The restoration of the Union Chapel’s ceiling and the roof’s triangular windows was a major undertaking that spanned a Vineyard winter. An electric lift was set in the very center of the Chapel and great cascades of plastic were hung from the balconies. On our first trip up to examine the ceiling, it became evident that this part of the Chapel had not been visited for maintenance in half a century or more. There was such significant rot around the triangular windows that daylight was visible in places, and most of the glazing was gone. The pneumatic lift carried workers and tools to the catwalk they built beneath the roof. A near perfect match to the original triangular window glass was located. The windows were repaired, the glass glazed, the roof sheathed with fresh beaded board and painted the same turquoise hue it had always been. The chandelier was polished and re-hung in the cupola of the Victorian chapel. As is true of the work of preservationists, the Union Chapel looked so wonderfully similar that few noticed the painstakingly accurate restoration when it reopned in the spring.
