[MassHistPres] Converting historic buildings into "study houses", living history education offerings

[Diane Gilbert]

Greetings to Everyone:

My outreach to forum participants is to find out which if any historic
properties have been preserved in such a condition as to show the various
layers of paint and wallpaper, the lath and plaster in various stages of
deterioration, the beams and joists, the chimney and foundation, the intact
cellar, including the repairs made by the owners during a building¹s long
life.  Preservation and restoration done in such a way with the installation
of only necessary and obvious modern tools and technologies such electricity
for an alarm system, appropriate lighting, steel posts to secure the
building alongside the original post and beam materials ravaged by time,
serving as didactic displays to tell the story of the building but no longer
serving their utilitarian purpose because no longer strong enough to support
parts of the house, etc.
 
All along, our vision for the 1762 Elihu Akin House in Dartmouth, MA, this
year marking its 250th anniversary, has been to adopt the preservation
philosophy outlined above for the building itself. Saving the Akin House has
been a work in progress for a decade and fortunately this project has been
the recipient of CPA funds.

Preservation and stabilization with minimum restoration seem to be the best
way to treat this historic building.

Our organization, the Dartmouth Heritage Preservation Trust, Inc. [DHPT] has
proposed the future use of the property as follows:

PROPOSED FUTURE USE

            DHPT intends to complete the interior restoration of the Akin
House so as to restore its important historic architectural features, but
also to leave open for examination portions of the structural improvements
so that they can be examined for educational purposes, as an example of
eighteenth century architecture and construction technique.  We foresee it
being used for that purpose in conjunction with the Dartmouth public
schools, to be incorporated in their curriculum, as well as by appointment
with schools in other communities and other groups interested in historic
research.  We believe it should be open to the public for the same purposes
on a limited basis.  We believe that the structure should also be restored
so that it is available for other public functions, which may include
temporary exhibitions of historic and artistic pieces, meeting space for
small groups, and seasonal use as a visitor¹s center.

            All these functions require parking areas, handicap access, and
restroom facilities.  Because the space within the Akin House is limited, we
believe that we should consider the possibility of a second structure on the
premises to have bathroom facilities, and examine whether such a structure
would more efficiently and economically accommodate the meeting space
function.

Most of you are probably familiar with the preservation work on the
Strawbery Banke Museum and historic buildings in Portsmouth, NH.  By
preservation, I refer to their Website for the definition below:

Preservation in the strict sense is simply the maintenance of an early
structure as it has survived to the present moment. Because almost all old
buildings have been altered over the years, preservation includes the
retention of alterations which portray the evolution of a building
throughout its history. Preservation does not involve further change to a
building except for routine maintenance. Examples of preservation at
Strawbery Banke include the retention of the 1807 dining room in the 1762
Chase House, the mid-nineteenth century Greek Revival elements in the 1811
Governor Goodwin Mansion, and the twentieth century bay window on the early
eighteenth century Marden House.

I recently visited the Tenement Museum located in the Lower East Side of
Manhattan and noted that some of the apartments have been preserved to show
cracking paint and layers of wallpaper, boarded fireplaces, original
flooring, tin ceilings and wall coverings, and many other features which
have deteriorated over time but essentially capture the building when it was
vacated in the mid-1930s.  Other apartments have been restored as part of
their programming to educate visitors on how immigrants lived in their
three-room apartments without running water, plumbing, adequate lighting and
ventilation.  The Tenement  Museum also inspired me, reinforcing our plans
to use the Akin House as a study house and for educational programs, using
the house as an authentic classroom for living history, 250 years of
culture, applying the disciplines of anthropology and archaeology, with
connections to the socio-economic challenges of various periods in our
history.  

The Tenement Museum also prompted me to wonder how they can display rooms in
a state of decay at a certain point in time without risking the further
deterioration of the elements such as falling paint chips and preventing
plaster from detaching from the walls.  I was unable to get any details
about the hows of the actual preservation work itself so I am pursuing those
answers, such as, leaving the  lead paint on display in various stages of
deterioration without any danger to the air quality for the docents and the
visitors. 

Another example of a ³study house² is found at the Sinclair Inn in Annapolis
Royal, Nova Scotia.  You can search these museums online to find their
Websites and more information.

All of the wordy details above to ask if there are such uses of historic
buildings in Massachusetts.  The laws governing historic buildings and their
uses vary state by state and country by country.

Any leads, thoughts, suggestions, advice much appreciated. Let me know if
you¹d like to get more information about the Akin House.  I will send to you
individually through your email address since attachments are prohibited
here.

Thanks!

Diane

Diane Gilbert, President
Dartmouth Heritage Preservation Trust, Inc.
P.O. Box 87026
Dartmouth, MA  02748
508-965-7265

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