Gold-domed cupola removed from former Board of Education building

On September 21, 2006, the gold-domed cupola on the former Board of Education building at 28 South Main Street was removed and placed on the corner of Memorial Road and South Main Street where it will be refurbished over the next 10 months and then placed back on the building.

Two large cranes carefully removed the wooden centerpiece and place the 15-ton structure on the ground. The former Board of Education building will be dismantled and reconstructed in its original form as part of the Blue Back Square project which will include Crate & Barrel, REI, Barnes & Noble, Flemings Restaurant, Criterion Cinemas, condominiums, Healthtrax fitness center, a Hartford Hospital surgical center and new office space. Construction crews will also carefully preserve the front entrance including its stately pillars, windows and doors in the portico. A drawing of the proposed new building can be seen by clicking here.

The building was built in 1937 as a town hall with a grant from the Public Works Administration. At that time the two-story building housed town offices including the police department, the court and a jail. In 1985, town hall offices moved to the former Hall High School building at 50 South Main Street where it remains today.

Last month the former Board of Education building was vacated when the school’s administration consolidated to town hall. The adjacent Noah Webster Library was temporarily closed for one year beginning September 1 for renovation and a new addition.

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