford House (13 Washington Square)
A shutter restoration project recently completed and the front portico will undergo restoration in fall 2024. The balustrade will be taken off-site for repair, and superficial rot to the cornice work and improvements to the portico’s drainage will be made.