Last time we looked in on the old Waterman Tavern, in Smithfield — editorially, that is (“Historic conundrum,” June 27, 2008) — it was an eyesore targeted for demolition. It looked more the hazard to safety that town officials saw than the historical treasure envisioned by its owner, the Smithfield Preservation Society.

What a difference a year can make! Today, yellow clapboard walls and 12-over-12 window frames identify it as the “timeless gem of Smithfield” that we urged the town to imagine.

A year ago, the society had money in hand to stabilize the building, but a demolition permit barred workers from entering to do the job. Thankfully, the standoff was resolved. Exterior work on the building, which was first erected as a tavern in 1733 by Resolved Waterman Jr., will continue, with a $50,000 grant from the Gregson Foundation through the Rhode Island Foundation.

The society refers to the building not as the old Waterman Tavern but as the old Smithfield Exchange Bank. The bank was founded in 1822 in an ell added to the tavern, but moved out in 1856. The tavern closed in 1902. In 1936 the original building was razed to widen Route 44. The ell built for the bank is what stands today.

The society expects to use it as its office, a museum and a civic space. Bank or tavern, we congratulate the society and donors, artisans, citizen activists and patient town officials who saved it.