Repairs to the Old South Church Bell Tower

The Old South Church Bell Tower is undergoing facade maintenance and roofing repairs. The construction of the Bell Tower includes stone masonry facades, slate roofing tiles, and steel framing. The repairs will address distress associated with the stone masonry facade including cracking caused by corroding steel, deteriorating mortar joints, and spalling of the sandstone and brownstone. The repairs will also include resetting of displaced slate roofing tiles. These conditions are not unusual for buildings of this age and type of construction and need to be addressed as part of the long-term maintenance of historic masonry structures. All efforts will be made to retain the Bell Tower’s valuable historic fabric throughout the repair process.

Since the completion of our building in 1875, we have had two towers:

1875: Old South Church's Tower rises above the Back Bay
1931: The first tower is taken down when it leans 3 feet from the vertical
1931-1937: The new tower is capped with a temporary roof
1937: A new tower rises above the city

Click the image below to take a closer look at the photos.

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