A New Life Approaching for the Historic Thaddeus Clapp House

The Berkshire Theatre Group has recruited Allegrone to restore the historic Thaddeus Clapp House on Wendell Avenue. This adaptive reuse project will convert the Clapp House into 10 housing units for those performing at the Colonial Theatre.

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The Berkshire Theatre Group has recruited Allegrone to restore the historic Thaddeus Clapp House on Wendell Avenue. This adaptive reuse project will convert the Clapp House into 10 housing units for those performing at the Colonial Theatre.

The Clapp House was the home of Thaddeus Clapp, one-time president of the historic Pontoosuc Woolen Mill and one of Pittsfield’s most prominent citizens. In 1906, the Clapp family sold the house to William A. Whittlesay, Manager of the Pittsfield Electric Company. In 1920, William D. Wyman, President of the Berkshire Life Insurance Company, one of the county’s largest businesses, purchased the house and took residence in it until 1930, when it was converted to an apartment complex.

Having outgrown their old establishment, the Lavan campus (Lavan Educational Center for the Performing Art), the Berkshire Theatre Group took the reins of the historic Clapp house in December 2012.

A building listed in the National Register of Historic Places must receive approval by the Massachusetts Historical Commission before the start of any renovation process. After the first phase of preconstruction planning, the proposal for design alterations and repairs was approved to restore the Clapp House. Interior carpentry repairs will utilize wood detailing unique to the buildings era in which it was built in order to match the aesthetic and technical properties of its historic attributes. The interior repairs will eliminate water damage and improve the programmatic layout of the existing units. Exterior building repairs and modifications include the restoration of deteriorating architectural trim, roof, window frames, porch railings, siding, and fire escapes as well as masonry foundation repairs and a new accessible ramp into the building.

Related article by the Berkshire Eagle: HERE