Waltham's Lyman Estate Showcases Restorations

If you visit Lyman Estate, you may notice a bit more a of glean on it now. 

The historic estate completed renovations in April intended to make the site more energy effificent and weather-durable. The work, which started in March of 2011, is also meant to maintain the site's historic character, Lyman Estate Team Leader of Property Ben Haavik told Waltham Patch during a recent visit to the site. 

Visitors to the building will notice the newly polished maple floors, the freshly painted porch and stairs that lead to the neatly kept grounds that abut  said Haavik. The exterior of the main building was also repainted.

Less visible modifications include window and chandelier work, according to Haavik. Some of the building's original windows have been fixed to restore them to their original look and eliminate air from leaking through them, according to Haavik. Cutting air leakage helps reduce energy costs, he said. 

Chandeliers inside the estate's function room of  the estate were also restored and given LED lightbulbs intended to save on energy costs.according to Haavik. 

The estate's landscape also underwent minor changes. Students form the Minuteman High School in Lexington planted 360 boxwood hedges, which would have been during the 1917 era the estate reflects, according to Haavik. A previoulsy blocked path was also reopened after removing a bush that was blocking it, Haavik said.

Historic New England, which owns the site, as well as the city of Waltham and the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources paid for the renovations, according to the estate's website.

Theodore Lyman, a businessman, commissioned the home 1793 and it was passed to family members after his death, according to the estate's website. In 1951, Susan Cabot Lyman, its owner at the time, donated the estate to Historic New England.

The estate is open to the public for tours and is also available for functions.