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Outdoor Artifacts from Mary Baker Eddy’s “Pleasant View” Conserved
December 12, 2011
Recently, two of the decorative outdoor objects from Mary Baker Eddy’s Pleasant View residence — the gracious granite entry arch with gates, and the classically ornamental water fountain — underwent conservation treatment. This process was photo-documented, and we are pleased to share bits and pieces of it with you via this image gallery.
Longyear acquired these items in 1975, when they were gifted to the Museum by The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston. Besides the entry arch and fountain, that donation included two summerhouses (or gazebos as they are popularly known today) that had graced the grounds of Mrs. Eddy’s former home.
When Longyear Museum built its new facility in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts (completed in 1999), Museum staff and designers took this unusual and handsome grouping of historic artifacts into account as they laid out the Museum grounds. Visitors can take the “Pleasant View Walk” to enjoy these pieces that Mrs. Eddy would have known as part of her Concord, New Hampshire, home in the approximately 15-and-a-half years that she lived at Pleasant View, June 1892 — January 1908.
All of these artifacts have been maintained over the years since coming into the Museum’s collection with varying degrees of cleaning, re-coating, repairs, and conservation. This year it was time to clean the granite columns of the arch — removing intrusive algae, moss, and mineral deposits — and strip and recoat the metal gates and the fountain.
Many thanks for the funding of this timely project by a donor who is especially interested in maintenance of Longyear Museum’s historical collections.
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