[MassHistPres] Boston Globe editorial
cvwtc at aol.com
cvwtc at aol.com
Wed Oct 22 17:19:54 EDT 2014
The Salem News had the same take on this several months ago but that paper seems heavily biased against preservation anyway. I have noted times when Salem News and Globe reporters have completely ignored the preservation angle to a story all together and called for equal time were ignored.
I note the editorial says the National Register offers certain protection but in this case that is simply not true since state and federal funds are not involved.
They are also wrong about the requirement that the board be seven members. It does not have to be. Seven represents the largest number of members allowed on the commission.
Matt Pujo
Beverly, MA
-----Original Message-----
From: Sara Wermiel <swermiel at verizon.net>
To: masshistpres <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
Sent: Wed, Oct 22, 2014 1:49 pm
Subject: [MassHistPres] Boston Globe editorial
I’d like to call the attention of listserv members to an editorial in the Boston Globe last week, “History deserves respect, but overzealousness has a price.”
http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2014/10/13/beverly-loring-house-history-deserves-respect-but-overzealousness-has-price/zXl3z3U0vOZGuuAxQ0eYeI/story.html
The editorial deals with the sad case of the Loring House in Beverly, a National Register-eligible property that will be demolished.
The editorial suggests that the Beverly Historic District Commission was stuck on trivial matters, such as not destroying the house’s façade, and this drove the owner to a drastic act.
Yes, zealotry is wrong, but was the BHDC unreasonable? Did it act improperly? We don’t know, and the Globe doesn’t know, because the Globe never did any real reporting. Yet it produces an indicting editorial, essentially warning all historical commissions against doing their jobs.
I wrote a letter to the editor, which I’ll be glad to share with members if you want to read it. If this editorial bugs you too, I urge you to let the Globe know.
--Sara Wermiel
History of technology/historic preservation consulting
Jamaica Plain, MA
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