The City of Salem is pleased to announce the completion of exterior restoration work at the historic Dickson Memorial Chapel at Greenlawn Cemetery
Salem, MA –The City of Salem is pleased to announce the completion of exterior restoration work at the historic Dickson Memorial Chapel at Greenlawn Cemetery. A ribbon cutting to celebrate the project will be held on Saturday, November 14th at 10am in conjunction with events hosted by the Friends of Greenlawn Cemetery. The recently completed exterior restoration work included repointing of the building’s granite and brownstone masonry, full reconstruction of corner buttresses, slate roof repairs, and restoration of the copper roof cresting and historic oak entrance doors. The restoration work was completed by Allegrone Construction and Crocker Roofing with restoration design and oversight by Spencer Preservation Group and Structures North. Funding for the project was provided by a Massachusetts Preservation Projects Fund matching grant from the Massachusetts Historical Commission, Community Preservation Act funds, Dickson Memorial Chapel Trust Funds, and City capital funds.
Dickson Memorial Chapel was constructed in 1893 with a bequest from Salem resident Walter Scott Dickson in memory of his wife Georgia. The High Victorian Gothic building, which features polychromatic stone, pointed-arch door and window frames, wall buttresses, window tracery and stained glass, finials and other carved ornament, was designed by Newton architect George F. Meacham. A glass conservatory that once graced the building’s north elevation was removed in the 1980s. Restoration work on the chapel began in 2016 with emergency structural repairs and in 2024 the City completed restoration of the building’s floral motif stained-glass windows.
“This restoration project completes a multi-phase effort to restore the exterior grandeur of this magnificent building, the only example of High Victorian Gothic architecture in Salem,” said Mayor Dominick Pangallo. “We are grateful to the Massachusetts Historical Commission, the CPA, and the Dickson Memorial Trust Fund for their generous financial support. We also thank the Friends of Greenlawn for their continued advocacy to raise awareness of and appreciation for the Chapel and Greenlawn Cemetery. Now that exterior restoration is complete the City can begin planning for interior restoration of the chapel to return this building to its original purpose as a cemetery and community gathering space.”
Chapel events on November 14th begin with music in the Chapel at 9:30am. The ribbon cutting will be held at 10am with walking tours of the cemetery beginning around 10:30am. The events are free and open to everyone. For more information on the project please visit https://www.preservingsalem.
The Dickson Memorial Chapel, which is listed in the State Register of Historic Places, has received a matching grant, from the Massachusetts Preservation Projects Fund through the Massachusetts Historical Commission, Secretary of the Commonwealth, William Francis Galvin, Chairman.
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Historic postcard of the Dickson Memorial Chapel and Conservatory
