Allan Appel Photo
Without fanfare, the attractive benches have returned to Wooster Square Park, restored, plaqued, spiffy, and bolted into place.
They are there gleaming in the sunlight as if waiting for the hundreds of visitors expected at the upcoming Cherry Blossom Festival on April 24 to have comfortable places to rest and take in the history and beauty of one of the city’s most notable settings.
That was precisely the aim of the Historic Wooster Square Association (HWSA), whose members organized the restoration of the 22 benches.
The fundraising campaign to plaque the benches in order to cover the $30,000 pricetag for the restoration has been a success, said Charlie Murphy, HWSA’s secretary and one of the organizers of the effort.
The benches, restored by Concrete Creations of Fair Haven, were delivered and bolted into place over a period of several days. Then the donor plaques went in.
The 22 benches that went out all came back plaqued.
The plaques are an aluminum alloy that — so is the hope — would be of little or no interest to scrap thieves.
“The plaque material is Metalphoto, and they were produced by Metalphoto of Cincinnati. The material was chosen for its durability, resistance to weathering and abrasion, and economy. It’s thin aluminum with no salvage value. Their value is really in the inscriptions on them,” Murphy reported.
Among those individuals and families who have plaqued benches are the Iovannes, Peter Webster, Jane Scarpellino, Elsie Chapman, and Cheryl Szczarba.
Jane Scarpallino’s family bench inscription reads: “In memory of stonecutter Giuseppe Scarpelllino, and his wife Maria Saveria Milano, who left Amalfi for America in the early 1900’s…..and settled in beautiful Wooster Square. We, their descendants, are eternally proud and grateful for their decision.”
The park had featured five more benches, but they had disappeared before the restoration effort began. “There were and are still five missing,” Murphy said.