[MassHistPres] Thematic, multi-site Olmsted-Richardson LHD

[sally milne]

Dennis,
     Congratulations unbelievable amount of work and dedication must have
gone into this.
Thank you for sharing
Sally urbano
Harwich, ma


On Fri, Jun 24, 2022 at 8:15 AM Dennis De Witt <abtdewitt at rcn.com> wrote:

> The state’s Attorney General has recently approved Brookline’s new
> thematic, multi-site Olmsted-Richardson Local Historic District.  Here is a
> link to the LHD’s study report.  *https://www.brooklinema.gov/DocumentCenter/View/25464/Olmsted-HHR-SR-81421?bidId=
> <https://www.brooklinema.gov/DocumentCenter/View/25464/Olmsted-HHR-SR-81421?bidId=>*
>
> As you may know, in December 2020 a developer applied to demolish both the
> ca. 1805 Perkins-Hooper-Richardson House, which was the  Brookline home and
> office of Henry Hobson Richardson for almost the entirety of his relatively
> brief career, and an adjacent house called Cliffside, the second home of
> John Charles Olmsted, son and partner of Fredrick Law Olmsted.  At the very
> end of 2020 the Brookline Preservation Commission imposed an 18 Month
> Demolition Delay (18 months rather than Brookline’s typical 12 because both
> houses are on the National Register in an NRD).
>
> (As it happened, at that time there was some increasing anti-LHD feeling
> in town relating to concerns about affordable housing, racial equity, and
> Green issues.  As a result, in the spring of 2021 a proposed extension of
> an existing LHD lost — admittedly by only one vote — despite zero
> opposition within the proposed extension.  In that case even the developer
> whose proposal had triggered that proposed LHD extension was on record as
> favoring the extension.  Needless to say, it was a cause for serious
> concern.)
>
> In the case of the Perkins-Hooper-Richardson House and Cliffside, there
> were several issues of concern if an LHD, offering permanent protection,
> was to be brought to town meeting.
> — First, the developer was also proposing to demolish a nice 1970’s deck
> house situated on a lot that had once been part of the
> Perkins-Hooper-Richardson house lot — and it included part of the site of
> Richardson’s long demolished “coops” office wing.  It seemed likely that
> inclusion of the 1970s house would confuse the conversation in Town Meeting
> about the other two, far more important houses and the “thematic” nature of
> the LHD.
> — It also happened that the Perkins family had been involved in the slave
> economy of Haiti before its revolution and Richardson’s family had a sugar
> planation in Louisiana.  Eventually in Town Meeting there would be
> discussion about that.
> — Lastly, Brookline town meeting normally expects ±80% owner buy-in in the
> creation of an LHD.  Here were three houses owned by an opposed developer
> and there was no realistic possibility that the immediate abutting
> up-market estate-area neighbors would join in an LHD.
>
> A certain amount of luck, a willingness to negotiate, and a number of
> strategic decisions in formulating the LHD proposal eventually lead to
> creation of the LHD.
> Particularly, it was decided to propose a thematic multi-site LHD —
> something that existed in the context of NRDs and has developed on an ad
> hoc basis in a few pre-existing LHDs but, it seemed, may never have been
> the explicit initial concept of an LHD. The professional and “home with
> office” practice-style links between Olmsted and Richardson made the hybrid
> theme logical.  It was also possible to identify enough property
> controlling interests that supported inclusion in the LHD of specific other
> sites.
>
> In addition to the Perkins-Hooper-Richardson House and Cliffside, the
> Olmsted-Richardson LHD has three other sites
> — Fairsted, the National Park Service’s Olmsted Historic Site at 99 Warren
> St.
> — The first home of John Charles Olmsted and his wife at 12 Warren St.
> — Richardson’s grave in Brookline’s Walnut Hill Cemetery.
> (The Commission did reluctantly exclude the beautifully sited 1970’s deck
> house because it did not fit the LHDs theme.)
>
> Since the successful vote for the Olmsted-Richardson LHD at the Fall 2021
> town meeting, the Preservation Commission has been negotiating design
> review with the developer as mitigation under demolition delay until the
> LHD could come into effect.  Because of the exclusion of the 1970s house,
> it was decided reluctantly to allow the repositioning of the
> Perkins-Hooper-Richardson house onto the larger Cliffside lot to give it a
> better and more visible setting.
>
> Three issues remain . . .
>
> First, there was an understanding at the time of the town meeting vote
> that signage relating to the slavery issue would be placed in the context
> of the Perkins-Hooper-Richardson House.  Given the realities of the site
> and a need to cover all issues fully and fairly, a formulation of this
> seems to be evolving in consultation with proponents, involving some sort
> of signage for each site with QR code links to a web site
>
> Second, the developer has agreed to the recording of permanent landscaping
> viewshed easements to allow both the Perkins-Hooper-Richardson House and
> Cliffside to be seen from Warren Street
>
> Last but certainly not least, the only interior space in the
> Perkins-Hooper-Richardson house designed by Richardson was his remarkable
> Studio-Bedroom.  It, of course, was not protected by the LHD.  Negotiations
> are underway for it to be removed and reconstructed in the context of a
> specific Richardson designed building elsewhere.
>
> Dennis De Witt
> Brookline
>
>
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