[MassHistPres] Update UMass Historic Buildings

[Joseph S. Larson]

Preserve UMass
Preserve UMass
 

 

UMass Historic Buildings Update, June 14, 2008
 

We have recently learned that the University has selected David Fixler of Einhorn Yaffee Prescott to conduct the assessment of the historic and architectural features of the buildings on the UMass Amherst campus. Mr. Fixler and his firm have an excellent reputation in the field of historic preservation and modern architecture and were among several recommended to the University by Preserve UMass. This selection is very good news. Achieving a professional assessment of the campus buildings has been the primary goal of Preserve UMass ever since the University published the 2007 list of buildings to be demolished, but without using professional expertise to identify those of historic and architectural significance.

 

However, the UMass Building Authority (UMBA) and UMass have both refused to sign a Memorandum of Agreement that was drafted by the Massachusetts Historical Commission and agreed to by Preserve UMass and the town of Amherst's Historical Commission. This refusal raises questions about whether UMBA and the University will actually use the assessment to identify, preserve, and reuse the most significant buildings on the campus:

 

UMBA and UMass have told the Massachusetts Historical Commission that they do not want the Memorandum of Agreement to state that the professional assessment will identify which buildings are eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Nor do they want to agree that the assessment should lead to preservation and reuse of the most important structures.

 

Further, UMBA wants to remove any language in the Agreement that suggests that UMBA is a state agency and that their demolition of the stucco barn was a "state action". This appears to be an attempt to exempt UMBA from certain state laws that UMBA has ignored in their projects involving historic buildings on the University's Amherst, Boston, and Lowell campuses.

 

UMBA, which appears to have no expertise on significant architecture or historic structures, also objects to the professional finding of the staff of the Massachusetts Historical Commission that the stucco barn and the remaining Grinnell Arena, Blaisdell House, and the Victorian Horse Barn comprise a historically significant complex. UMBA and the University both object to the Commission's request that they document the surviving buildings in the complex through using photography and floor plan drawings.

 

We will keep you advised as these matters progress.

 

Joseph S. Larson, Corresponding Secretary, 27 Arnold Road, Pelham, MA 413-256-8256