Amherst Town Hall steps getting makeover 

AMHERST — Amherst Town Hall’s large granite steps, in place since the building opened at the corner of Main Street and Boltwood Avenue in 1889, have been dismantled and removed as part of an ongoing repair project.

Since the project began June 19, the main entrance on Boltwood has been blocked off with a chain-link fence, with the public using the accessible entrance on Main Street side. Parking spaces, the sidewalk and bicycle racks have also been closed off during the project.

With the steps gone, Town Manager Paul Bockelman said there was curiosity about what was underneath. The main reason to embark on the project was the inadequate substructure causing deterioration of mortar and detachment of the granite blocks. Aside from larger rocks and other fill below the stairs, there was nothing out of the ordinary, though it showed the building techniques of the time that provided a stable base for 134 years.

When the $265,000 project, funded through Community Preservation Act money, is complete, with construction of a new concrete supporting foundation, the granite steps and other materials salvaged will be restored, with additional work to be done to the handrails and adjoining sidewalk. The money also is going for renovations of steps at the rear of the building used by employees.

Restoration of other parts of the Richardson-style Town Hall began in 1997, including a $3.2 million renovation project that overhauled the building’s interior, repointed the exterior brick and added a street-level handicapped accessible doorway on Main Street. Since then, the most recent work included redoing the main double doors at the top of the granite steps, at the arched main entrance, in 2019.

Staff Writer Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com. 

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