Sweet Auburn: The Magazine of the Friends of Mount Auburn Community, Conservation & Citizen Science | 页面 17

Egyptian Revival Gateway
Preservation Completed
By Gus Fraser, Vice President of Preservation & Facilities and
Robin Hazard Ray, Mount Auburn Cemetery Volunteer Docent
Spring 2017 saw the completion of a two-year
comprehensive renovation of the Mount Auburn’s historic
Egyptian Revival Gateway. Support from institutional and
individual funders was key to the success of the project.
The gateway, built originally of wood in 1832 but rebuilt
a decade later in Quincy granite, is the grand public face of
the Cemetery onto Mount Auburn Street. For many years,
the small lodges within the gate housed a gatekeeper, who
monitored the admission of carriages. The function of the
gateway has evolved, though, and for decades now it has
hosted the important bird-board, on which birders write
the location of sighted species, as well as a rack of maps and
other visitor literature. More recently, a computer kiosk was
installed, allowing visitors to look up grave locations and
access other information about the Cemetery.
But the years were rather hard on the structure. Sealants
failed, introducing leaks into the lower areas. During heavy
rains, the narrow downspout was frequently overwhelmed.
An unfortunate run-in with a truck had left the massive
wrought-iron gate in need of repair. The concrete floors
had developed cracks. The windows, which had been
replaced at some point in the past, were in poor condition.
And the combined effects of pollution and biological
growth had darkened the light-gray tone of the granite.
Jumpstarted with a matching grant from the Massachusetts
Cultural Facilities Fund, a successful fundraising effort
allowed the enormous project to get underway in 2015.
Cassidy Brothers Forge removed the great cast iron fence
and began the laborious process of repairing, repainting and
finally reinstalling it (this work was detailed in the Spring
2017 issue of Sweet Auburn).
For the second phase of the project, Phoenix Bay State
Construction began work on the gatehouse structure,
carefully cleaning the granite, removing biological growth
and staining from pollution. Mortar joints were cut and
repointed, and a new sealant was installed in the joints
above the windows and between the granite slabs that form
the roof. Larger holes in the granite were repaired with
stone dutchmen, and smaller ones (<1/2”) with tinted
epoxy. After the masonry work was complete, wood win-
dows were removed for repair and repainting by carpentry
contractor M.J. Mawn. Wood dutchman repairs were
made to the wood window sills and surrounds, followed
by repainting. The doors that open to the street side of the
building were made operable and repainted.
The alcoves, which are open to the elements all year
long, needed a great deal of attention. The granite walls,
columns, and roof were cleaned with a masonry cleaner.
Mortar joints were cut and replaced. Larger downspouts
were installed through the granite lintel supporting the roof
slabs, and the downspout drain was enlarged to accom-
modate heavy rains. The deteriorated concrete floors were
replaced and finished to match the texture of the existing
weathered concrete.
With all the work now complete, the Egyptian Revival
Gateway is set once again to welcome visitors and to grace
Mount Auburn Street as a testament to the historical char-
acter of both the Cemetery and the City of Cambridge.
And the bird board is back up!
Support for this project provided by:
Harold Whitworth Pierce
Charitable Trust
City of Cambridge
Historical Commission
Community Preservation Act Grant
Massachusetts Cultural
Facilities Fund
Through a callabaorative alliance with
and
2017 Volume 2 | 15