MARBLEHEAD — The exterior doors of Abbot Hall are being restored by Olde Bostonian with support from the Marblehead Historical Commission.
The exterior doors of Abbot Hall, particularly those facing the driveway side of the building, were in particularly poor condition and are original to the building, according to Commission Chair Pam Peterson.
Abbot Hall, constructed in 1876, houses the town offices, museum displays, and the historic “Spirit of 1776” painting, and serves as the town’s formal meeting space.
In total, two sets of double doors on the facade of Abbot Hall are currently being restored by Olde Bostonian, an antique restoration service provider based in Boston, Peterson said.
The first set of doors is expected to be returned to Abbot Hall within the next month.
The other set of double doors will be restored at a later date.
According to Peterson, the commission approved the project at a meeting in 2025 with a total cost of $14,000 for both sets.
“The doors have to be completely stripped and repaired, and then they’re going to work on the hardware and all that. And the doors are quite large,” she said.
The commission has previously supported other restoration projects in Abbot Hall, including the building’s stained glass windows and the weather vane.
The Old Town House elevator is also an ongoing town project.
During the 2024 Election voting cycle, the elevator in the Old Town House, which is a limited-occupancy lift, burned out due to heavy use, according to Peterson. It is currently not in service, which makes the building inaccessible for public events.
At a meeting of the commission on Jan. 29, Marblehead’s Building Commissioner Stephen Cummings discussed repairing the elevator, which will change its status to a commercial elevator rather than replacing the entire system.
Currently, there are no estimated costs because the project is still being discussed, but Peterson said she anticipates the cost to be in the range of $100,000.
