After three years of dis-assembly and restorative work, the Second Church in Codman Square has finally been put back together – with crews from American Steeple & Tower maneuvering the dome, king pole, weathervane, and other pieces into place throughout the day last Wednesday (April 23).
The congregation’s pastor, the Rev. Victor Price, said it was a quite a relief to get everything fixed and back in place for the next 200 years — or more.
Having the 3,000-pound dome and king pole back in place was a milestone of restoration for the church – whose steeple had not seen any major work since the 1940s and likely hadn’t been removed since it was built in 1806.
During the work on April 23, preservation architect Don Mills, Bob Levesque of American Steeple & Tower, and preservation consultant Jeff Gonyeau discussed how they will lift the king pole (next to them) into place through the dome.
Restoration crews lifted the dome of the Second Church in Dorchester’s steeple back into place on Wednesday morning and later placed the king pole and weathervane back into place.
Seth Daniel photos
The restoration project began in spring 2023 but took an unexpected turn when severe rot was found on key structural sections of the steeple – forcing the removal, rebuilding, and restoration work. Over the next several months, crews will continue carpentry work on the tower and then overlay the dome with new copper sheathing.
Preservation consultant Jeff Gonyeau noted that the next phase of restoration is already underway, with more money from the Community Preservation Committee being approved for restoration of the clock tower (under the steeple), the fascia, and the Paul Revere bell.
