A neighborhood nonprofit has raised $55,000 toward an $88,000 restoration of the 118-year-old gazebo in West Chester's Everhart Park, funding the entire project through private donations.
The Friends of Everhart Park, a 140-household group, is covering the cost with no grants or borough financing, according to a Daily Local report published Sept. 8.
"We are basically giving $88,000 to the borough," member Susan Frens said. "It's our gift from the Friends of Everhart Park."
The octagonal gazebo was built in 1908 from unpainted wood and fieldstone over Black Horse Run, a small stream that flows through the park. Philadelphia landscape designer Oglesby Paul is credited with the original 1906 plans for the park's layout of radiating paths, gazebo and footbridge, according to the Friends of Everhart Park's website. The 24-foot structure hosts weddings, neighborhood gatherings, and annual events including the Turks Head Music Festival and First Presbyterian Church's Easter Egg Hunt.
The Everhart family donated the 10-acre park to the borough in 1905. The Friends of Everhart Park formed in 1989 to block a utility pipeline that threatened nearly 20 hardwood trees. The group helped rebuild the gazebo's stone foundations in 1994 and reroofed the structure between 2000 and 2008.
Artist and Friends member Phil Hill described the gazebo as a quiet, panoramic spot and one of West Chester's two most iconic structures alongside the historic courthouse. Fellow member Carl Weir said dog walkers cross the gazebo bridge daily and neighborhood kids gather there.
The restoration is split into two phases. Phase I replaces pressure-treated fence posts with rustic wood guardrails set in new mortar, along with craft-intensive carpentry using eastern red cedar trunks and branches. The group said in an April news release that the gazebo's eight structural posts and diagonal braces remain in very good condition.
Phase II will replace the cedar shake roof with thicker, pressure-treated shingles to fight moss growth caused by the gazebo's heavy tree shade. A copper-clad roof hatch will be added to the west slope for maintenance access, and the tongue-and-groove flooring will receive preservative treatment. After the new roof is finished, the Friends plan annual sweeping and a five-year washing cycle.
No completion date has been announced.
Rachel Kagan, a Friends member, said the gazebo is worth saving for future generations because it makes the park beautiful, unique and special. Donations can be sent to Friends of Everhart Park, P.O. Box 3572, West Chester, PA 19382, or through FriendsofEverhartPark.org.
Upcoming community events:
- West Chester's Dark History Tours return in October.
- Star Vocal Competition opens Season 6 in West Chester on Oct. 4.
