Painting of Perkins' Buildings Nears Completion

Passing by these days, one can’t help but notice the scaffolds, ropes and ladders surrounding the vintage building.

That’s because the long-anticipated painting refurbishment of the buildings started on May 14. According to Lee Bennett, special events and projects manager of the center, painters have been onsite every weekday—with the exception of a couple of rain delays. 

The full gamut of the project has included stripping the old colors and painting the main building and carriage house in historically adequate colors, says Bennett. Essentially, what that means, the century-old buildings will be restored as much as possible to their original colors.

“We did a historical painting analysis, which detailed the old colors,” says Bennett.

The stucco and decorative woodwork are being painted in light gray, some horizontal paneling is being painted charcoal, and most of the window trim will be done in a warm dark gray.  

To date, 75 percent of the building has been painted. Bennett says that Cherry Hill Painting, the contractors in charge of the project, should be done in the next couple of weeks.

Bennett also says that the last time the historic buildings—which are listed on the National and State Registers of Historic Buildings—were painted was nearly 20 years ago. 

All of this has been made possible as a result of a for the non-profit art center, which raised $40,210. Bennett says the total cost of the project should come close to the initial $40,000 estimate.

“Everything has been going so well,” says Bennett. “We are very excited that we are close to completion.”