[MassHistPres] Interior Preservation

[Aaron Marcavitch]

All,

Our historical commission (one of the newer ones in Mass) has made a formal motion that they would
like to focus on the preservation of historic interiors.  I understand that many towns don't even
have the luxury of focusing on this particular issue, but I was wondering if anyone has had to
deal with the gut rehabs of buildings.  We have two major houses downtown that are basically
non-existant as historic structures (and a third building - our theater - well on its way) because
of the interior gutting.  Does anyone know of specific bylaws for interior preservation?  Perhaps
something that our HDC can regulate?  I know Boston has some regulation over interiors, but I
haven't seen the language.

We will probably be pursuing the Mitchell Fund for Interiors grant in February to work on methods
for preservation - such as legal avenues, tax breaks, or other methods.  We will probably apply to
the Community Preservation Committee as well, but they haven't been terribly open to "paper
projects."

Any help, advice, or common concerns would be great to hear about.

Aaron
Nantucket Historical Commisison

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