The Ames Chapel is a focal point of the Hingham Cemetery, a picturesque garden cemetery and arboretum modeled after Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Mass. Dedicated in 1887, the funerary chapel’s construction was funded primarily by the husband and friends of summer resident Annie Ames (1826-1876), who is memorialized in a handsome stained glass window in the chapel’s west wall. 

In 2011 the cemetery board began to execute its vision for the revitalization and rehabilitation of the building as a fully accessible venue for the community, equipped to host a range of activities from weddings to lectures. Our firm was engaged to perform a comprehensive conditions assessment of the building and develop plans for its rehabilitation. With our assistance, the cemetery board successfully obtained funding to preserve the building and promote its transition to a community asset. Our spatial reconfigurations to the structure included the addition of a lounge, offices, and restrooms in the basement. The completed project was recognized with two prestigious awards in 2017: the Paul E. Tsongas Award from Preservation Massachusetts and a Restoration and Rehabilitation Award from the Massachusetts Historical Commission.