Gore Hall: Historic Student Dorm in Cambridge, MA Gets a Facelift

OFS has a role in restoration project for Harvard University South Windsor shop delivers top notch service

In an ambitious project that came to us by way of National Lumber and our friends at Brockway Smith, the lead contractor, Consigli Construction, has signed on to renovate and restore Harvard University’s historic John Winthrop House, which includes two wings, Gore Hall and Standish Hall. With the school’s history of famous scholars and students, this project requires careful attention to detail.

In one notable case, the room occupied by President John F. Kennedy during his senior year at Harvard has been painstakingly restored to give visitors an authentic experience of what the dorm looked like in 1940.

For our part in the effort, OFS was charged with color matching and painting the decorative white rails that adorn the roof line of each wing of the dormitory.

In the end, this was no small task. First, what was traditionally constructed of wood was being replaced with a more modern and durable PVC material. Secondly, the architect on the project had selected a specific Sherwin Williams paint product which is a spray on application.

In the end, this proved to be a superior paint finish that required a full week of dry time before packing and shipping for installation.

The crew working in our South Windsor shop did an excellent job of getting an approved color match evenly applied to the plastic surface. Our staging area gave us the space to allow for adequate time for the paint to fully harden.

OFS handled the finishing of the roof rails and the contractor handled onsite installation.

As of this publication, we have completed our fifth delivery and the finished product looks fantastic.  This is another one of those projects that we can be proud to be a part of.

Illustration of Gore Hall c. 1900

John Winthrop House, situated along Memorial Ave., is steeped in history and has commanding views of the Charles River