City of Norwich DPW Pool and Parks Technician Phil Francisco standing with the Nativity scene he spent three months restoring. (Photos by Sarah Genter)

NORWICH — The Nativity scene depicting the birth of Jesus has been a staple of the holiday season in downtown Norwich for decades, but had fallen into disrepair over the years.

City of Norwich Mayor Brian Doliver said the city was considering no longer setting up the display, so Department of Public Works (DPW) Pool and Parks Technician Phil Francisco decided to take on the project of restoring it.

"The last time they’ve done a restoration on this was around 15 years ago, and I noticed that people were just putting screws into the figures to keep it together," Francisco said. "It means a lot of a lot of people, so I wanted to respect it and bring it back to what it was."

"I have a family full of artists and I always want to honor that, too," he added. "I try to make things better. I think stuff like this brings more people in, and people can enjoy it better."

Francisco said many of the animals in the display had pieces broken off, so he used dowel rods to hold them together. He then used spray foam to reconstruct pieces, shaved it into shape, and wrapped it all in plaster of Paris. After that, he primed all the figures and repainted them.