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A
Most Endangered Historic Resource
Current Status: NEWLY SAVED!
This small gambrel
roofed home is located in the City’s smallest National Register
District which consists of only eight structures which date from the
early 18th to the early 19th century, a rare example of the 18th century
residential character of the City.
For over a dozen years, the previous owners, Holyoke Insurance Company,
sought to demolish the building to provide additional parking for their
offices. A long protracted legal battle ensued, as the Salem Redevelopment
Authority denied the request, with support from the Salem Historical
Commission and Historic Salem, Inc. While the building was not demolished,
it sat empty and deteriorating for years.
In the late 1990s, a concerted campaign by a determined neighborhood
association revived efforts to save the house. Historic Salem, Inc.,
supporting their efforts, listed the Wendt House on our Most Endangered
list in 2000, and subsequently nominated the house to PreservationMass’s
Most Endangered List.
The City’s legal counsel spearheaded an innovated solution which
resulted in the transfer of the house by Holyoke to the Salem Redevelopment
Authority in exchange for access to parking spaces elsewhere. By July
of 2004, Habitat for Humanity was selected to renovate the house in
a historically appropriate manner. A local family has been selected
to have an opportunity for affordable home ownership in a lovely historic
home.
As of May 2006, the exterior of the house is complete with the building
slated to be ready for occupancy in the summer of 2006. The house, with
its wooden clapboards and fresh coat of paint, now stands as a proud
contributing member of Salem’s smallest historic district.
Photos:
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