Wellesley shows off Town Hall’s upgraded insides at Wonderful Weekend open house

With so many people doing their town business online these days, not everyone has the chance or need to actually visit Wellesley Town Hall. But Wellesley’s Wonderful Weekend presented a good opportunity for people to check out the latest interior renovations that had kept the 142-year-old building off limits for about 18 months to employees and the public, until it reopened in late December.

The Wellesley Select Board and Permanent Building Committee on Saturday, May 17 hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house to celebrate the newly renovated Wellesley Town Hall at 525 Washington St.

Guests had the opportunity to tour the improved Town Hall, which now features improved accessibility, modernized systems, and enhanced interior spaces while preserving the building’s history.

Some upgrades are an accessible entry with a ramp, new heating and cooling systems, a reconfigured Juliani Room with updated AV technology, and a modern fire-rated vault for secure document storage. The building also houses new workspaces, a redesigned Great Hall upstairs for meetings, and sustainable systems such as air source heat pumps. 

 

 

 
In the entryway, a refurbished weights and measures display case greets visitors. You can try out the historic scale from the early 1900s (just don’t let go of the handle too suddenly!). Natural Resources Commission Chair Michael D’Ortenzio, Jr., and Select Board member Beth Sullivan Woods explain further in this video clip.

Before the ribbon cutting at the open house, Town officials including Select Board member Tom Ulfelder and the Permanent Building Committee’s Michael Tauer spoke about the renovation process and results. The project was completed without impacting taxpayers and balanced modern civic needs with historic preservation, they said.  (Watch a Wellesley Media video about the renovation.)

 

 
The event featured giveaways, such as cookies and pins.

 

 
Bob Brown contributed to this post.