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May 23, 2005 marked the beginning of the restoration of Blithewold's 100-year old Lord & Burnham greenhouses, and the project was complete with an opening celebration on October 2, 2005. Funding for this project totaled over $400,000, raised from foundation and private support, and from a $100,000 grant from the Rhode Island Historic Preservation and Heritage Commission.
This page highlights the major renovation changes as they occurred throughout the season.
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| Images of the Completed Greenhouse: The staff quickly filled the greenhouse with plants as the cold weather approached. They are learning the new heating and ventilation systems, and look forward to growing healthy plants in a safe environment! |
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No more broken panes, crumbling brick,
or rusted pipes! |
Now with the plants, it is very colorful
on the inside. |
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The manual vent opener, shown at right, was
restored and now works smoothly. |
The new benches are strong and secure. | |
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| October 1 - 10: It is a little more than 4 months since the start of the restoration process, and the crew has worked in record time. They often put in 12-hour days, 7 days a week. They made a hard, late-night push to complete projects in time for the opening celebration of the greenhouse, set for October 2. A surprise announcement was made that day - the name of the greenhouse is now the Julia L. Morris Horticultural Center. |
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Now a safe, solid structure, the greenhouse
will soon be full of plants. |
The horticulture staff begins moving plants
in on October 11. |
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Notice the new benches on the inside. The
south greenhouse only has benches on one
side; large containers will be stored on the
other side. |
The small propagation greenhouse has a new
misting bench and improved lighting. | |
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| September 9 - 28: The finishing touches on the outside--painting, glazing, and installing end caps, are almost complete. Workers have begun installing the heating, lights, and electricity. |
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The finials were sanded and painted
before installation. |
The south door and gable over the door
are made of old growth cypress. Sanding
and painting were all they needed. |
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This finial had been stored in the barn for
years--a remnant from the original Palm House. |
The window panes get their final glazing. |
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Frames for the plant benches have been installed. |
Heating coils line the walls. | |
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| September 1-8: Framing of the small propagation greenhouse is complete, and the installation of the glass panels on all the greenhouses is 95% complete. The decorative iron roofing was restored and painted, and has been carefully installed. The next phase is plumbing, electricity, and painting of the potting shed. |
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The outer (south) wall will soon be installed. |
The iron decoration on the roof was
rusted and very fragile. |
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The mid-wall between the two greenhouses
is almost finalized. |
Workers will next install the glass panels
on the propagation greenhouse. | |
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| August 21-30: The new cedar shingle roof on the potting shed is finalized. Installation of the interior mechanisms for automatic operation of the window sashes and vents has begun. During a short rainy period, workers also began fabricating the benches for the interior. |
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A few finishing touches on the framing. |
Material and workings for the automatic
sash opening. |
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Steve Wacha (president of Heritage
Builders in CT), the project's General
Contractor and Designer, installs the
original manual vent openers in the first greenhouse. |
The final shingles are being installed on the
potting shed roof. | |
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August 3-20: The greenhouse framing is almost complete, and the shingling has begun on the potting shed. The next phase includes installing the automatic and manual vent systems, and finalizing the framing on the small propagation greenhouse. |
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Workers spread concrete for the middle walkway.
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Note the blue tarp on the pumphouse roof.
The old, rotted shingles were removed
and the roof prepped. |
The propagation greenhouse now has its
foundation and framing is almost complete. | |
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The outer framing of the main
greenhouses is complete. |
The potting shed now has a new,
safer foundation and will soon have a
leak-proof roof. | |
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July 18-25: The framing for the new greenhouse has begun. Much of the framing has been custom built for Blithewold's greenhouse.
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The tallest sections are called bay bars, and restoration bars will be installed parallel to and between the bay bars. Purlins are the horizontal bars that join the bay bars. Across the bottom length are sashes. Once the framing is complete, the glass will be installed. | |
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June 25-July 7: The foundation bricklaying using water struck bricks has begun. This is an extremely precise operation as the bricks must be laid perfectly square for the greenhouse frames.
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Bricklayers on the job have years of
experience with historic buildings. |
The entire original granite foundation was
saved, and through a technical process
to ensure stability, it was all re-used. A small
section is visible on the northwest side. | |
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Wood frames and plumb lines help with
the precision of the job. |
The masons will use bricks salvaged from the
greenhouse and potting shed walls to rebuild
the potting shed kneewall. | |
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The foundation should be complete around July 15, after which the framing begins. |
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June 2-10: Buried debris from the old greenhouse was removed, and workers dug trenches for the new foundation. They prepared poured concrete footings, and are finalizing the foundation work.
The foundation is dug forty-two inches below surface. |
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When the main greenhouse was removed,
workers discovered severe rot in one
corner of the standing potting shed. |
A layer of oyster shells about 2-feet below grade was added with the building of the original greenhouse. After more than 100 years, many of the shells are still in one piece. | |
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The old footings were made of brick
and mortar. |
The old bricks are being saved for future use, and some may be sold as "souvenirs" of the project. | |
The foundation is reinforced with re-bar. Granite from the old foundation will be reused on this new foundation, and stabilized with rebar through drilled holes.
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The potting shed greenhouse is
perpendicular to the main greenhouse.
This is its floor: brick, granite, and stone. |
Under the brick and stone, workers discovered a cellar-like structure about 3 feet deep. The iron reinforcements under the brick are rotting, resulting in an unsafe surface. | |
