1Contractors began working on the building last month after months of planning and working to secure funding.
The Fruit Street building housed the first mint in Massachusetts in the early 1800s when Jacob Perkins printed currency for the state and other parts of New England.
In 2007, the Historical Society of Old Newbury was able to purchase the building from then-owner James Lagoulis using a $200,000 grant from the Newburyport Five Cents Savings Bank. The society also received a $184,500 grant through the Community Preservation Act to cover the cost of the project.
"It's been a long, hard trip to get this to point," said David Mack, co-president of the Historical Society of Old Newbury. "It's really great to see it start. It's been very gratifying,"
Initial work included restoring the building's roof and making it weather-tight, Mack said. "That piece is completed."
Contractors are also replacing sheeting and doing beam repairs. The interior of the structure remains the last untouched industrial space in the city, Mack said, complete with the original pulleys.
Over the upcoming weeks, Mack said, the timber framing on the second and third floors will be restored.
"The goal was to ensure that the interior work was restored and structurally brought back to what it was when the building was built," he said.
The building's external appearance will also be returned to its original look. Over the years, the building was used as an automobile repair shop, so the front door configuration was changed and a window was enlarged into a doorway, said Jay Williamson, Historical Society of Old Newbury curator.
"The first goal is to preserve the building," Williamson said.
Once that restoration is done, Williamson said, the Historical Society can begin plans to turn it into a museum or learning center.
"One idea is to get early printing presses in there and perhaps have a scholar in residence who has an interest in printing and Old World traditions," Williamson said. That person would be available, as well, to give tours and educate visitors in exchange for having a workplace, he added.
The mint building parcel abuts the rear of the Historical Society building on the corner of High and Fruit streets.
The Historical Society will also begin exploring the process of how to get the building designated as a national historic landmark or property, Williamson added.
"I think that would certainly raise notice not only within the community, but nationally as well," he said. "It's deserving of that."
Follow the progress of the Mint building restoration project online at contractor Steve McDonald's blog: www.perkinsmint.blogspot.com.
