Liverpool's 'architectural gem' untouched 1 year after province promises repairs

Linda Rafuse casually refers to Perkins House Museum in Liverpool as "she" and "her" a habit she says isin fondness for the 250-year-old buildingthat's gone untouchedsince it was indefinitely shuttered by the province two years ago.

"Perkins House is an architectural gem," saidRafuse, director of the Queens County Museum andPerkins House.

"You look at her and it's just like she's been neglected."

The upcoming tourism season marks 60 years since the former home of merchant and famed diarist Simeon Perkins opened as a museum. Perkins moved into the home April 18, 1767.

The province closed it two years ago, sayingthe site wasstructurally unsafe. Last March,officials said a timeline for repairs was beingdeveloped, butRafusesaidshe's heard littlefrom them since.

"Things just aren't happening."

Giving the 'same old tired answer'

The museum's board of directors wrote a letter to Premier Stephen McNeil asking for answers last week, Rafuse said.

"We have visitors coming to us. And you know the first question is always,'When is Perkins House going to be reopened?'" she said.

"And we're the ones responding with that same old tired answer:'We don't know.'"

A Halifax-based engineering firm published a report that led to the Perkins Houseclosure, whichstated exterior walls could collapse in winter weather. Support jacks were then installed as a temporary fix. Repairs were estimatedbetween $500,000 and $700,000.

In an email, provincial spokesperson Lisa Jarrettsaid the province continues to develop a plan to complete the necessary work to Perkins House and reopen it.

Culture and Heritage Minister Tony Incesaid Wednesday it will be weeks or months before a timeline for repairs will be shared publicly.

Findings to the contrary

Retired architect Allen Penney, whose experience spans 60 years and includes authoring areport on Perkins House, last visited the site in October 2015. He saidthe slated repairs areoverkill.

"It's withstood hurricanes and various other things," Penney said. "The house has been there for 250 years and it's still structurally safe."

He said the biggest threat to the building is wet groundworsened by changes to the property and by rainwater run-off from theQueens County Museum nearby.

"What it actually needs is a separation between wet ground and dry wood to stop the wood from rotting. That's the only [major] change that needs to take place," he said.

Penney estimatedthe costto conserve the building for years to come at about $60,000.

Waiting for the game plan

Rafuse saidthe support jacks are "holding [Perkins House]too tight" andthey'll do more harm than good if a game plan isn't reached soon.

"I guess the frustration is right now, in the near future there could be an election call and we see a lot of money being given to the arts and culture community," Rafuse explained.

"We kind of think, 'Isn't there some sort of priority list?'"

From June to October, a Perkins House historical interpreter will continueto workout of the Queens County Museum.

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