Finishing touch

A local company often puts the cherry on top of New England homes, with cupolas that range from the classic to the quirky and creative

BY PAIGE SHAPIRO

Most people are familiar with a widow’s walk — 19th century belvederes whose name is said to have come from the wives of seafarers who would watch for their husband’s return on the shoreline. But as the widow’s walk slowly descends into obsolescence with modern constructions, their usual centerpiece — cupolas — seem to outlive their faithful rooftop companions.

Cupolas are the icing on the cake of any beautiful New England home — though they have been around since long before that. The first cupolas were seen as early as the second century A.D. in Syria and were used for practical purposes like ventilation or lighting. Today, they provide a tasteful finishing touch to any noteworthy seaside shanty or coastal chateau.

The word itself derives from Italian and means ‘little cup,’ and that’s exactly what it is — a modest dome that sits atop any type of roof, from gable to gambrel, providing a look into the personal taste and style of the home’s owner. Whether louvered or windowed, cupolas often straddle the roof ridge and can range in size.

A cupola of any kind is a unique indication of taste, but Cape Cod Cupola goes one step further — the Dartmouth-based company custom designs cupolas to match the most niche of specifications, from a miniature dome that went on to outfit an electric train set to an octagonal 850-pound, copper-roofed monolith that required boat transportation and crawler cranes.

Whatever the weather, most of their cupolas are lit by lantern from within and boast a striking copper weathervane planted at its peak, constructed entirely with materials made in the .US.

In business since the ’40s

The company, which has been around since the early 1940s, is owned by Michael Roderick, a man who admits that architec- ture was never his greatest interest. “I got into the business because my wife asked me to get into the business,” he confessed with a smile. “I see myself as a steward for this company. My passion is for keeping this family business healthy and running effectively. I look at ways to change it and keep it running smoothly. That’s my focus.”

Roderick and his late wife, Kim, inherited the company four years ago from Kim’s grandfather, John E. Bernier Sr., after he passed away.

As a seedling, the company began with Bernier, who worked as a custodian at Roosevelt Junior High in New Bedford. In order to make some extra money to support his sons, one of whom had Cerebral Palsy, Bernier started making and designing simple copper weathervanes in his basement. What started as an honest side-hustle quickly bloomed into a fullfledged enterprise after putting an advertisement in the New York Times. As the

Continued on page 20 business boomed over the next few decades, the company began to offer small, louvered cupolas, something that Roderick recalls after working part-time for a few summers in the seventies.

From the traditional to the quirky

After an overhaul in the ’90s, Cape Cod Cupola gradually added larger, windowed cupolas to their repertoire. Brian Chabot, who has been with the company for more than 40 years, is credited with designing the framework of most of the cupolas they offer. Now, with a dedicated team of typically 10 people, the company of carpenters and craftsmen create an impressive range of rooftop structures.

The most typical cupola design comes coupled with a handmade copper weathervane, most likely in the shape of a rooster, a ship, or a fish. But the longer Cape Cod Cupola sticks around, the stranger the custom weathervanes seem to get — like Spongebob Squarepants, Mary Poppins, and the Statue of Liberty holding a beer, to name a few. The vane is usually copper and can be detailed with gold leaf and patina green colored copper as well.

The company is responsible for cupolas and weathervanes all over New England, including notable locals like the vane that adorns Tabor Academy’s training ship, the top of Westport Federal Credit Union, and the bluefin tuna that is mounted above the cupola of Ice House Bar & Grill.

The modern classics

An important factor for any construction force on the coast of New England is durability. How does something as small as a cupola stand the test of time when faced with an enemy like a nor’easter or the tail end of a brutal hurricane? For a fixture that pierces the sky at least a few dozen feet in the air, materials like PVC have become the new black. Wood, the more historical materials for cupolas, has been replaced by its cheaper synthetic component for longevity’s sake (and the sake of wallets, everywhere). Cape Cod Cupola admits that they get many requests from people whose decision to opt for the classic wooden exterior bit them in the butt after a few short, wet years. Nearly 95 percent of their cupolas today are built with PVC, which Roderick says are essentially maintenance free.

Luckily, says Roderick, their business has a helpful network of homeowners, carpenters and architects who can vouch for their quality, regardless of material. Word of mouth certainly goes a long way in this neck of the woods, and Cape Cod Cupola is no exception to that fortunate requisite.

“We find a lot of customers coming back to us,” he said. “And there’s a lot of people out there who see a cupola in their neighborhood and say ‘I want to get that on my house.’ That’s surely a big part of our business.”

A passion for the business

Despite the community that appears to have formed around Cape Cod Cupola, the business is not always easy to maintain. “Our orders have dipped off since October,” Roderick said, noting inflation and fewer housing starts as the likely cause. “That presents a challenge for us. I can’t keep the same payroll when I’ve got less orders coming in. It’s hard to find good people and keep them around.”

But this isn’t going to stop Roderick and Cape Cod Cupola. After the passing of his wife two years into their ownership, he hopes to keep the company thriving until he can one day hand it off to one of his four children. “When you buy a business, you’re in it 24/7,” he said. “I am very passionate about this business. I believe in customer satisfaction, and we back our product 100 percent.”

And to prove it? Roderick’s own home, a colonial on Bulgarmarsh Road in Tiverton, is topped with a windowed cupola and a Beetle Cat boat weathervane. “If you own the company, you gotta have a cupola on your house,” he laughed.