Our Commonwealth - March News From Preservation Massachusetts

Our Commonwealth

Preservation Across Massachusetts

March 2009

In This Issue

Contribute to Our CommonwealthCircuit Rider NewsHow Can our Commonwealth serve you?A Day In the Life of a Circuit RiderFrom Beacon to Capitol HillWhere are they Now? Central Congregational ChurchWhere Are They Now? Fairhaven MillsMark Your Calendar!

Greetings!

Greetings!Erin Kelly & I have just returned from Washington DC where, this pastTuesday, we spent the day lobbying the Massachusetts CongressionalDelegation for a variety of preservation initiatives, both locally andnationally. Normally there are more than two of us meeting with theMassachusetts Delegation, but in these difficult economic times, traveland hotel expenses can be a show stopper. Luckily, with familyconnections in the DC area, we were able to keep our expenses downconsiderably this year.PM has made a concerted effort to continually lobby both State andFederal preservation initiatives. This year, because we were only two, Ischeduled eight appointments, realizing that there are only so manyhours in a day. We made a strong effort to not only meet with staff butpersonally with the individual Representatives. We actually met withCongressmen McGovern, Neal and Tierney as well as with relativelynew Congresswoman Tsongas. Our other meetings with staff included:Congressmen Lynch, Delehunt, Capuano and Markey. We also stopped

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Our Commonwealth - March News From Preservation Massachusetts

Preservation MassachusettsBoard of Directors

Claudia S. Wu -

Chair

Jack Hodgkins -

Vice Chair

Douglas Kelleher -

Clerk

Phil A. Madonia-

Treasurer

James G. Alexander, FAIAPamela BaileyDaniel R. BenoitThomas F. BirminghamJean Carroon, FAIAKara CicchettiStuart GregermanFrank T. KeefeTodd McCabeJames McDermottMichael H. RosenbergYanni TsipisRita WalshFran Weld

Staff

James W. Igoe

President

Erin D. A. Kelly

Assistant Director

Anulfo G. Baez

Office Manager

Elsa FitzgeraldSpecial Projects

Manager

Lorelle Carlson

Intern

Circuit Riders

In Parnership with the NationalTrust for Historic Preservation

Michele P. BarkerAnne DodgeDorr Fox

by and visited with an old college classmate of mine, Congressman PeterWelch, the only representative in Vermont and an avid preservationist.Because the President's Budget was not yet out, the Federal Tax Creditinitiatives were not as clearly delineated as in the past. We were able todiscuss our efforts in advocating for the MA State Historic Tax Creditand our economic overview of the credit that PM is currently in thestages of finalizing. One of the benefits of our State credit is that itleverages federal dollars by being able to "piggyback" with the Federalhistoric tax credit. In a FY08 annual report, the National Park Servicehas ranked Massachusetts number two in the nation for use of theFederal credit. With certified expenses of $324,940,381 over 58projects, we are just a mere $50,000 behind Missouri, with 134 projectsworth of expenses.From PM's position it was a great trip! It is so important to have thestrong relationship with our Congressional Delegation and the contactsnecessary to provide strong advocacy for important Federal preservationmatters.

A Day in the Life of a Circuit Rider: Dorr Fox

For the past ten months I have beentraveling around SoutheastMassachusetts helping people with theirhistoric preservation projects, manypertaining to possible demolition of historic structures. All of thesebuildings are special and certainly worthpreserving. One spectacular example isNorwood High School, a ColonialRevival gem designed in 1925 byWilliam P. Upham. As an architectbased in Norwood, Mr. Upham isresponsible for many of the town'sprominent buildings in addition to manycollegiate structures throughout NewEngland. Norwood High School was intended to be and remains one of the showcase buildings within the community.Unfortunately, in recent years there has been an organized effort bymunicipal officials to demolish Norwood High School and replace itwith a more contemporary school based upon the design of Whitman-Hanson High School. The new school would be located on the existing

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Our Commonwealth - March News From Preservation Massachusetts

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www.preservationmass.org

Who Are The Circuit Riders?

Interested about leaning moreabout our Circuit Riders? Findout which one is a publishedauthor, or is researching motelsalong Route 66 or which onegrew up in a neighborhooddesigned by Mies Van Der Roheby visiting oursite.

Did you know? PreservationMassachusetts is on...

sports fields and the old school will be destroyed to provide new fields.Is it necessary to demolish buildings in order to accommodate newtechnology? A new building could be obsolete in ten years, the sameway an historic school is considered to be obsolete now.The issue of demolishing historic schools is a common concern forpreservationists in many states. Some school districts often feelcompelled to have the most technologically advanced facilities in theirtown, and the architectural significance of their schools is not even aconcern. In Massachusetts there have been several threats to historicschools which in recent years led to the loss of Auburn High School. Inspite of preservation losses like Auburn High School, there have alsobeen success stories like Fairhaven, Brookline and East Boston HighSchools. These schools are representation of the ability to bridge newtechnologies with historic preservation efforts therefore depleting thevalidity of arguments against renovation and restorations initiatives.There are many reasons for preserving historic schools. The visiblelandscape without diversity and architectural beauty leaves much to bedesired. Historic schools such as Norwood High School provide citizenswith an irreplaceable sense of community pride and visual satisfaction.Environmentally, the "greenest" building is the one that the communitydoes not have to build. The demolition of schools and other historicstructures increases the amount of material that is placed into landfills.Economically, studies in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania havedemonstrated that it can be less costly to renovate existing schools thanbuild new ones. For students and educators alike a building whichpossesses vast architectural beauty further stimulates learningexperiences and creativity.The proposal to demolish Norwood High School is scheduled to comeup for discussion this month at Town Meeting. Following the meetingNorwood voters will have the opportunity to vote on the issue when itappears on the ballot in April. I hope that the voters of Norwood

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