The owners of the historic Harris-Webb House at 265-267 Lafayette Street began restoring it in 2017. After they repainted the wooden clapboards, incised corner pilasters, paired curvilinear cornice brackets with pendants, open pediment dormers, and thin segmental-arch window caps, they began work on the front entrance porch, which was in serious disrepair. The owners took the opportunity to restore the historic appearance of the porch – what Bryant Tolles called “pleasantly light and understated.” New mahogany turned balusters were created to match others found on Lafayette Street. New handrails and column bases were also installed. Typically the Historical Commission does not nominate a restoration project until all work has been completed, however, in this instance, the commission recommended honoring the property owners’ efforts to date as a means to address conflicts between historic building designs and modern building codes. After the owners of 265-267 Lafayette Street installed the new porch railings, they were notified that the railings did not comply with current code requirements for railing height, even though they matched the original porch design. The Massachusetts State Building Code allows exemptions for museum buildings only; there are no exemptions for buildings listed in the National Register or designated within a local historic district. The Historical Commission will be assisting the owner in seeking an appeal of the building code requirements to allow the retention of the historically appropriate railings.
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Homeowners Tim Obert & Matt Obey facilitated a complete rehabilitation of the exterior of 170 Federal Street. A few highlights include the restoration of all original wooden sash windows, the complete restoration and extension of the original wrought iron fence, and the installation of a brick sidewalk and driveway. In addition, the original stained glass entrance doors were restored, reconstructed, and re-leaded, and arched second-floor windows previously hidden behind rectangular storm windows were exposed. The granite entrance steps and the original carriage step were reset and the garage restored, with new swing-out wooden doors fabricated and installed. Deteriorated soffit woodwork was also restored around the entire roofline. Many people were responsible for 170 Federal’s transformation, most notably McLaughlin Masonry, DeAngelis Iron Work, and carpenter John Obey. Congress Street Residences is a significant neighborhood revitalization initiative in the Point neighborhood by the North Shore Community Development Coalition. Through the restoration and preservation of eight distressed historic buildings in the neighborhood, the North Shore CDC created 64 quality affordable homes and a community center. The organization acquired the buildings in December 2014, began the project in Spring 2016, and completed the restorations in November 2017. The rehab of the buildings included roof, mechanical systems, and window replacement, extensive masonry repairs, all new kitchens and baths, and unit reconfiguration in most buildings. Once overlooked, North Shore CDC has transformed these decrepit buildings into affordable housing that people want to call home. Before, these 66 units rehabbed– apartment layouts were not suitable for modern living and there was a lack of overall care for the buildings. Today, 64 modern, affordable homes have been restored to incorporate the historic charm of the buildings like built-in cabinets and decorative trim. North Shore CDC also transformed two former units into a community space called Espacio, located at 105 Congress Street. This 2,000-square -foot space fully restored the exterior look of the building, bringing back the commercial storefront and updating the brick façade. Espacio is also home to the nonprofit’s Family Resource Center – a place for free programming for community members to take ESL classes, dance lessons, Immigration Services, and more. This multi-functioning space brings back the original layout of the building, and includes modern amenities such as a colorful kitchen and conference room. This project is an excellent example of long-term planning and maintenance of historic buildings, to the benefit of the entire community. Christopher and Stacey Norkun’s search for the perfect home took over two years and 80+ showings. Finally, 53 Summer Street emerged - a weather-beaten 1756 gambrel that surely scared away most buyers. This house was once considered for demolition during the 1914 Salem Fire as a way to interrupt the path of the conflagration. Though spared that fate, it had been neglected in the intervening century and to say the house was in “rough shape” is an understatement. Nevertheless, all Chris and Stacey saw was potential. They could see past the rotted windows, the marred floors, and the ceilings that were caving in from years of water damage. They were bravely ready to take it on and become stewards of its history; to give something back to Salem, the city that has always held a special place in their hearts. Exterior work completed on 53 Summer Street includes the repair and replacement of the roof; the repointing of the fieldstone foundation; the replacement of 26 windows and all surrounding trim and sills; the removal and repair of all exterior dry rot; the painting of the exterior; and the rebuilding of the front steps. Interior work includes the repair of plaster damage from sill rot; the repair of plaster ceilings due to heavy water damage; the repair and restoration of the hardwood floors; and the renovation of the Front Parlor, Dining Parlor, Bathroom, Master Bedroom, and Guest Bedroom. We'd like you meet our 2018 Preservation Award Winners, so we'll be highlighting one every day for the next eight days. Special thanks to Ty Hapworth (@hellosalem on Instagram) for lending his talents and photographing this year's winners! 35 Chestnut Street
