Daniel Fitzpatrick, City Manager
31 Wakefield Street
Rochester, NH 03867
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, May 10, 2018
Media Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: john@jgpr.net
Rochester City Hall Annex Restoration Project Earns Preservation Awards
ROCHESTER — City Manager Daniel Fitzpatrick is pleased to announce that the City of Rochester was recognized for its work to restore the historic City Hall Annex.
At a ceremony on Tuesday, May 8, in Concord, the city was honored by the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance for its grassroots effort to renovate and re-purpose the Annex, which first opened in 1904, and retain it is a valuable resource for generations to come.
In addition to a 2018 Preservation Award, the project was also recognized with the organization’s Elizabeth Durfee Hengen Award. The latter is presented to the rare project that exhibits overall excellence in preservation planning, education and advocacy.
The Annex originally opened as a fire station in the first decade of the 20th century, and underwent an initial renovation in the 1970s that obscured its original Romanesque Revival design until the restoration in 2016.
The Preservation Alliance is the statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of New Hampshire’s historic buildings, communities and landscapes through leadership, education and advocacy. For nearly three decades, the group has recognized exemplary projects and people that have overcome major challenges while saving, reviving and stewarding special places.
“We are extremely proud to see this project earn such meaningful recognition,” City Manager Fitzpatrick said. “The Annex’s successful restoration was the direct result of the dedication of countless individuals in the city. Because of their work, the building now serves as a symbol of both our history and our future as a community.”
Since its grand re-opening last August, the Annex has become home to numerous city departments, including the Office of Economic and Community Development, Department of Building, Zoning and Licensing Services and the Planning Department.
To learn more about the restoration project, watch a Rochester Government Channel video by clicking here.