Preservation architect Joseph Pell Lombardi has been obsessed with old houses since he was a child. Over the past six decades, he has restored more than 600 homes, brownstones and even a few European castles. Based in New York City, Lombardi has been a pioneer in the preservation movement and is currently focused on converting unused offices into living spaces.
Throughout his career, Lombardi has also collected and conserved a number of private residences, including an apartment in Liberty Tower in Manhattan; the Armour-Stiner Octagon House in Irvington, N.Y.; and Château du Sailhant in France. The last two have been opened to the public as museums.
The Parsonage, in the tiny village of Peru, Vt., is one of Lombardi’s more humble abodes. Built in 1850 for $400, the rustic Greek Revival house was initially occupied by the parson of the Congregational Church next door (now the Peru Church). Lombardi purchased the run-down parsonage in 1976 and spent 15 years restoring the home to its former glory.
Seven Days senior multimedia producer Eva Sollberger toured the Parsonage on a warm fall day while Lombardi guided her through the post-and-beam structure over the phone. She also spoke to him via Zoom about his illustrious career. Lombardi is working with a graduate student from the University of Vermont Historic Preservation Program to open the Parsonage to the public as a house museum beginning in the spring.
Sollberger spoke with Seven Days about filming the episode.
How did you hear about this house?
I was scrolling Instagram when I saw eye-catching photos that a friend posted from her visit to the Octagon House. Needless to say, I stopped scrolling and began a deep dive into the fantastical eight-sided domed landmark. The building is candy-colored and looks like something out of a Victorian opium trip. I needed to know more about this visually stunning house, which was based on a Roman temple. I found a recent piece in the New York Times about its owner and savior, Joseph Pell Lombardi. That piece documented the 84-year-old’s extraordinary career, which is still going strong. It also mentioned that one of his five homes was in Vermont. What are the chances?
How did you get in touch with him?
I emailed Lombardi on a Sunday afternoon and assumed I would never hear back. I found out later that he rises at 4 a.m. and works 14-hour days, seven days a week. During the week he runs a 16-person architectural firm in New York City, and on the weekend he works on his homes. Shockingly, I received an email back that same day, and we had a Zoom interview the following week. Lombardi is charming, down-to-earth and excited to talk about old houses. He even gave me some pointers on my unassuming 1890s home.
Lombardi has had an impressive career.
Yes, and he has documented his hundreds of projects on his website — restoring boardinghouses back to brownstones, converting lofts into living spaces, transforming office spaces into apartments and breathing life into European castles. Lombardi has also written a few books, which you can read on his site. It is mind-boggling to see all the properties he has touched.
When Lombardi’s career began in the 1960s, he didn’t fit in. All the young architectural students wanted to build modernist skyscrapers. Lombardi wanted to celebrate old architecture, renovating and preserving it. He joked that in those days, preservation was little blue-haired old ladies and him. Luckily, the tides have turned, and there are many people who appreciate saving old structures.
What traits make Lombardi right for this work?
He is obsessed in the best sort of way. It took Lombardi 43 years to restore the Octagon House, and he joked that the owner should have fired the architect. (They were the same person, so that complicates matters.) The wide pine plank floors of the Parsonage were painted many times by each of the parsons’ wives who lived there — likewise, there were layers upon layers of wallpaper. Lombardi is like a stubborn detective, digging through paint and wallpaper to discover original colors and patterns. Why? As he said, “It’s an 1850 house, and it’s marvelous … I think we have to give it every bit of respect that we can.”
What’s the future of the Parsonage?
When Lombardi received my email, he started musing about opening the Parsonage to the public. His castle in France and the Octagon House attract thousands of visitors. Obviously, the Parsonage won’t bring in that many people, but it is across the street from the busy J.J. Hapgood general store, so people may wander over.
I connected Lombardi with Devin Colman, the director of UVM’s Historic Preservation Program. They are working together with a graduate student to plan public tours. I enjoyed my visit and hope others will, too.
The original print version of this article was headlined “This Old Parsonage | Touring preservation architect Joseph Pell Lombardi’s Parsonage in Peru”
This article appears in Nov 20-26, 2024.
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