When Dan Randall and Phil Gillespie realized that 35 Chestnut Street, a grand rowhouse recently vacated and next to their own home, could potentially be stripped of its historic interior details, they redefined good neighbors by purchasing the rowhouse and undertaking a complete restoration of the Federal-style residence, in partnership with their architect, Helen Sides and carpenter, Jef Grinarml. Dan and Phil received Massachusetts Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits for the project, which is an innovative solution for a smaller scale residential rehabilitation and requires careful protection of historic materials. The project included restoration of the building’s 6 over 6 wood window sashes, repointing of the brick and brownstone exterior, and preservation of the interior woodwork. In addition, the owners restored the property’s original carriage house, including removal of wood shingle siding to reveal and preserve the building’s original wood clapboards and trim. The restoration of the carriage house included preservation of interior woodwork and an entry that was installed when the carriage house was converted to residential use around 1912. These architectural elements were moved from a house that once stood at 21 Federal Street. A new historically appropriate porch was also added to the south (Warren Street) elevation of the carriage house and a new fence was installed along Warren Street. The entire project is beautifully completed but the selection committee was particularly charmed by the care given to this small accessory dwelling. Our Annual Meeting on Friday was a fun and well-attended event with plenty of Flying Saucer pizza to go around! We'd like to thank our outgoing President Jennifer Firth for her hard work and dedication to the organization, and congratulate our new President, Tim Jenkins. We'd also like to extend a warm welcome to our seven new board members and introduce you all to this talented bunch:
Polly Wilbert has been actively involved in neighborhood and community issues since her 1981 move to South Salem. She is a long-time member of the South Salem Neighborhood Association and has been president since November 2016. She also serves on the Salem State University Neighborhood Advisory Committee and as a member of the City Council’s LORAX Task Force, which has drafted a municipal ordinance in support of Salem’s urban forest. She helped found the Alliance of Salem Neighborhood Associations to foster communication on city issues among Salem’s neighborhoods. She is a member of the Friends of Greenlawn, assisting with historical research on and tours of Salem’s 1807 cemetery and participating in preservation advocacy and fundraising for the Dickson Memorial Chapel at Greenlawn. During her business career, Polly was on the administrative staffs of several Boston investment firms. She is a gardener and a long-time collector of art and antiques. As a great-granddaughter of a founder of America’s leading 19th-century manufacturer of majolica -- Griffen, Smith & Hill -- she is a collector of that and other historic ceramics. Gary R. Leach recently retired as the senior vice president and group head of the Community Development Lending business line for Eastern Bank. In that capacity he oversaw Eastern’s tax credit investment business ( for historic, LIHTC and New Market tax credits) as well as the financing of non-profit business enterprises and affordable housing, including tax exempt bond financing. He served Eastern Bank as a manager in the commercial banking business from 1997 to 2018. Prior to joining Eastern Bank, Gary’s forty-plus year real estate finance career included assignments at Fleet Bank, Bank of New England and the First National Bank of Chicago. Gary earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Suffolk University and a Master of Arts degree in Urban Studies from Loyola University, Chicago. Gary is a board member and past President of the North Shore Community Development Coalition and a member and past President of the Real Estate Finance Association of the Greater Boston Board of Realtors. He is also a member of the Urban Land Institute. Gary is a founding member of the Boston Chapter of the Lambda Alpha International Land Economics Society and its Regional Vice President for the Eastern US. Barbara Cleary is the Principal of Cleary Advisors, which provides consulting services regarding real estate financing to non-profit organizations. The firm’s clients include health care organizations, educational instititutions, YMCAs, child care providers, and developers of commercial real estate, among others. She is responsible for arranging and negotiating the terms debt, equity, public and quasi-public funds, and especially New Markets and Historic Tax Credits. She was previously President of Affirmative Investments, a social investing firm based in Boston. Barbara has a Masters of Art History and Museum Practice and her interest in historic architecture and decorative arts dates from her previous work at Historic Deerfield and Historic New England. She is a past President of Historic Salem and was recipient of Historic Salem’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Gavin Gardner is the Chief of Resources for Salem Maritime and Saugus Iron Works National Historic Sites. He was born in Maryland, moved out west for college, then began a career as an archeologist for the National Park Service, working at parks in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Alaska, Colorado, and Washington. His adventures have included finding prehistoric pueblos at the Grand Canyon, protecting historic Spanish missions and the pueblos they exploited in New Mexico, recording gold rush sites in Alaska, repairing cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde, and possibly locating the cremated remains of Marlon Brando in Death Valley. He met his wife in Death Valley, they added two children in New Mexico, then moved to Massachusetts, even though he strongly dislikes winter. Gavin worked at the Springfield Armory, home to the second largest collection of firearms in the world, then moved to Salem national park, where he is Chief of Resources for Salem Maritime and Saugus Iron Works National Historic Sites. He has worked to build a resource management division tasked with preserving and protecting the park's amazing history, museum collection, and natural resources. He has no idea when the Friendship will return. David Henry is an investment professional with over 35 years of experience. David has an MBA from the University of Houston and a BBA from University of Cincinnati. He is a member of Certified Financial Advisor and has held numerous roles within the CFA Society of Boston. He has served in a client relationship / business development role for P/E Investments. He was Chief Investment Officer for the Family Office of the late Richard Egan, founder of EMC. He has been an investment consultant with the Wellesley Group, and advisor for the CCC Alliance, a Family Office collaborative. He has also worked for