Odd Fellows Block to get paint job

First the Old Fellows building, now the Odd Fellows building. Scheduled for a facelift this summer.

http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20130313/NEWS02/703139884

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Odd Fellows Block to get paint job By Susan Smallheer Staff Writer | March 13,2013 Rutland Herald Len Eemry Photo The Odd Fellows Block on Main Street in Springfield is slated for a facelift this summer. The building was built in 1889 and is now largely vacant. SPRINGFIELD — The Odd Fellows Block will be getting a much-needed facelift this summer. The downtown block, currently peeling various shades of pale blue, will be painted thanks to the efforts of Springfield On The Move. Carol Lighthall, executive director of the downtown revitalization group, said that a prison work crew would be arriving in the downtown area, probably by June, to paint the large, three-story structure. She said the Odd Fellows, who have owned the block for 106 years, couldn’t afford to paint the building, which is for sale for $75,000. “It’s a great program they’re doing,” said Sandra George of North Springfield, a member of the Odd Fellows in charge of the building. Lighthall said that the cost of painting the building by a commercial painter had been estimated at $30,000, something far out of the reach of the Odd Fellows or the fund raising efforts of Springfield On The Move. That means the prison crew is not taking work away from a commercial painter, she said, since the Odd Fellows can’t afford to hire anyone. The nonprofit group has been working with downtown property owners on facade improvements, Lighthall said, and has assessed 24 different downtown buildings. Lighthall said the building would be painted several shades of green, with cranberry accents in the cornices of the 1899 structure, described as a Queen Anne-style building. It was built by Asahel P. Fairbanks, and was known as the Fairbanks Block until 1907 when it was purchased by the Odd Fellows, according to the 1984 National Historic District nominating papers for downtown Springfield. The downtown was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. The building was described as having “a bracketed cornice, a paneled frieze, 1/1 sash with Eastlake surrounds, a stringcourse with lozenge paterae, and an altered storefront.” Because SOM is a nonprofit organization, it is eligible for the prison work crew to do the work on the building, Lighthall said. The building, which has two storefronts on Main Street, hasn’t had a tenant for four to five years, said George. George said Springfield On the Move had been great in helping arrange the paint job. When the two storefronts were rented, George said, it covered the costs of running the building, but didn’t leave enough money for the outside maintenance. She said she believed the building was last painted in the 1980s. Lighthall said that the inside of the building is in good shape, but without a spruce up it would be very difficult to rent. Part of the problem, she said, is that the two store fronts really have to be rented in order for both storefronts to be heated. Otherwise, it is not economical. “It’s nice enough inside, but people couldn’t get past how the building looked,” she said. The prison work crew would be in the downtown area for six weeks to two months painting the building. Lighthall said the paint scheme was the recommendation of a consulting architect that has been working with Springfield On The Move — to a degree. While the different shades of green color scheme was recommended by architect Randy Wilson, members of Springfield On The Move’s design committee insisted on the cranberry accents. The Odd Fellows agreed, said George. Paul Brosseau, who helps coordinate the various work crews from the Windsor prison, couldn’t be reached for comment Tuesday. But prison work crews have worked on various projects in Springfield in the past, including cutting brush around the old Jones & Lamson Machine Tool plant on Clinton Street last summer. Lighthall said her organization has been working on sprucing up the downtown since the summer of 2010, as well as trying to find tenants for the vacant storefronts. Several buildings, including the Tarro Block, received some facade work, she said, and enhancements to the building’s appearance.