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

LAWS, LECTURES, AND LEADERSHIP (1985-1989)
In January, 1985, HSI moves into its new, donated office space in Hamilton Hall on Chestnut Street. Five years earlier, then-president William Russell Burns, Jr. was quoted in the Salem Evening News as saying the board decided "it would be dangerous for HSI to move to Hamilton Hall on Chestnut Street because this might confirm some people's misconception that it represents only this one segment of Salem."

Janet Porter is the new executive director, hired to replace Marcia Cini who had resigned in September to take another position. The lack of funds forces HSI to downgrade the director position to that of office manager in April, 1985, and Porter's contract is not renewed.

The bulldozing of the CHRONIC CARE HOSPITAL on Collins Cove in early 1985 motivates HSI to develop a DEMOLITION DELAY ORDINANCE for the city (adopted 1985). The hospital had been recognized as a "locally significant landmark building" by the National Registry but was demolished for the tentative developer by the City of Salem without benefit of a public hearing and despite the vocal opposition of HSI.

In 1987, the HSI ZONING COMMITTEE successfully promotes a change in the City of Salem Zoning Code which makes it more difficult to obtain a variance to sub-divide buildings in residential, two-family districts. Also in 1987, HSI sends a survey about downtown and neighborhood issues to all candidates for Salem municipal offices. The results of the survey are printed in the Salem Evening News.

HSI takes the lead in bringing neighborhood associations and City officials together, in 1987, to discuss the planned Bridge Street bypass road and other traffic issues that impact historic neighborhoods and buildings. At the same time, the HSI PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT COMMITTEE is working on tree-planting, installation of refuse containers, and other neighborhood beautification projects. HSI's Pat Horowitz is appointed to the SALEM BEAUTIFICATION COMMITTEE by Mayor Anthony Salvo.

The Fall 1988 issue of the HSI newsletter features a cover story which argues against the Salem Willows area as a location for the new South Essex Sewerage District SECONDARY TREATMENT PLANT.

In March, 1988, HSI holds a reception at the Hawthorne Hotel to raise funds for its dues for the newly-formed (1987) SALEM PARTNERSHIP, a coalition of business, political, non-profit and civic leaders. The Partnership seeks to restore Salem's historic areas and to rejuvenate its downtown business district. Through its Partnership membership, HSI becomes involved in the development of a Master Plan for the Salem waterfront, downtown design review, and other issues. HSI President William Guenther testifies at a Congressional hearing held in Salem in favor of the Partnership's request for an expanded National Park Service role in Salem and Essex County. The 1989 Winter/Spring issue of the HSI newsletter features a lengthy article on the "Salem Project", a proposed National Park Service plan that places Salem at the hub of a county-wide tourism network.

On the education and preservation front, HSI and the Essex Institute co-sponsor a series of three LECTURES ON SALEM ARCHITECTURE in March, 1985. In October, fifty HSI members and friends gather at the Lyceum to play a SALEM "TRIVIAL PURSUIT" GAME developed by Dave and Lynn Lash. The game highlights Salem history and architecture.

HSI's "SECOND THURSDAY" LECTURE SERIES, coordinated by Nina Cohen and Susan Sillars, begins in April, 1989 with a talk on Puritan gravestone art by Rosalee Oakley. Some other lecture topics include the Old Planter's Site archeology dig by Stephen Mrozowski, the history of coastal gardens by Robyn Kanter and the restoration of Pioneer Village by David Goss. Bill Tinti discusses the Salem redevelopment era, while Jim McAllister chronicles the history of early Salem mayors.

Between 1986 and 1988, the MIDDLE SCHOOL PRESERVATION PROGRAM receives financial support from the Massachusetts Council on the Arts and Humanities, Parker Brothers Games, the Abraham and Gertrude Berg Foundation and Yankee magazine. The curriculum is rewritten to a fifth grade level, and HSI begins training the Middle School faculty to teach the course themselves in place of HSI volunteers. (In 1985, Victor Pisano teaches the Witch Trial segment of the program. Pisano is the writer/producer of "Three Sovereigns for Sarah," a 1986 film about the Salem Witch Trials starring Vanessa Redgrave.)

In the fall of 1987, a cocktail party raises $1,800 for the HAMILTON HALL RESTORATION FUND. The Salem Common Neighborhood Association and HSI co-sponsor a HOLIDAY HOUSE DECORATION CONTEST won by the Dioli family of Oliver Street.

Amazingly, the WITCH TRIAL MEMORIAL surfaces for the third time in as many decades. In 1988, HSI and the Essex Institute hire Sasaki Associates to review sites for a proposed memorial. HSI goes on record as being opposed to a statue being offered by a local sculptor calling it "historically inaccurate" and asks for an open competition for a memorial design. Also in 1988, HSI helps bring together the Boston Society of Architects and the Salem Redevelopment Authority to assure quality design standards for the HAWTHORNE CITY BLOCK on Washington Street. Marge Satinsky offers WALKING TOURS under the aegis of HSI and coordinates the HSI Harvard Reunion tours in the spring.

Home About HSI Site Index Join Us News & Events