John Hancock, The Boston Company & Interactive Data. Mr. Henry is active in his community. David recently joined Essex County Community Foundation Investment Committee. He volunteers with the Career Collaborative, a non profit that assists unemployed and under-employed individuals develop career skills. He is a board member of Northeast ARC. In the past, Mr. Henry served on Immaculate Conception Finance Committee and Parish Council. He was also an Assistant Scout Master for Troop 24. Mr. Henry is a previous board member, Treasurer, and President of HSI and facilitated the grant for the original renovation of the Bowditch House. He considers his greatest accomplishment to be when he and his wife won for costume at the HSI Black and White ball. Walter Herbert has been a career banker in both the Corporate and Investment areas for 35+ years and has developed networks with corporations, developers and investors on both a business and social level. In working with Swampscott Historical Society and as a Swampscott Town Meeting member he contributed to solving real estate development and funding issues in a collaborative environment. Since moving to Salem, he has joined Historic Salem, the Peabody Essex Museum, the Athenaeum, the Pickering House Trust, and the House of Seven Gables. Learning about their missions has made him want to become more actively involved in Salem. He has restored historic buildings that include and Edwardian building at 110 Burrill Street in Swampscott and a Second Period building at 105R North Street in Salem. He is also active in the Harvard Club of Boston, the Harvard Varsity Club and St. John’s Prep Alumni Association. Michael Selbst has been living-in and restoring old houses his entire adult life. He started restoring his first antique house when he was 24, and hasn’t stopped since. He was on a number of local boards in Boston and now is on the board of Hamilton Hall, chairing the building committee. He has been a resident of Salem since 2014. Michael received a Bachelors degree in Economics as well as a Masters of Business Administration, both from Cornell University. He lives in Salem with his partner Brad on Chestnut Street in their most recent old house. He is a realtor with Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty, specializing in Boston and the North Shore. Michael is also known for his enthusiasm and welcoming nature, which will be an asset to any project in which he is involved. Ever since the Peabody Essex Museum revealed in December of 2017 that the Phillips Library collection would not be returning to its home in Salem, the two historic buildings that housed the collection until 2011 have been a recurring topic of public and private conversation in Salem. The Daland House was built in 1851 as a residence for wealthy Salem merchant John Tucker Daland. The Daland family lived there until 1885, when the house was acquired by the Essex Institute. Plummer Hall was built in 1857 for the Salem Athenaeum and was purchased by the Essex Institute in 1906 when the Athenaeum moved to its current home on Essex Street. In 1907, the Essex Institute built a connector between Plummer Hall and Daland House. Plummer Hall became home to Essex Institute museum galleries and administrative offices, and Daland housed the James Duncan Phillips Research Library. In 1992, the Essex Institute merged with the Peabody Museum to become the Peabody Essex Museum, but Plummer and Daland retained the Phillips Library collection until that collection was removed to Peabody in 2011, pending renovations to the buildings.
At the last Salem Historical Commission meeting, it came to the attention of everyone present that Plummer Hall and Daland House, along with the Gardner-Pingree House (1804-05), the Crowninshield-Bentley House (1727), the Andrew-Safford House (1818-19), the John Ward House (1684), the Lye-Tapley Shoe Shop (1830), and the Quaker Meeting House (with framing from Salem’s first Quaker meetinghouse, c. 1688), all currently owned by the Peabody Essex Museum, actually constitute a state and nationally designated historic district. The Essex Institute Historic District was listed as a National Register District in June of 1972 and as a Massachusetts Historic Landmark in July of 1972. Historic Salem supports the Salem Historical Commission’s recommendation to the PEM to treat any changes to the area more holistically. Are you wondering what will be built in that now empty lot on Washington Street, across the street from the Post Office?
It is a big project that will really define what that part of downtown Salem looks like. The project is in the Salem Redevelopment Authority boundary, which means that the project must be reviewed by the Design Review Board. Three years ago the project went through an intense round of design review. We recall that the project went through at least four meetings where the Board would give feedback and the architect and developer would return the following month with changes. The design that was finally approved is appropriately contemporary. There is a lot of visual interest, with articulation of the windows, balconies, porches and cornice lines. It looks three dimensional and unique, relating to the shape and slope of the site. Our city has just made a new year's resolution – As of January 1 we are all now bringing our own bags to the store. This step forward in our increased awareness of what we are throwing away reminds me of a talk given by my favorite preservation economist (what, you don’t have a favorite?). In HSI's 2015 “Mightier Than a Wrecking Ball” conference Donovan Rypkema stated the following: “Every time a little 2200 sf house…would have been rehabilitated instead of raized…that would have more environmental impact…then all of the plastic bags that 440 people would have used in their lifetime.” Historic Salem, Incorporated (HSI) joins the Salem community in its concern over the Peabody Essex Museum’s (PEM) plans to remove the Phillips Library Collection and other historic collections to Rowley. We appreciate PEM's intent to improve conservation and safe storage. However, these papers, books and objects inform Salem’s unique local history as well as our national heritage and should be accessible to the public in a Salem location. We encourage the PEM to develop strategies to integrate the historic collections into programming and education, to tell of Salem’s extraordinary contribution to art, culture and science.
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