We have written about cupolas a lot in this blog, mostly because they keep coming up in the news. Towns are fixing up centuries old cupolas, some places are getting new ones, but mostly, they seem to be everywhere as it is! To make a strange comparison, it would seem that cupolas are the Lady Gaga of outdoor decor – they’re extremely popular and they just keep rising!

Ok, so Lady Gaga analogies aside, cupolas are very much present in our society and show no sign of going away. In Johnstown, Ohio, the Township Hall and Opera House had its original cupola fly off in a storm about five decades ago. According to this article, there has been a temporary cupola in place since those days and now the town is prepping to put up a brand new cupola. The two-phase project is costing about $36,000 and will bear some likeness to the original cupola:

“The result is a structure reminiscent of the original cupola, with a gracefully sloping copper roof, hardy siding and round windows. It will be presented, along with the restored town bell that hung in the building, in a ceremony on the town square Saturday to celebrate the restorations and the town hall’s 125th anniversary.”

Cupolas are also being repaired all across the country. In South Hero, Vermont, a thrift store had to be closed due to unsafe building conditions cause by (what else?) an old cupola. So, according to this article, a crane is going to take the cupola off of the top of the building. Once it’s repaired, they will put the cupola back into place, restoring the historic look of the building.

These are just a few examples of cupola restorations across the country. In our next post, we’ll discuss how many new developments are adding cupolas to new design plans.