[MassHistPres] William Ralph Emerson home endangered

[Ttorwig at aol.com]

Effort afoot to save  mansion

Developer may raze storied  building on Lincoln Street

By Bronislaus B. Kush  TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
_bkush at telegram.com_ (mailto:bkush at telegram.com) 
Tuesday, January 23,  2007           
 
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The mansion at 292 Lincoln St. (T&G Staff/ED COLLIER)
_Enlarge  photo_ 
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WORCESTER— The mansion at 292 Lincoln St. appears  to be another old house 
converted for office use. 

In fact, the rambling  structure, near the intersection of Burncoat and 
Lincoln streets, is just that,  and, for the past decade, it has served as home to 
the local branch of the  Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty 
to Children. 

But the  building, which sits across from the Hahnemann Hospital campus of 
UMass Memorial  Medical Center, has a few dark secrets dating back to the late 
19th century.     


It was built  in 1887 at the behest of Frederick Kimball, a teller who worked 
for the former  People’s Savings Bank. 

There’s not a lot in the history books about Mr.  Kimball — but there are 
some news accounts about his mysterious disappearance.  

Mr. Kimball owned show dogs and often made the circuit, showing off his  
prized canines. 

But in 1890, he disappeared after planning to attend a  show in Boston. 

Interestingly, Mr. Kimball dropped off the face of the  earth just about the 
time his employer discovered there was about $43,000  missing from bank 
coffers, a handsome sum at the time. 

Investigators  never determined what happened, but documents found in the 
house seemed to  indicate that Mr. Kimball was seeking passage aboard a steamship 
to Rotterdam or  Japan. 

After 1890, the house apparently was shared by Kimball’s wife,  Ella, and the 
family of his brother, George A. Kimball. 

If the house  still holds a clue or two about Mr. Kimball’s disappearance, 
local historians  have little time to find them. The new owner of the property, 
developer James  Charachone, is thinking about demolishing it to make way for 
new office space.  

The Worcester Historical Commission, at the behest of local  preservationists 
and neighborhood residents, recently voted to delay any  demolition for one 
year. 

Board members said they hoped Mr. Charachone  and preservationists could 
hammer out some agreement to salvage the house.  

Mr. Charachone, who built the office structure at Grove and West  Boylston 
streets across from the Shaw’s grocery store, said he’d like to  rehabilitate 
the house, but the cost is too high. He said his consultant  estimated it would 
cost about $800,000 to fix. 

“Estimates are usually  too low, and I believe it would cost closer to $1.5 
million. That building has  been badly neglected,” said Mr. Characone, who is 
also constructing an office  building across from the Greendale branch of the 
YMCA on Shore Drive.  

Deborah Packard, Preservation Worcester’s executive director, said the  
Lincoln Street building is a neighborhood landmark, but not so much for its  
association with Mr. Kimball. 

The building is apparently the last  structure in Central Massachusetts 
designed by architect William R. Emerson,  “the father” of the shingle-style 
mansion. 

“This is a very significant  historical building,” Ms. Packard said. 

The structure has a stone  foundation, a high gambrel roof, and eyebrow 
dormers. 

The house was  owned by the MSPCC and contains administrative, office and 
counseling space for  the agency. 

It was sold to Mr. Characone after the agency determined it  needed more 
space. The developer would like to put up new office space that  might be of 
interest to medical professionals who work at Hahnemann.  

Preservationists say the building is in good shape and won’t cost  anywhere 
near as much to fix as Mr. Characone claims. 

At a recent  meeting of the Historical Commission, advocates of the house 
said local  foundations donated about $425,000 to the MSPCC about 10 years ago to 
help the  nonprofit fix up the structure. 

The work included a new roof,  replacement of rotted windows and installation 
of a fire suppression system,  insulation and a bathroom accessible to the 
handicapped. 

Edith L.  Morgan, president of the Brittan Square Neighborhood Association, 
said a number  of historic homes in the area have fallen to the wrecking ball. 

“Enough  is enough,” she said, noting that this stretch of Lincoln Street is 
an important  gateway from the north into downtown. 

City Clerk David Rushford,  speaking at the meeting as a city resident and 
board member of Preservation  Worcester, said the city needs new office 
buildings, but not in residential  areas. 

“There is a need for office space, but there are other areas,  such as Gold 
Star Boulevard, that are better suited for these buildings,” he  said. 

Mr. Characone said he’s willing to work with advocates to try to  save the 
house, and meetings have been planned. He added that two architects  will also 
conduct “a walk-through” to make another estimate on how much it would  cost 
to fix the building.