Historic Salem, Inc., Salem, Massachusetts

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P.O. Box 865, Salem, MA 01970
(978) 745-0799
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A Brief History of Historic Salem, Inc.
by Jim McAllister

PRESERVATION AND EDUCATION (1980-1984)
HSI opens the new decade with a new office in Old Town Hall, courtesy of the City of Salem; a new staff person, Carolyn Tolles, now in her second year; and 70 new members (the results of a recent membership drive). The organization also has two new notches in its restoration belt. The JOSHUA WARD HOUSE on Washington Street is restored by Zampell Brothers of Beverly with the help of a Massachusetts Historical Commission grant obtained by HSI. And much of the needed data for Salem's new MCINTIRE HISTORIC DISTRICT (established 1981) is provided by the East of the Palisades study.

A variety of new activities supplement the old house clinics, house and garden tours, auctions, road races, lectures and other ongoing HSI events. Among them are trips to Lowell and Anna Nicholsons' home on Baker's Island, to Old Sturbridge Village (both in 1980) and to a "This Old House" project in Newton in 1981. In February, 1981, 25 HSI members take a SALEM ARCHITECTURE COURSE taught by Dean Lahikainen of the Essex Institute. The popular course is repeated, in 1982.

On the preservation front in 1980, HSI is involved in a lobbying effort to stop the removal of trees and bushes in GREENLAWN CEMETERY to make way for "garden crypts" and to preserve Greenlawn as a park and conservation area. The organization also throws its support behind Massachusetts House Bill 3544 which would provide funds for the restoration of the historic SHERIFF'S HOUSE at the Salem Jail.

HSI suffers one of its most painful setbacks in 1982. Armed with an Emergency Demolition permit obtained from the City of Salem with the help of a sympathetic ward councilor, the VFW Witch City Post on Derby Street razes a 19th century house at 2 BLANEY STREET over the Fourth of July weekend. HSI had been working with the Salem City Government, the Salem Historic District Commission and other interested parties since 1977 to save this structure from being bulldozed and replaced by a parking lot. The building is located within the boundaries of the Derby Street Historic District and is considered an important part of the architectural streetscape.

In the August, 1982 HSI newsletter, President Christine Sullivan notes that the fact that the VFW was able to find a way to raze the Blaney Street building, despite previous, adverse rulings by the City of Salem and the Historic District Commission, raises very serious questions about the ability of preservationists to protect historic properties in Salem.

Aroused by the VFW incident, HSI helps fight off a 1982 proposal in the City Council to reduce the size of the SALEM COMMON in order to create additional parking spaces. A Preservation Committee is added to the existing HSI Board Committees, and $400 is donated to a STATEWIDE LOBBYING EFFORT to keep preservation activity alive at the national level. In early 1983, HSI members lobby the Salem City Government in support of a budget for the SALEM HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION which has operated for two years without city funding. HSI had previously donated $250 to the Commission for the publication of the latter's brochure.

In September, 1983, HSI board members spend a day with Laurie Moon Chauvin of the National Trust for Historic Preservation redefining the goals of their organization. The Board commits the organization to serve as the City of Salem's "basic preservation resource, working with city officials and organizations, and developing educational programs to strengthen public awareness and appreciation of Salem's uniquely deep and broad architectural, cultural and historical heritage."

To carry out these mandates, Marcia Cini, holder of a masters degree in preservation studies from Boston University, is hired as executive director in the winter of 1984. Soon after, Debra Hilbert, a current Boston University preservation studies student, is brought aboard to develop refined GUIDELINES FOR PRESERVATION AND MAINTENANCE OF OLD BUILDINGS. The project is established through the National Trust for Historic Preservation and funded jointly by Yankee magazine, HSI, and the Salem Historic District Commission.

On March 13, 1984, the ten signs developed under HSI's "SALEM REDISCOVERED" project are installed. These signs, highlighting Salem's ethnic and cultural diversity, are located at Town House Square, Riley Plaza, the Salem Marketplace, Salem Willows, Boston Street, Greenlawn Cemetery, Salem Common, Mill Hill, Swiniuch Park on Derby Street, and the Point. The major funding source for the signs is a NEA "Livable Cities" grant. Some 20 Salem businesses also contribute to the project.

In April, Marcia Cini testifies at a State House hearing in support of a bill which would provide funds for restoration of historically and architecturally significant buildings in Massachusetts. Other HSI members are attending a regional preservation conference in Worcester. In May, outgoing President Christine Sullivan acknowledges HSI's 43 founding families at the organization's 40th year celebration. A large cake bearing a likeness of the Witch House is a highlight of the evening.

HSI and the City of Salem Planning Department co-sponsor the National Trust for Historic Preservation's NATIONAL MAIN STREET CENTER CONFERENCE in September. Twenty-seven local business people and government officials attend the event, conducted via satellite video, at the Beef and Oyster Restaurant.

HSI's MIDDLE SCHOOL PRESERVATION PROGRAM gets underway in the fall. The program is aimed at sixth graders in the Salem school system and explores architectural styles, building parts, preservation, general Salem history and the Witchcraft Hysteria. The six-session course also includes a trolley tour of Salem and is complemented by teacher training units. Educational materials and tools were developed by Yankee intern Barbara Thibault of the Boston University Preservation Studies program and HSI volunteers.

Funding for the program came fromYankee magazine, the H.T.N. Smith Foundation and the Salem Arts Lottery Council. Early volunteers include Connie Arlander and Marge Satinsky (both of whom will serve stints as coordinators during the life of the program), Dick Oedel, Jake Wolfson, John Carr, Susan Burns, Laurie Brengle, and Robert Farley.

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