Preservation Connecticut awarded $15,000 to the First Church of Christ, along Old Saybrook’s historic Main Street, for exterior repair and painting.

This iconic Greek Revival church was constructed in 1840 and is home to the First Church of Christ. However, the church is also used by sectarian and nonsectarian groups alike including the Shoreline Soup Kitchens, Boy Scouts of America, musical theater, and other social groups.

The congregation’s passion for preservation has resulted in a multi-year partnership with Preservation Connecticut. This project began in 2019 when we funded a condition assessment completed by Jablonski Building Conservation, Inc. of New York. Among Jablonski’s recommendations was the wholesale removal an existing elastomeric coating which had been applied to the church’s exterior some years prior. By 2019, that coating was failing and what resulted was an enormous and admirable effort to remove the elastomeric coating, repair damaged exterior materials, and repaint the exterior using methods appropriate for a historic building of this magnitude.

Funding for this grant – and many others – came directly out of our operating budget in FY2019. We need your support to continue to serve organizations like the First Church of Christ to address their preservation challenges.