The Westford (Mass.) Historic Society is trying to locate a frieze of 32 granite panels created around 1930 by the Fletcher Granite Company. See more panel photos at http://www.adsw.org/site/MA/Westford/FletcherGranite/panels.html

If you recognize the panels or know their current location, please respond here.

-- Marilyn Day (margreenda@aol.com), August 17, 2004

Answers

Not sure about 32 panels, but there are 6 of them on the North Office Building on the Capitol campus in Harrisburg, PA. The building was built in 1927, and three panels each are over the N and E entrances. There are two types of steam shovel, a caterpillar tractor, the steamroller, the laborers, and the surveyors. Perhaps they made sets? The bronze outer doors of this building also feature 6 scenes of roadbuilding, so this may have been the highway administration building. I don't see any in the photos that aren't on the building. I'd be interested to knopw if others are floating around somewhere. Anyhow, they're in great shape. I got good photos of all of them today (11/28/04).

-- Seth Gaines (sethgaines@hotmail.com), November 28, 2004.

Marilyn,

I do not know about granite panels, but I can tell you this, my dad and grandfather set the stone on the North Office building. He set those panels. He and my grandfather were stonemasons. I have a list of my father's job sites; I am searching for photos of the buildings. this one came up in my search on Google for North Office building, Harrisburg.

The photos will be a great addition to my father's book I am putting together of his jobs. When I get my book returned to me, I will see if he has any correspondence about this job. I do know he and my grandfather were working here when they got news in Dec that my grandmother was ill. They lived in Hanover; they drove home that day to find she had died before they arrived. I was 6 mos old at that time. My father's name was Francis X. Kuhn, Jr. My Dad may have set stone on other Fletcher Co. jobs. I will check his list. My grandfather was Francis X. Kuhn, Sr. He was a stone contractor Sin Hanover, PA. They both set stone for the Supreme Court building in 1933.

I live in Mechancisburg, PA-- a town across the river from Harrisburg. Sometime soon I will go and look at these panels. I can not belive my good fortunetoday to find this website!

Lois K. Lewis

-- Lois Kuhn Lewis (lklewis@paonline.com), January 06, 2005.