HRC Meeting Notes for December
1999
Present: Bill Barry, Bart Bauer, Eric
Breitkreutz, Matthew Bronski, David Fixler, Jack
Glassman, Jeffrey Harris, Wayne King, Kimberly Konrad,
Dennis Kuleza, Elizabeth Johansen, Michael Lynch, Arthur
MacLeod, Colleen Meagher, Henry Moss, Ivan Myjer, Linda
Mackowiak, Bob Neiley, Steve Roper, Susan Schur, Beth
Sidderley, Jay Stanbury, Robert Thomas, Eric Ward, David
Weitz, Sara Wermiel, T. Luke Young, Wegdie of SBRA,
Chelsea of Shawmut Design and Construction.
1. BSA Preservation Award: Bob Neiley and Henry
Moss described the award presentation that took place at
the launch of the Mayor's Business Heritage Brochure at
the Omni Parker House.
2. Historic Bridges of Massachusetts: Stephen J.
Roper of the Mass Highways Department (MHD) is an
architectural historian who has run the Commonwealth's
Historic Bridge Inventory program since the mid-'80's.
The inventory produces the information required to keep
the MHD in compliance with the National Historic
Preservation Act as they carry out repairs and
replacements as they keep pace with the magical mobility
of the modern world. Sara Wermiel invited Steve to show
examples of different bridge designs and discuss their
respective vulnerabilities and other special attributes.
Steve's slide show was a revelatory sampling from the
5,000 spans greater than 20' and the 3,000 less than
20'.
Sensitized by the Northern Avenue Bridge and Fort
Point Channel rolling bascule bridge, our committee was
not astonished to learn that the most vulnerable category
is the "moveable" bridge. The inventory contained 44. Six
have been destroyed. Eighteen are eligible for the
National Register. Some highlights: Go see the 2
retractile bridges that remain on Summer Street; visit
the only surviving Iron Post Truss bridge in the United
States in Lancaster (along with Bulfinch's meeting
house); look again at the nearly horizontal steel wire
cable suspension bridge crossing the Merrimack near
Newburyport (no stay cables) that replaced an 1820's
chain bridge. There are 252 stone arch bridges in
Massachusetts (not including railroad bridges!) and these
might survive indefinitely, ASHTO allowing. There are 51
stone slab bridges. A fine example in Middleborough is
made of free spanning 11' granite slabs, but don't flinch
in your Expedition. Other bridges have more architectural
than structural interest; such as, Charles R. Greco's
1907 Spence Corner Bridge in Ashfield. Greco, a Cambridge
architect, built the interesting post office in Central
Square, Cambridge.
Steve and Mike ("Erie Canal") Lynch discussed the
etiology of bridge destruction, starting with a road
widening at the approaches, after a decade has lapsed,
the bridge itself is attacked. Watch for this alarming
signal. The committee applauded Steve's compelling
presentation and promised not to get him fired by writing
letters of appreciation to his bosses on BSA
stationery.
3. Energy Code Changes, Existing Structures:
David Weitz, Energy Code Coordinator for the State Board
of Building Regulations described the kinds of revisions
that are scheduled to take place in 2001. His group has
concentrated on improving the regulations for new
construction and have revised the residential code. David
asked that the committee select a representative to help
his team at the Energy Advisory Committee draft revised
code language for historic buildings and other existing
structures that would be covered by Chapter 34 of the
State Building Code.
David and his knowledgeable colleagues are concerned
about interstitial condensation and other moisture
migration problems. The Energy Advisory Committee meets
monthly at the offices of BR+A on Soldiers Field Road for
about 3 hours and their work could continue for 6 or 9
months. Our BSA committee suggested that the most
efficient way for us to help might be to meet to discuss
special problems and possible strategies for their
solution that the revised code could incorporate and send
those to the Energy Advisory Committee to develop.
4. Tours: Bill Barry is arranging tours at the
former Sears building in the Fenway (now the Abbey
Group's Landmark Center) as well as a building fabric
investigation at the Motor Vehicle Registry building on
Nashua Street. [The Nashua Street tour happened in
December, the Landmark Center tour remains to be
arranged, but early February is a likely time.]
5. Appleton Mills, Lowell: Matt Bronski and Sara
Wermiel are chasing information about the Town's alleged
intent to exclude some of the Appleton Mills buildings
from the National Register District at the Pawtucket
Canal to hasten demolition. One mill has burned but its
masonry shell is intact. Another has been described by an
engineer who recently visited its interior as "pristine,
with intact, tall pine wainscot." Colleen Meagher and
Mike Lynch noted that it is relatively easy to have
structures removed from an historic district by redrawing
the boundary with only a 2/3 majority vote at City
Council- easier than redrawing the boundary to include
more buildings? Matthew (a neighbor on the industrial
canal) promised to press for more information. David
Fixler volunteered to ask Myra Harrison about the
situation.
6. DOCOMOMO: David announced that Ann Donner of
the Trust for City Hall Plaza would come to the January 6
meeting to talk about preservation issues. In February,
DOCOMOMO will host a lecture on Louis Kahn by Sarah
Sonjek. The location, to be confirmed, will be at either
Harvard or MIT.
7. Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) Boston
Project Center: Since 1998, about 20 students spend a
term that runs from March 15 to May 5 doing hands-on
projects with public agencies and are looking for
appropriate and inspired projects. They can work with
non-profits and prefer field work that connects them to
the community of Boston and make tangible contributions
to the life of the city. You may have just the idea they
are seeking. Surveys? Contact Fabio Carrera, MIT
Department of Urban Studies and Planning, email:
carrera@mit.edu or telephone (860) 514-0225.
Next Meeting
(Featuring HMI's Ten Most Endangered, 1999)
8: 00 AM, Thursday, January 13, 2000
The Architects' Building
52 Broad Street, Boston
Fifth Floor