PRESERVATION

Vol. 19, NO. 3

PreservatiON MASS

SUMMER 2004

PreservationPeople

MASS

INTHISISSUE

A TrueStatewideCollaborative

See story on pg. 5

And All That Jazz! Awards Dinner Wrap Up..............4

PreservatiON MASS Kicks off RAC..5

From Whence We’ve Come-Part Two........................................6

Tell Us!PreservatiONMASS Survey..........9

Mark Your Calendar........Back Cover

PreservatiON MASS’ Regional Advisory Council hit the ground running on June 10th, working to bring preservation expertise to all corners of the Commonwealth.

(Photos: Erin Kelly)

Preservation & People,

Summer 2004

From the President,

Could the Republicans have it right? In claiming that smaller government andmore local emphasis is better – so too, historic preservation should look to ener-gize citizens and municipal representatives. Local communities, both cities andsmaller towns must become better educated and more self-reliant if they want realsuccess when it comes to historic preservation challenges.Gone seem to be the days of large state agency technical support teams. Staffsare smaller and grants that once were millions are now far less with no guaran-tees that funds won’t diminish further. Clearly, the panacea for local communitiesis to take control of their own preservation future by building better local preser-vation organizations.PreservatiON MASS’ long term goals and focus has been a stronger collectivevoice in the Preservation Coalition and success like the Real Estate Investment Act. One priority has been a stronger preservation network via our new Regional Advisory Council and commitment to work more locally with communities sothat they are better equipped and better understand their roles in the arena of landscapes and historic preservation.Currently only a handful of cities have local preservation organizations. Manyof those have little funding and few, if any, staff. That must improve; cities likeWorcester and Springfield must have strong organizations working closely withtheir respective city governments and community leaders if they are to succeed.Cities like Holyoke and Lawrence, with major day to day preservation challenges,rely on whatever outside support they can find. They look to their local com-munities which often have commissions in disarray and not well equipped to pro-vide necessary support for strong preservation advocacy.PreservatiON MASS, with the assistance of MHC, is focusing on developingan advanced program of our Preservation 101, called Preservation 201. This pro-gram will focus on assisting communities to complete survey forms that will be inaccordance to MHC methodology. Meanwhile PreservatiON MASS is travelingto cities like Salem, Pittsfield and Holyoke, meeting with mayors and other localgovernment officials in an effort to assist and provide whatever resources to savehistoric properties, preserve cultural landscapes and bring economic vitality totheir communities.In an August 9, 2004 article from the Springfield Republican, Holyoke MayorMichael Sullivan states, “Support from PreservatiON MASS will help when thecity looks for businesses interested in investing in some of the city’s old build-ings”. Our vision is grand scale and the road will be long and winding. YetPreservatiON MASS is looking to reach out and take investment in preservationacross the Commonwealth. With the help and dedicated support from our mem-bers and constituencies, PreservatiON MASS can make this investment work forthe benefit of all. Jim IgoePresident, PreservatiON MASS

Preservati

ON MASS

BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2004

Officers

Maurice F. Childs, FAIA,

Chair

James G. Alexander, FAIA

Vice Chair

James W. Igoe

, President

Robert F. Dudley,

Treasurer

Claudia Sauermann Wu,

ClerkBoard of Directors

Robert BernsteinThomas F. BirminghamKathleen Leahy Born, AIACarol BratleyNancy BrickleyJean Carroon, AIAAnthony ConsigliMerrill H. DiamondAllen F. JohnsonBeverley JohnsonDouglas Kelleher Samuel B. Knight, Jr.Robert H. Kuehn, Jr.Richard LundgrenSean McDonnellPaul J. McGinley, AICPLouis Miller Marion Pressley, FASLAClarissa RowePeter Welsh

Staff

James W. Igoe,

President

Elsa Fitzgerald,

Special Projects Manager

Mary Lee Storrs,

Chief DevelopmentOfficer

Erin D A Kelly,

Office Manager/Preservation Advocate

PreservatiON MASS gratefully acknowledgesthe following Corporate Members

BENEFACTORS

Architectural Heritage FoundationChilds.Bertman.Tseckares.Inc.Consigli Construction Co., Inc.NER Construction Management, Inc.Suffolk Construction Company, Inc.Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc.Cassin Winn DevelopmentBoston Red Sox

PATRONS

Laurie GuptillGoody Clancy & AssociatesPrintCentreSimpson, Gumpertz & Heger, Inc.

CONTRIBUTORS

Colantonio Inc.Palmer & Dodge, LLPFinegold Alexander + AssociatesStanley Roofing Co., Inc.Bratley AssociatesColumbia Construction CompanyShawmut Design & ConstructionArrowstreet, Inc.Einhorn Yaffee Prescott, PC

Summer 2004-

The hottest topic onthe Summer Block is still the BostonArchdiocese.

As the late May deadlinefor the final closing list loomed, theCoalition prepared itself to field theinquiries and calls for help that wouldsurely resound when the lists becamepublic. The Coalition also met withKathleen Heck and David O’Brien, whowere assisting the Archdiocese in facili-tating the closings. This meeting cov-ered topics from specifics on stainedglass, the closing timeline, to the re-saleprocess of the closed properties.Through the entire process, the Coali-tion has maintained a good workingrelationship with the Archdiocese, inorder to better understand the CanonicalProcedure of restructuring parishes andto pass this knowledge in assistance tothe affected parishes. The Coalitionsbest assistance came in the form of a 600+ page Religious Properties Toolkit.The toolkit, created through the work of the Coalition, including the NationalTrust for Historic Preservation, BostonPreservation Alliance, Boston LandmarksCommission, Historic Boston Inc., Low-ell Historic Board and PreservatiONMASS, was designed to help give parish-es a basic knowledge of preservation,tools, agencies, professionals, successfuladaptive reuse case studies, etc. Thetoolkit can be used by parishes closing,remaining open, or any other religiousdenomination that faces preservationissues surrounding their property. Sincethe completion of the toolkit, copieshave been requested by several parishesand individuals. The Coalition has alsobeen fielding inquiries and requests forthe toolkit from across the country, fromPreservation North Dakota to Kalama-zoo, Michigan! Clearly the issue of reli-gious property restructuring is notspecific to Boston or Massachusettsalone. The Preservation Coalition hopesthat the toolkit will be of assistance topreservationists, organizations and indi-viduals across the country. Copies of theReligious Properties Toolkit are availablefrom PreservatiON MASS, NTHPRegional Office, HBI, BPA. Cost is $35for printing and shipping.

Mark Your Calendars…

For November 15th!

PreservatiON MASS will be hosting a cocktailreception from 5:30-8 PM at the Boston OperaHouse to announce the 10 Most EndangeredHistoric Resources of Massachusetts! Proceedsfrom the event will support the continued leader-ship of PreservatiON MASS as the only statewidenon-profit advocacy organization dedicated topreserving the historic resources of the Common-wealth.For Sponsorship and ticket information, pleasevisit our website, www.preservationmass.org!

PRESERVATION COALITION

NEWS BRIEFS

Erin Kelly

Summer 2004

, Preservation & People

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