By Jody Record, Media Relations

When another hundred years go by and Thompson Hall again strains against the passing of time, workers may uncover the names of those charged today with restoring the 114-year-old building to its natural grace.

If so, it could likely be the same kind of serendipitous find the crew undertaking the current renovations had in July when the gilded weathervane atop the brick building was taken down to be refurbished and a time capsule was discovered under its metal cap.

The small copper box had originally been placed there in 1892 when T-Hall was built. It was initially found in 1953 after a series of hurricanes came through town and knocked the weathervane down. Inside the box were handwritten cards belonging to the men who had done the construction, listing their names, hometowns and trades.

In 1954, before the time capsule was returned to its roost under the weathervane’s copper base, a newspaper account of the storms and information on UNH administrators were added to the box.

Meanwhile, with the current construction underway, there had been talk of adding a new archive container to the building. When the old box was discovered, the focus of the 2006 time capsule shifted.

“ We knew there was a time capsule in the building but no one knew where it was,” says UNH project manager Brenda Whitmore. “When they were assembling the one for 2006 it was decided they would install them both back together on the same day, in the same location.’’

That spot is in a turret at the front entrance.

With a nod toward the past, the new steel cylinder was filled in the same fashion as that first four-by-four copper box: with business cards from all of the companies involved in the project, including the names of each subcontractor. Photos of those who work in T-Hall and of the project team were added as was a newspaper article describing the present ongoing renovations.

“ We received a lot of positive reactions from the subcontractors about the time capsule. One subcontractor went so far as to submit a picture of their employees (it’s a small company) with all of their names,” says Trish Palmiere of Shawmut Design and Construction. “All in all, people have been very proud to work on this project – myself included – and they appreciated the opportunity to be included in such a historic project.”

The entire contents of the new capsule were copied and itemized for the UNH Archives so that everyone knows what is inside. Each business card was coated in Mylar and the photos were printed on archival paper. Then epoxy was used to seal the capsule before it was set with a wax seal.

Of the time capsule’s focus on construction Whitmore says, “We wanted to go back to the original time capsule’s intent. So we honored the design team, the craftsmen, the materials used and the building’s occupants.”

Gathering those materials included tapping the same vein in Canada for roofing slate as that used in 1892; traveling to Star, North Carolina, for bricks, and having the copper trim made in the same manner as what was originally used. Replacement windows are made from sustainable mahogany, grown in a managed forest in Africa.

“University buildings are constructed with a 50-year outlook,” Whitmore says. “This work, with these materials, is expected to last 50 to 100 years. We are being good stewards, looking out 100 years and beyond.”

Salvaged bricks from the back of the building were used whenever they could be to replace those missing in the front; new bricks—stamped with the image of Thompson Hall and the year--were installed in areas where it won’t be as noticeable.

“When we are done, every brick, every piece of granite, every window, every exterior element on the building will have been touched,” Whitmore says of the $5 million renovation project that’s expect to be finished before the December 2006 completion date.

But stained glass windows that once graced the historic hall won’t be replaced without fundraising to do so, Whitmore says. They have the means to do one, thanks to a donation from Shawmut Design, but the rest will have to wait. One idea to raise money is to sell bricks that don’t make the grade for the new look—bricks that are defective or the wrong size.

“It’d be a nice piece of memorabilia,” Whitmore says. “The stain glass windows will be the finishing touch for this wonderful building.”