[MassHistPres] historic homes plaques

Tue Mar 18 15:48:03 EDT 2008

I've long thought plaques are a terrific means of public education:  
eventually they'll suggest what got built when, that history happened  
and is happening on the spot in one's community and that the building  
is recognized as having a valued message to tell. For these reasons,  
it would be a wonderful learning opportunity in parsing the built  
environment if all public institutions were required to place plaques  
or engraved cornerstones on their facades. Of course that will never  
happen, so the more plaques on private houses and buildings the better.

Heli Meltsner

On Mar 18, 2008, at 3:28 PM, Tucker, Jonathan wrote:

> Plaque 'em.
>
> Jonathan Tucker
> Planning Director
> Town Hall, 4 Boltwood Ave.
> Amherst, MA  01002
> (413) 259-3040
> (413) 259-2410 [fax]
> tuckerj at amherstma.gov
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: James Hadley [mailto:jameswhadley at hotmail.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 2:57 PM
> To: Marcia Starkey; Tucker, Jonathan; Jonathan Feist;
> masshistpres at cs.umb.edu
> Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] historic homes plaques
>
> It's nice to be theoretical about this, and it's interesting, but here
> on
> Cape Cod the conflict between the cultural landscape and the
> recreational
> landscape has reached the point where any and all resources must be
> brought
> to bear to preserve the historic building stock. The Town of  
> Chatham has
>
> lost over 50 historic house in less than a decade.  We get the fallout
> from
> the Hamptons, second homers from Boston, Cambridge, Toronto (yes) and
> retirees from all over. Beaches, yacht clubs and golf courses are more
> important to many of these "settlers" than the sense of history  
> that can
>
> still be sensed in corners and stretches of our lands. We're  
> bailing in
> every way that is available, and plaques as well as National Register
> Historic Districts are ways of dealing with the problem.
> James Hadley, Chair, Orleans Historical Commission
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Marcia Starkey" <mdstarkey at crocker.com>
> To: "Tucker, Jonathan" <TuckerJ at amherstma.gov>; "Jonathan Feist"
> <jfeist at charter.net>; <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
> Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 10:19 AM
> Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] historic homes plaques
>
>
>> Hello Jonathan,
>> A thoughful message that raises in my mind the problems that are
> worsened
>> when public education neglects to include subjects such as history  
>> and
>> government for the broad spectrum of citizens. Some argue that the
>> economic
>> system is our major problem by overdeveloping the consumer culture.
>>
>> If we look at the mental landscape of non-historians/preservationists
> I
>> think we see a different view of change, with historic places well
>> integrated in the total scene.
>>
>> When we focus on the local community it can become a way to think
> through
>> choices and realities, and it can support community-building through
>> familiarity with places and their meaning over time. The teachers  
>> here
> are
>> the older residents. But all of this must find a place in busy lives
> and
>> more pressing needs of adults..not easy to do. I guess this is
> obvious.
>>
>> Marcia Starkey, Greenfield
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Tucker, Jonathan" <TuckerJ at amherstma.gov>
>> To: "Jonathan Feist" <jfeist at charter.net>; <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
>> Sent: Monday, March 17, 2008 11:32 AM
>> Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] historic homes plaques
>>
>>
>>> Alternatively, you could look at it as an opportunity to invest the
>>> owners of those houses with pride and knowledge they might otherwise
> not
>>> have had,  turning them into conscious custodians of that heritage.
>>> There's nothing wrong with bragging, if what you say is true.
> [Walter
>>> Brennan, in a cheap 70s western television series about a
> family--father
>>> and sons--of reluctant fast-draw artists, speaking modestly of their
>>> skill: "No brag, jest fact".]
>>>
>>> I agree with your concern, though.  There is a very conservative  
>>> (but
>>> very smart, otherwise) British writer, Roger Sluton, who rails
> against
>>> the creep of the forces of "heritage" across the rural landscape of
>>> Britain, when what government really should be doing (he asserts) is
>>> supporting the property owners and traditional, resource-based rural
>>> economic activities.  He believes that keeping historic places  
>>> alive,
>>> economically viable, and functioning as they always have will do a
>>> better job of preserving what is really important about such
> landscapes
>>> than facilitating their slow morph into preservation theme parks for
>>> those with the discretionary income to participate in cultural
> tourism.
>>>
>>> The problem with his analysis, which is very compelling  
>>> otherwise, is
>>> that rural folks are, rightly, highly pragmatic and focused on their
> own
>>> near-term needs.  That's why some of the worst losses of historical
>>> fabric we encounter are what generations of farmers (or millworkers
> or
>>> merchants, etc.) have done to their houses, barns and workplaces out
> of
>>> economic necessity.  There is an unavoidable and damning correlation
>>> between economic class distinctions and the preservation of  
>>> important
>>> historic fabric.  If we support preservation over other priorities,
> we
>>> need to understand that we are to an extent taking sides in the  
>>> class
>>> wars.
>>>
>>> Jonathan Tucker
>>> Planning Director
>>> Town Hall, 4 Boltwood Ave.
>>> Amherst, MA  01002
>>> (413) 259-3040
>>> (413) 259-2410 [fax]
>>> tuckerj at amherstma.gov
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu
>>> [mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Of Jonathan Feist
>>> Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2008 8:06 AM
>>> To: masshistpres at cs.umb.edu
>>> Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] historic homes plaques
>>>
>>> This is probably a good idea, and I'm probably just being a
>>> stick-in-the-mud
>>> about it, but I have mixed feelings, both as a HDC chair and the
> owner
>>> of
>>> the:
>>>
>>>    Harvard Shaker Meetinghouse
>>>    1791
>>>
>>> On one hand, it raises awareness of the town's historical
> significance.
>>>
>>> On the other hand, it's a little like having a painting and writing
>>> "cow,"
>>> "house," "tree," etc. with arrows pointing at the different  
>>> elements.
>>> And
>>> it's a little like bragging, too. Does it inspire burglaring?
>>>
>>> It's a step away from being a real place and towards being a living
>>> history
>>> museum, and that aspect of it doesn't sit well with me. I want  
>>> beauty
> to
>>> be
>>> normal, not just for special occasions.
>>>
>>> A solution that's been discussed here is to have a sign at one  
>>> end of
>>> the
>>> village with all structures labeled. That's a little better, I  
>>> guess.
>>>
>>> --Jonathan
>>>
>>>
>>> ===============================================
>>>
>>> Jonathan Feist, Chair
>>> Harvard Historical Commission
>>> 978-772-4864 (home)
>>> 617-747-2148 (Berklee office)
>>>
>>> Preserve Historical Harvard, MA:
>>> http://harvard.ma.us/histcomm.htm
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> on 3/6/08 2:36 PM, annsinclair14 at comcast.net at
>>> annsinclair14 at comcast.net
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> The Orleans Historical Society is looking into establishing a
> program
>>> for
>>>> plaques for historic homes.  We would appreciate information from
>>> historical
>>>> societies having such programs.  We would like to know what your
>>>> guidelines/ctireria are.  Is there an application?  If so what does
> it
>>>> contain?  What do you charge?  How do you handle replacement of
>>> plaques when
>>>> they "wear out"?  What does the plaque look like.
>>>> I would appreciate any information you can give me either by email
> or
>>> phone.
>>>> Ann Sinclair
>>>> Orleans Historical Society
>>>> annsinclair at comcast .net
>>>> 508-255-5371
>>>> ******************************
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