Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
Village administrator Thomas Bergman was excited to debut a new finial atop the Genoa Town Hall and Opera House on the first day of the Genoa Homecoming Festival May 29.
As part of a project intended to remove the existing asbestos roofing on the bell tower and replace the roof with a slate and copper version that would match the original roof from the 1800s, Bergman and other area officials worked with state senator Theresa Gavarone to obtain a $100,000 grant through the state’s One-Time Strategic Community Investment Fund.
“Without her help, this project would not have been possible,” Bergman said.
The Genoa Opera Hall is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It is classified as the oldest free-standing municipal building in Ottawa County.
Bergman said the first step was to figure out what type of slate they should use as the only picture they had of the original roof was in black and white.
“Thankfully, contractors reviewed the few original slate tiles we had on hand and immediately identified their modern version, North Country Black and Vermont Unfading Green.”
Precision Slate & Tile out of Columbus was the low bidder for the project, and Bergman said they did a great job.
“These shingles are rated for 150 years, so we will need to reroof in the year 2175,” Bergman said. “Tell your great-grandchildren.”
For the finial, the goal was to get as close to the original design as possible. Village officials do not have the original finial, as the bell tower was removed some time in the 1950s or 1960s. A new bell tower was constructed in 1978 during the town hall renovation and lifted into place that June.
“It was my opinion that the 1978 finial was not ornate enough to be returned to the top of the steeple,” Bergman said. “I sent out inquiring emails to copper finial manufacturers that I found online. Most passed on the project as we did not have blueprints. I really only had one great picture from about 1900.
“EJM Copper out of Orlando, Fla. was the only firm that gave us the time it took to take a 2D picture and make a 3D model for a proposal. Over six weeks they manufactured the new finial and shipped it up to Genoa, and a few days later it was on top of the new steeple, right in time for the Genoa Homecoming Festival.
Bergman said he received numerous compliments from residents and visitors about the new appearance.
“The contractors really hit a home run,” he said.
As this was just the beginning, efforts will now turn to Phase 2 of the roof project.
“We will need to come up with about $500,000 to finish the rest of the roof,” Bergman said. “That is no easy task, though we are aiming for 2027 construction if we can pull off the funding.”
