The Bangor Historical Society hopes to add a new black metal fence to the perimeter of its Thomas Hill House museum on Union Street, as the first step in what they hope to be a years-long restoration process on the nearly 200-year-old building.
The organization is seeking approval from the city’s historic preservation commission for the addition of the fence, which would be mounted atop the low granite wall that encircles the perimeter of the building.
Bangor Historical Society curator and operations manager Matt Bishop said that a similar fence was part of the property for decades before it was removed sometime in the 1940s, for reasons that the organization hasn’t quite been able to figure out.
“All we know is that it was there for a long time, and then it was gone,” Bishop said. “But it was clearly part of the vision for the property, and our design is historically accurate and will emphasize the architectural style of the building.”
In more recent years, the low granite wall along Union and High streets has become a popular hangout spot, with crowds of people regularly gathered, some of whom have slept on the lawn or the building’s portico and have left trash strewn about.
Bishop said the fence was primarily a design choice, but would have the added benefit of helping to increase security at the museum. The fence project also would add a chain-link fence along the backside of the building, which abuts the apartment building at 51 High St.
“We are headed toward doing some other big renovations, including an overdue renovation of our portico, and when that happens we’ll need a fence like this so people aren’t on a construction site,” Bishop said. “This is just the first step of many steps.”
The Thomas Hill House was built in 1835, and was designed by Richard Upjohn, a British-American architect who helped popularize the Gothic Revival and Italianate architecture styles in the U.S. Upjohn also designed the Isaac Farrar Mansion across Union Street on the Bangor Region YMCA campus, and the original St. John’s Episcopal Church on French Street, which burned during the Great Bangor Fire of 1911. That church was the first of nearly 60 churches he designed throughout the country, including the famed Trinity Church in the Financial District of Manhattan.
Bishop said the Historical Society had been working with other stakeholders in its neighborhood, including the Bangor Region YMCA, the Together Place Peer Run Recovery Center and apartment building owners, to improve the overall look and feel of the area.
“We want to make this neighborhood more inviting, and for the historical society, we want to bring the Thomas Hill House to a place where it’s even better than it was before,” he said.