Allegrone in the News: Veterans War Memorial Tower reopens

On the heels of an extensive, $2.8 million renovation project, the Veterans War Memorial Tower is fully open to the public.

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State and local officials gathered at the summit of Mount Greylock on Wednesday for the opening — the project was largely completed by the start of the season, but the interior of the tower had remained closed.

Among those in attendance were Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Matthew Beaton, Department of Veterans' Services Secretary Francisco Urea, and Department of Conservation and Recreation Deputy Commissioner Priscilla Geigis.

One of the goals of the project was to update and enhance the beacon at the top of the tower.

As a result, there are now 12 banks of six light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, each of which emits 27,000 lumens, for a grand total of 1.9 million lumens. It is four times brighter than it was when it was shut down in 2013. Under the right weather conditions, the beacon is visible from 75 miles away.

The renovations have left the tower looking brand new, including a handicapped-accessible rotunda, and a moisture control system negating the water issues that had caused the tower to decay through decades. And everything has been cleaned and polished, after a complete reconstruction of the rotunda to repair moisture damage.

Renovation work began in 2015. Before work stopped in October of that year, workers were able to remove interior finishes needing replacement, repoint masonry and reseal the joints on the tower and terrace walls, clean the exterior masonry on the tower, and set new concrete on the terrace for the new handicapped-accessible front door.

Allegrone Construction of Pittsfield was the primary contractor on the project.

Shout out to our Project Managers on a job well done!

Jim Culliton, Bryan Culliton, Mike Mucci

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To view the full Berkshire Eagle article, follow the link HERE or download the PDF.