Historic Salem, Inc., Salem, Massachusetts

Home About HSI Preservation Join Us News & Events

P.O. Box 865, Salem, MA 01970
(978) 745-0799
Contact Us!

A Brief History of Historic Salem, Inc.
by Jim McAllister



COMING OF AGE   (1970-1974)
With the new decade comes a new spirit of cooperation within HSI. The result is one of the most productive and exciting eras in the organization's history.

One of the primary arenas of HSI activity in the early seventies is the Salem Central Business District, now under the control of a preservation-oriented Redevelopment Authority appointed by Mayor Samuel Zoll. In July of 1971, inspired by Robert Kerr's annual meeting talk titled "Can We Save the Old Town Hall Area?," President Donald Koleman sends a letter to the membership asking help in finding potential developers for the Town Hall/Derby Square neighborhood. A year later, newly-elected President Jim Baldwin is sending another letter, this one to the editor of the Salem Evening News, to refute the perception that HSI is opposed to the "new Salem." Baldwin's letter emphasizes that HSI supports the new plan for downtown Salem because it calls for preserving and restoring old buildings and will do whatever it can to help make it a success.

In April, 1973, Baldwin and Vice President Tim Doggett appear at a series of Salem Redevelopment Authority meetings to express HSI's anger over the lack of supervision of ongoing restoration work on FRONT STREET after it was noticed that unauthorized changes had been made in the plans approved by the SRA. HSI board members subsequently monitor the Front Street project and successfully lobby the SRA to adopt HSI-developed policies and procedures for future changes. In November, the HSI Board reluctantly votes to support the razing of the GRAY-ESSEX House on Essex Street, citing its deteriorated condition and years of alterations to the original structure.

In 1974, HSI is awarded "Tentative Developer" status for the BESSIE MUNROE HOUSE on Ash Street by the Salem Redevelopment Authority. It is hoped that this unique federal-style home, which HSI plans to use for a combination of its own offices and rental space, will be the first restoration project in the redevelopment area. Unfortunately, HSI drops the project after 17 months due to financial obstacles related to the Department of Housing and Urban Affairs bidding procedures and the loss of project manager Larry English, who had moved from the Salem area. The building is later restored by a private developer.

HSI is also actively involved on other political fronts in the early seventies. The organization leads the successful fight against the proposed moving of the JOSEPH CHOATE MONUMENT at the intersection of Essex and Boston Streets in November, 1978, and, four months later, goes on record as being opposed to locating a new Salem Armory in MCGRATH PARK in North Salem. And when a letter from the HSI board of directors opposing ZONING CHANGES proposed for Ward 7 by lame duck city councilors appears on the front page of the Salem Evening News in December, 1973, the legislation is tabled by the council until the newly-elected councilors are seated in January.

A Liaison and Public Relations Committee is established in 1974 to connect HSI with other organizations, governmental units, and institutions. Shortly after, the HSI Urban Environment Committee participates in the coalition that fights the Burger King Restaurant which has been proposed for the park in TOWN HOUSE SQUARE And in May, HSI co-sponsors a public forum with the New England Power Company on the latter's proposed use of WINTER ISLAND for a staging area during construction of its new stack.

This flurry of political activism reflects a new HSI philosophy, spelled out in an editorial in the Fall 1974 newsletter, that the organization needs to be involved in issues such as sewer permits, high rise housing complexes, power plants and other proposed projects or actions that could impact historic districts.

HS! also maintains a heavy social and cultural schedule throughout this era. Hamilton Hall is the site of the annual HSI COSTUME BALL in the early seventies. The theme of the May, 1971, event is "Seagoing Salem" and David Little, Mrs. F. Dike Mason, and Evan Petley-Jones serve as costume judges. And in February, 1972, Old Town Hall is the setting for "SALEM CHRONICLES," a play written by HSI's Robert Murray. The production, a joint effort between HSI and the Office of Mayor Samuel Zoll, recreates episodes from Salem's history, including the coming of Roger Conant, the 1692 Witchcraft Hysteria and the East India Trade. The cast includes theatre students from Emerson College as well as local talent. "Salem Chronicles" will be an annual event through 1976, although the location will move to the steps of the Custom House at the Salem Maritime National Historic Site.

In October, 1972, HSI members get together at the new Salem Witch Museum. Then, in early 1973, a rejuvenated HSI Witch Trial Memorial Committee selects a site on Central Street for a statue. Forty sculptors, from as far away as Venice, Italy, and California, submit entries for the WITCH TRIAL MEMORIAL DESIGN COMPETITION chaired by Jim Baldwin and John Carr, Jr. The design selection committee includes representatives from the Fogg Museum and the Art Department at Harvard University, the Boston Museum School, the Addison Gallery of Art at Phillips Andover Academy, and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston. Among the sculptors invited to submit designs are Pablo Picasso, Henry Moore and Louise Nevelson. Ultimately, the lack of funds to pay sculptors and the lack of interest in the memorial by HSI members bring the project to an end.

Yet another HSI tradition debuts when "Three Centuries of Salem Houses", HSI's FIRST HOUSE TOUR is held on June 22 and 23, 1973. Private homes on Chestnut, Broad, Essex and Federal Streets are open to tour goers, and the popular luncheon at Hamilton Hall boosts the total amount raised to $8,359.00. Over 1,400 people attend, some from as far away as Los Angeles and South Carolina. More than 200 volunteers assist Chairperson Abby Burns. The tour will become an annual, then bi-annual, event often featuring gardens in addition to homes, museums, and other public and private buildings.

An HSI "SALEM THROUGH HOLLYWOOD'S EYES" FILM SERIES, also in spring, 1973, features "The Scarlet Letter, .... Maids of Salem," "The Sorcerers of Salem," and "I Married a Witch." And in November, 1974, Jake Wolfson heads up the HSI ARCHIVES PROJECT. Many local residents bring old photos, letters, documents, etc. to the Essex Institute to be copied for the Institute's collection.



Home About HSI Site Index Join Us News & Events