[MassHistPres] Inconvenient Truth

[cvwtc at aol.com]

 H. LaCortiglia makes some good points but it glosses over some of the inconvenient truth.

In Beverly, the usual historians and city planners got together years ago to complete a reconnaissance survey.  They missed a fewvery important buildings because their area of their expertise wasColonial and maritime history.  In 2007, the MBTA and Windover Development proposed the destruction oftwo former railway hotels next to Beverly Depot to make way for a garage and condocomplex.  

A few local transportation historians tried to raise the alarm about the historic value of these buildingsbut no one would listen.  We were dismissed by politicians, thedeveloper and the MBTA as kooks who were standing in the way ofprogress.

The MHC recommends contacting your town's historical commission forpreservation planning and emergencies.  Our commission's chairman refused to even talk to us.  I had to have Preservation Mass'Elsa Fitzgerald contact him for me and the response she got back wasbasically:  The garage plan is a done deal.  The situation is toopolitical.  If there was anything political, it was the commission itself.  Thechairperson was appointed by our Mayor, a politician who wants to solvethe city's budget short falls with new growth.

Our city's master plan had called for the creation ofnew historic districts and the exploration of new historic themes butthat section was ignored when it became inconvenient.

We decided to act as private citizens and fight for the preservation of these twobuildings anyway.  To the surprise of the garage proponents, theMHC confirmed that indeed the buildings did meet two criteria for theNational Register.  What did Beverly's historical commission do next? Nothing.

Our Mayor wanted to go forward with demolition of the two buildings an he was empowered by comments from an MHC spokesperson in the Salem News who basically said if the MBTA documented the building, they could tear it down.  Since the MBTA had a 2011 deadline tocomplete the garage, they looked for another location.  We approached Beverly'shistoric commission again but they continued to ignore us.

Planning does work but not if local historians are close-minded, meekor easily influenced by politicians and developers!  Ask John Archerand Richard Trask why only one 1/3 of the Kirkbride Building at DanversState Hospital was saved while all the others were demolished.  Why didtown officials in Essex think the very last Eastern Railroad wood-frameEngine House was just an old barn?  Despite documentation by localauthor Dana Story, the unique structure was flattened in minutes toextend a parking lot a few more spaces.  It shouldn't be the job of"renegade historians" to be the lone voice in the wilderness.

Matt Pujo
former Quonset hut preservationist

 




 
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