The Hill House Portico Restoration: What’s Next

One of the outstanding features of the Thomas A. Hill House is its three-sided portico.

Several years ago, it became very apparent that something was happening with the portico since the granite decking became uneven and some slabs were even separating from the building. We were granted funding from the Belvedere Historic Preservation fund to do an engineering study. As suspected, in 1835 foundation building practices weren’t quite what they are today. The foundation under the portico has suffered the ravages of Maine winter frost and has deteriorated. Today the condition of the portico threatens the structural stability of Hill House.

To restore the portico, we will need to remove all of the granite slabs, remove the columns and restore them, excavate, rebuild the foundation, replace the granite slabs, and restored columns. The project comes with a big price tag of more than $350,000 (that was the estimate last year).

To date we have raised $378,250 through a combination of grants and the generous support of our donors. This means that we have enough money to do all sides of the portico barring any unforeseen circumstances.

As it stands now, we are waiting for the paperwork from the National Park Service’s grant for $100,000 to be sent to us and completed to start the project. The National Park Service mandates that no work can be started until their award process is complete or funding will be lost from them. So we are waiting and hoping that the paperwork can be completed quickly enough to do the work during the 2024 construction season.

Please help us fix the portico and restore the stability of Hill House by making a contribution today:

• Pillar Preserver—$1,000 (16 pillars)
• Support a Slab—$500 (77 slabs)
• Foundation Fixer—$250
• Step Supporter—$100
• Portico Patron—$50