St. George?s re-opened Fabian damaged historic Town Hall with a flourish, from Mayor E. Michael Jones, who said the two century old building was in the best shape it had ever been.

?It can now stand on its own with any Town Hall anywhere in the world,? Mayor Jones said.

He said it was a team effort in behalf of the Corporation of St. George?s and its contractors that brought the Hall back to its former glory. ?Historically, it was built ten years prior to the capital moving to Hamilton (St. George?s was the capital until 1815) where it was a public place for the towns folks to meet. In 1805 it was used by the first Mayor to plan the transition for the next ten years. It is still in use today to run the town?s business,? he said.

Hurricane Fabian ripped part of its roof off and flooded downstairs. During the ribbon-cutting ceremony ? attended by the Governor, Sir John Vereker ? the team-effort was congratulated when he said four seniors were given the honours rather than the Mayor because ?we wanted to share the spotlight with our good friends?.

Carpenter Earlston Callabras, former National Trust adviser Norris Paynter, Former Secretary of the Corporation Mrs. Lily Oatley and organist and guide for St. Peter?s Church Claire Spencer cut the ribbon.

Mr. Callabras said he never expected to be invited. Mr. Callabras has long been an advisor to the Corporation about traditional cedar installation.

Mr. Paynter?s work at The National Trust has enabled him to assist the Corporation with repair and maintenance of many of the towns? historic buildings.

Mrs. Oatley said she felt honoured. ?It has been so long since this Town Hall has been redecorated, lots of things needed done,? she said.

Ms Spencer said that they had done ?a lovely job?.

The Hall is now wheelchair accessible. Contract carpenter Kenwick Butterfield said it took him two weeks to make some of the cedar furniture inside the Hall. ?They brought us the cedar then we milled it out and made it look like what it look like what was there previously.?

He said that it was he who did the doors, windows, crown mouldings and more.

The work inside the Hall was supervised by Corporation Works Supervisor Shannon Outerbridge. ?It was a tough job because it is a traditional building,? Mr. Outerbridge said. ?There was a lot of wood, compared to the PVC and aluminium we were used to.

When asked how long it took to complete the Hall, he said: ?They began full time in January. I had 14 men who still had to run the town and renovate the Hall.?

He said that the whole building had been improved, adding: ?The biggest challenge was try to make it practical but keep it looking the same.?