[MassHistPres] Quonset Razed AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH

[spbrauner at comcast.net]

Chris - 



I believe your reply does not address the issue fully of advocacy.  I say this from the perspective, as I would guess is true of a large number of people on the list are as well, as having served on historic commissions, planning boards, and zoning boards of appeal and have great respect for the process. 



There is, however, an appreciable difference between the passivity of planning, and the reality of the unexpected in the field.  I want to thank you again for the advocacy you demonstrated a couple of years ago regarding a property in Harwich.   Generally, however, I have found advocacy vis a vis demolition lacking in the Massachusetts preservation community.  In my experience that  has been true of both the the public sector who is legally mandated to address demolition, as well as the non-profit advocacy groups who are presumably mission driven and have Big Name board members.  



Our own inconvenient truth in the preservation community, in my opinion,  is that those presumably in the best position to assist the "boots on the ground" on what is surely one of our most important concerns, i.e., demolitions of significant properties, are often AWOL.  



      - First, it has been my experience that it is exceedingly difficult to get telephone calls or e-mails returned to even request professional input.  The public officials one assumes are mandated not to blow off the public.  On the private side one would hope that a certain amount of professional courtesy would be demonstrated. 



     - When one is finally able to communicate with the people in a position to attempt to stop demolition  in both the public sector and private it clearly becomes a case if your property concern  is perceived as having any high public relations or expedient  political benefit.  



     - I know it blows a staff worker's schedule completely out of whack to have to stop and address a crisis which could not be avoided, but a demolition threat trumps a plan in importance every time.  



      - It is not always about lengthy lead times, planning or  legal maneuvers.  Sometimes the most effective thing that could happen before the humm of the bulldozer starts up is a few well placed phone calls from preservation leaders in both the public and private sectors. There is marked resistance to do so, in my experience.  





Susan Parker Brauner 

Boston 

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Chris Skelly" <Skelly-MHC at comcast.net> 
To: masshistpres at cs.umb.edu 
Sent: Friday, February 12, 2010 3:22:56 AM GMT -12:00 Dateline 
Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] Quonset Razed 




This was certainly a very unfortunate loss.  While there may be some that felt a modest mid 20 th Century resource was disposable, there are many of us in the preservation field that were deeply concerned about losing this building and what options existed to preserve it.  



Unfortunately, historic preservation when the bulldozer’s engine is humming simply doesn’t work.  In my job at MHC, these are the phone calls I dread the most.  Last minute, reactionary, historic preservation efforts are rarely successful.  Successful historic preservation requires planning and planning takes time.  



This demolition speaks to the limited options when an MHC inventory form is not available, when a national register eligibility opinion cannot be provided due to lack of information, when a demolition delay bylaw isn’t in place, when no prior public education has been done, when local officials have no interest as well as others.  Go down the list of all the options and, short of a miracle, you would need time for all of them.  



While it is too late for this resource, there are many lessons to be learned here.  Chris 


Christopher C. Skelly 
Director of Local Government Programs 
Massachusetts Historical Commission 
  

-----Original Message----- 
From: masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu [mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Of cvwtc at aol.com 
Sent: Friday, February 12, 2010 12:08 AM 
To: masshistpres at cs.umb.edu 
Subject: [MassHistPres] Quonset Razed 




Despite the best efforts of Richard Symmes and Matt Pujo, the veteran village Quonset hut was demolished on the morning of Feb. 11, 2010.  Many individuals, preservation groups and foundations, politicians, corporations and veterans groups were contacted but few of them even bothered to respond to their pleas for help.  Delta Electronic of Beverly was the only corporation to offer some money.  Wendy Price of Historic New England was the only person from an historic organization who kept in contact with the preservationists and actively participated in the effort to save the hut.  Local historical societies and commissions showed no interest in even documenting this rare structure. 

When a building that was designed to be moved (and was likely the last intact example of a civilian hut) cannot be saved, then something is wrong with preservation in New England.  The Circuit Rider program did not live up to its glowing description.  Several preservationists who seemed concerned about this building's fate failed to even return phone calls despite the dire nature of this situation.  Corporate sponsors of preservation groups did not respond in a favorable manner when asked for assistance. 

Many in the historic community felt a building this modern and "unattractive" was not worth saving but it's this stuffy attitude on what is historic and what isn't that will be the death of the preservation movement.  Sadly, not even the well-preserved metal shell of the building could be salvaged to maintain the collection of preserved military Quonset huts at the Seabee Museum. 



Ignorance, apathy and greed won.  When confronted about the demolition of the civilian Quonset hut, one Hamilton elected official wrote in an e-mail, "I do not feel any guilt or shame for doing nothing...If you were interested in saving this building, you should have bought it." 

Thank you to all those who did understand why this building was historically valuable.  Maybe some lessons can be learned from this loss. 
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