Tony Castro surveys the sanctuary of the Readfield Union Meetinghouse Wednesday. Castro and Chris Blackburn are restoring the plaster and trompe l'oeil paintings in the building, believed to have been erected in 1827.

Jim Tukey, president of the Readfield Union Meetinghouse Co. Inc., speaks to Ashton Harris, 7, of Scarborough about the trompe l’oeil paintings in the structure. The paintings "fool the eye" into thinking that the walls and ceiling have a three-dimensional surface but are in fact two-dimensional. They were painted by Charles J. Schumacher in 1867.

Fissures run through the plaster displaying trompe l'oeil paintings Wednesday in the sanctuary of the Readfield Union Meetinghouse. Work is underway to restore the paintings in the sanctuary of the structure, believed to have been erected in 1827.

Chris Blackburn, right, and Tony Castro inject and brush a stabilizing agent into laths Wednesday in the attic of the Readfield Union Meetinghouse. The men are stabilizing the plaster suspended above the sanctuary of the meetinghouse to preserve the trompe l'oeil paintings that adorn the ceiling of the structure, believed to have been built in 1827. The men will make three passes with chemicals between the wood laths of the 60-foot-by-40-foot timber-framed and mortar building.

The bell rope intersects stained glass windows Wednesday in the belfry of the Readfield Union Meetinghouse. Work is underway to restore the tower clock and sanctuary of the structure, believed to have been erected in 1827.

Tony Castro walks past the maples Wednesday at the entrance of the Readfield Union Meetinghouse. Castro and Chris Blackburn are restoring the plaster and trompe l'oeil paintings in the sanctuary of the structure, believed to have been erected in 1827.