2025 Old Building Forum
Documenting Historic Buildings
The Center for Painted Wall Preservation & Haley Ward, Inc.
TUESDAY, November 18 AT 12PM VIA ZOOM
Margaret Gaertner of the Center for Painted Wall Preservation and Norm Akin of Haley Ward will explore the evolving role of digital tools in preserving historic buildings, with a focus on the integration of high-resolution documentation, laser scanning, and 3D modeling and photography. Drawing on recent projects, case studies, and fieldwork, they will each demonstrate how these technologies are being used to record fragile architectural features like painted walls and historic finishes, to inform planning, improve maintenance strategies, and expand public engagement through virtual access. Their presentations will offer valuable insights into how digital documentation is becoming an indispensable part of preservation practice in Maine and beyond.
Margaret Gaertner, Historic Preservation Consultant
The Center for Painted Wall Preservation (CPWP) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 2015 and dedicated to the research and preservation of 18th- and 19th-century American paint-decorated plaster walls. Among its initiatives is the innovative Virtual Museum of Painted Walls.
In her role as project manager for the Center for Painted Wall Preservation’s Virtual Museum, Margaret worked with a team of fellow Board members and outside consultants to develop and launch the first twenty immersive tours. These tours allow visitors to explore and learn about historic painted interiors virtually, removing physical, geographic, and economic barriers to access. A sample tour is available here.
Since earning her degrees from the Parsons School of Design and the University of Pennsylvania (MS in Historic Preservation), Margaret has spent more than twenty-five years working on a wide range of historic preservation projects. She works with building owners on all phases of their ventures, from research, to project planning and specification writing, and working in the field with contractors for successful implementation.
In this presentation, Margaret Gaertner, Vice President of the Center, will explore the development of the Virtual Museum, the technology used to document these historic spaces, and the stories behind notable examples from the collection. She will also discuss how this online resource advances education, research, and preservation advocacy across the field.
Norm Akin, Reality Capture Manager at Haley Ward
Norm Akin has over 15 years of expertise in laser scanning technology. His scanning expertise includes convention centers from 650,000 to 1,000,000 square feet, football stadiums, historic preservation, construction progress scans, colleges, and as-built documentations. He has also scanned outside venues such as outdoor hiking trails, property scans, electrical substations, and civil engineering scans. Additional skills include 40 years using Autodesk products. Norm has taught classes at Autodesk University, AGC America, and AIA. He has been with Haley Ward since 2024
This presentation highlights Haley Ward’s use of laser scanning to support the restoration of the historic 1867 Masonic Hall in Wayne, Maine. Working alongside Sustain Wayne and Maine Preservation, our Building Information Modeling (BIM) team captured millions of data points to create an exact digital replica of the structure. The resulting 3D model provides valuable information for planning, design, and preservation, helping maintain the building’s historic character as it is transformed into a vibrant community center for future generations. Join us and discover how modern technology is helping preserve Maine’s past.
Historic Community Buildings Grant Program
Maine Historic Preservation Commission
TUESDAY, AUGUST 12 AT 4PM VIA ZOOM
Last November, Maine voters approved a $10 million dollar grant program for the restoration of historic community buildings owned by governmental and non-profit organizations. Kirk Mohney, Director & State Historic Preservation Officer at the Maine Historic Preservation Commission, will share information about program eligibility and requirements.
Our 2024 Most Endangered Historic Places list featured several buildings that could benefit from this new program: Central Congregational Church (Eastport), Kneisel Hall (Blue Hill), Sangerville Town Hall, and Starling Hall (Fayette). Is there a public building in need of restoration or preservation in your community? Join us to learn more!
Note: The recording begins shortly after the start of the program. Apologies!
Annual Meeting, Gehring House Rehabilitation & Civic Halls Filmstrip Our next forum will start with our Annual Meeting, followed by a presentation about the rehabilitation of the Gehring House in Bethel from Maura Adams, Director of Community Investment, at the Northern Forest Center. We will also premier a filmstrip from multi-media artist Brian Dewan about Maine's Civic Halls.
Thursday, May 29, at 5:30pm via Zoom
The Northern Forest Center has transformed the Gehring House from a grand but long-neglected mansion into nine middle-market apartments for year-round Bethel residents. Maura Adams, Director of Community Investment at the Northern Forest Center will highlight the renovation and share the strategies used to make this exceptional project a success: impact investments, historic tax credits, an exemplary design and construction team, community support, and others.
Brian Dewan's series of I Can See filmstrips use the technology of the educational filmstrips from the mid-twentieth century as a point of departure for imaginative personal invention. Each panel features one of Dewan's fanciful drawings, usually skillfully rendered in magic marker or watercolor. The images are accompanied by elaborate soundtracks in which Dewan is heard, adopting a deadpan narrator's voice, and playing various musical instruments to create a different miniature soundtrack for each panel of the filmstrip. The themes of the strips often seem as though they could have been taken from actual educational strips, including his work for the Maine Civic Halls Initiative, a shared project of Greenhorns, Friends of Liberty Hall, and Maine Preservation. The strips tend to take many free-associative liberties and are by turns satirical and surreal, often whimsical and sometimes touching on serious themes.
No Place to Hide: Lighthouses on the Front Lines of Climate Change
Bob Trapani, Jr. and Ford Reiche February 12, 2025
Photo by Dominic Trapani
Bob Trapani, Jr., of the American Lighthouse Foundation, and Ford Reiche, of The Presumpscot Foundation, with whom Maine Preservation partnered on the successful nomination of Maine's historic light stations to the 2025 World Monuments Watch will recount the damage from last year's January storms, explain the practical impacts of climate change, and preview plans for developing more resilient lighthouses.
Bob Trapani, Jr. has served 28 years in a leadership position within the field of lighthouse preservation – spending the last 20 years serving as the Executive Director for the nonprofit American Lighthouse Foundation, which is headquartered at Owls Head Light in Maine. Bob also serves as the President for the West Quoddy Head Light Keeper’s Association in Lubec, Maine. In addition, Bob is the author of seven lighthouse/lifesaving books. He experiences lighthouses from a variety of perspectives, including as a lighthouse technician for the U.S. Coast Guard as an Auxiliarist. Bob has worked with the Coast Guard for 25 years.
Ford Reiche has board experience with a number historic preservation organizations, and has owned and completely restored five buildings on the National Register of Historic Places. He is the recipient of the 2024 Distinguished Service Award of the National Maritime Historical Society and Maine Historical Society's 2024 Neal W. Allen Award for outstanding contributions to the field of Maine history. The Presumpscot Foundation, of which Reiche is founder/president, works with American lighthouses to support preservation and mitigation of the threats of climate change.
