[MassHistPres] Fiberglass church steeples

[jade]

if one is on a town board and unfamiliar with preservation issues, i can understand giving this topic consideration...if you are on the town historic commission, i believe you are doing a disservice to the town and to the building to give it a moment's consideration...this is an issue of convenience for cell phone companies to make more income while negatively affecting historic structures...

as homeowners and building caretakers, we are bombarded with  massive industries marketing inferior products for a quick fix and a quick buck....as today's stewards of historic structures, we owe it to future generations to maintain the original intent of the builder and the architectural integrity through repair not wholesale replacement for convenience sake...

please consider the precedent you will be setting...

respectfully....

jade mortimer
heartwood window restoration
hawley, ma  01339
413-339-4298

----- Original Message ----- 
  From: james howard 
  To: Dcolebslade at aol.com ; masshistpres at cs.umb.edu 
  Sent: Saturday, December 05, 2009 11:25 AM
  Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] Fiberglass church steeples


  Betty, Here in Wenham in the First Congregational Church they have installed a cell antenna in the bell tower portion of the church.  On the sides the bell tower there were black wooden louvers.  These were replaced with black fiberglass louvers that look from the street exactly like the wooden ones.  The Wenham Historic District Commission asked for and received samples of the fiberglass louvers before approving them. 

  The same church is negoiciating with another cell phone company to put another cell antenna in the conical portion of the steeple above the bell tower.  They propose to replace the entire conical top portion of the steeple with a fiberglass replica.  The Historic District Commission has not yet received a formal application for this fiberglass replica but we have been talking with them and they have sent us samples of the fiberglass.  We have looked at some steeples that are fiberglass and we cannot tell the difference.  I expect a formal application after the first of the year.

  Jim Howard 
  Chair 
  Wenham Historic District Commission  
    ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: Dcolebslade at aol.com 
    To: masshistpres at cs.umb.edu 
    Sent: Saturday, December 05, 2009 10:34 AM
    Subject: [MassHistPres] Fiberglass church steeples


    Has any commission approved the replacement of or addition to a church steeple using fiberglass?  If so, could I have some details please.

    Thank you

    Betty Slade
    Westport


----------------------------------------------------------------------------


    ******************************
    For administrative questions regarding this list, please contact Christopher.Skelly at state.ma.us directly.  PLEASE DO NOT "REPLY" TO THE WHOLE LIST.
    MassHistPres mailing list
    MassHistPres at cs.umb.edu
    http://mailman.cs.umb.edu/mailman/listinfo/masshistpres
    ********************************



------------------------------------------------------------------------------


  ******************************
  For administrative questions regarding this list, please contact Christopher.Skelly at state.ma.us directly.  PLEASE DO NOT "REPLY" TO THE WHOLE LIST.
  MassHistPres mailing list
  MassHistPres at cs.umb.edu
  http://mailman.cs.umb.edu/mailman/listinfo/masshistpres
  ********************************
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.cs.umb.edu/mailman/private/masshistpres/attachments/20091205/4320341b/attachment-0001.htm>