PROVINCETOWN PUBLIC LIBRARY

330 Commercial Street

Provincetown, MA  02657

508.487.7094

www.ptownlib.com

 

LIBRARY CAPITAL BUILDING CAMPAIGN

RESTORATION FUND

 

The Provincetown Board of Library Trustees has established a Restoration Fund in connection with its $4 million Capital Campaign to relocate the Provincetown Public Library to the

Town-owned former Center Street Methodist Episcopal Church/Heritage Museum Building,

a majestic National Historic Register property at 356 Commercial Street in Provincetown.

 

Goal

The goal is to raise an additional $3 million to fund the preservation and restoration aspects

of the building project.  Gifts to this Fund will enable the Trustees to restore several important historic elements such as the building’s vaulted ceiling, windows, steeple belfry, as well as the Commercial Street entry and front doors, among others.

 

The restoration of these historic elements will build on and complement the important exterior repair work that the Town is in the process of completing. 

 

Building Repair Work

Begun in 1999, repairs to the Center Street Building have been done in phases.  The first two included structural work on the foundation and roof, thus sealing the building to prevent water infiltration and further damage.  The third and final phase will repair the lantern, main gable, lower projecting pavilion and steeple belfry of the building’s façade. 

 

Repairs to the building since 1999 have been funded by several Town Meeting votes, supplemented with periodic Massachusetts Historic Commission Preservation Project Funds.

 

Restoration Fund

Capital Building Campaign Restoration Fund gifts will be directed to the important historic preservation and restoration aspects of the relocation project that are above and beyond the

$4 million gut rehab construction work planned for the Center Street Building. 

 

The Fund will provide the opportunity to incorporate and integrate the historic restoration elements with the initial construction rather than putting them off and having to return at a later date to address them.  By including them in the design-development phase of this project, the cost-saving element will be significant.

 

Architectural Landmark

Built in 1860, the Center Street Building is an outstanding architectural landmark in Provincetown, a community largely composed of small scale, unostentatious structures. 

The detailing on the façade and the magnificent tower are a definite statement of community pride.  With its massive scale and elaborate Wren-baroque ornamentation along with the building’s importance to the community, it stands tall and proud on Provincetown’s shore. 

 

Restoration of the building alone will continue to serve as an anchor for residents and visitors alike, representing the history, continuity and progress of our nation.  Relocating the Library to the building will return to it the life, heart and energy that it deserves.                                                                                                                                              fn: Campaign Restoration Fund  09/01/01