On May 16th the Wilton Select Board formally accepted a New Hampshire Preservation Alliance grant award in the amount of $4,500 to go towards the development of an assessment and evaluation of the historic Wilton Town Hall to serve as a blueprint for future maintenance and preservation actions.
The report, done in conjunction with the town’s contractor, Preservation Consultant Lisa Mausolf, will include a research-driven review and compilation of the building’s history, an assessment of its current physical condition, and recommendations for future maintenance/repair in response to those conditions.
The completed “Existing Conditions Report” will provide officials and the public valuable information that will serve as another priceless cultural link between the past and future, and hold great practical value as well. The informed observations will help better guide and prioritize future town spending related to the historic building, and provide the foundation for potential grant funding through sources like Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP).
Located on Main Street in downtown Wilton, the Town Hall was designed by the noted firm of Merrill & Cutler and work was completed in 1885. The red brick building with an iconic clock tower is a prominent local example of civic Queen Anne architecture. It was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 2009. It houses the administrative offices for the town, as well as the Town Hall Theater on its second floor, which originally showed dramatic presentations, silent films, and vaudeville productions.
For further information, contact Wilton Town Administrator Nick Germain at [email protected] or 603-654-3299.