By Michele Jacklin

The newly renovated and restored Long Walk welcomed its first occupants on August 28, following a yearlong, $32.9-million restoration and renovation.

The three brownstone buildings—Seabury, Northam, and Jarvis—which were designed by English architect William Burges and adapted by Francis Kimball, are prime examples of High Victorian Collegiate Gothic architecture and have long been the College’s signature buildings.

“We are the curators of a living museum and we have a responsibility to preserve the College’s history for future generations,” says Sally Katz, Trinity’s director of facilities and a key leader in the restoration project.

Although the College went to great lengths to preserve the historic and architectural integrity of the three buildings, the classrooms, faculty offices, and student suite-style rooms have all been outfitted with modern, state-of-the-art amenities, including full computer access.

“The completion of the Long Walk and its dedication to every minute detail is truly a remarkable engineering and construction feat, one that we can all be proud of,” says President Jones, “and to think that the project was finished on schedule and on budget makes it that much more remarkable.”

Seabury and Jarvis halls were built in 1878 and Northam Towers in 1883. In 2005, during routine repairs, workers uncovered significant signs of aging, particularly around the 88 dormers that line the roofs. It quickly became apparent that it was necessary to undertake a massive restoration of the 925-foot-long complex.

On May 21, 2007, the day after Commencement, work began. The architects for the 81,389-square-foot project were SmithEdwards of Hartford and the renovations were undertaken by Consigli Construction Company. The carefully planned and executed project was made easier thanks to the original building plans that had been located several years ago in Trinity’s archives by College Archivist Peter Knapp ’65.

Trinity quite literally went to the ends of the earth to ensure that the historic and architectural integrity of the buildings was preserved. The replacement stone and ceramic materials were gathered from a variety of sources: The brownstone came from quarries in Portland, Connecticut; the sandstone from the Cleveland Quarries in Amherst, Ohio; the roofing slates from a mine in Monson, Maine; and the terracotta roof pieces came from the West Meon Pottery in Petersfield, England.

Exterior work included the following:

• Dismantling and rebuilding 88 stone dormers.
• Cleaning of the entire structure and repointing the brownstone/sandstone façade.
• Installing a new slate roof, with 123,000 tiles.
• Removing 900 historic cast iron windows, as well as 300 leaded and stained glass windows, sending them to Alabama for repairs, re-glazing them, and re-installing them.
• Laying concrete pavers and new drainage systems.

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