Boston Preservation Alliance Addresses Threatened Religious Properties Workshop held on Saturday, November 13, at Roxbury Presbyterian Church

To a packed room of over 120 people, Reverend Hurmon Hamilton, Senior Pastor at Roxbury Presbyterian Church, kicked off the Boston Preservation Alliance’s one-day workshop on the preservation of religious properties on with a rousing call to action. Generously sharing the story of his congregation’s tireless work to raise funds to renovate the historic building, Rev. Hamilton started off the day on a truly inspiring note, encouraging other congregations to have faith and take charge of their buildings.

Throughout the rest of the day, the workshop addressed the grave threat faced by many of Boston’s religious buildings, as congregations with scarce resources struggle to maintain their properties. The event featured advice from experts, information sharing amongst participants, and guidance from preservation agencies and organizations. A number of local ministers who have successfully renovated their buildings presented case studies to serve as models for others. Emmanuel Gospel Center, Historic Boston, Incorporated, The Black Ministerial Alliance, and The Fellowship of Hispanic Pastors of New England (COPAHNI) cosponsored the event.

“Some of Boston’s most beautiful, and architecturally significant, houses of worship are in dire straits,” said Judy Neiswander, architectural historian and conference coordinator for the Alliance. “They often have decades of deferred maintenance and their parishioners, through no fault of their own, just don’t have the funds in this economy to fix them up.”

Many religious buildings dating from the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth century are defining landmarks in their communities. They are beloved by their congregations, often have great historical and artistic significance, and provide facilities for an enormous amount of social service. Nevertheless, the upkeep of these buildings can be challenging. The goal of the conference was to assist building managers and others in charge of stewardship of religious properties to developing strategies for taking action.

“Deferred maintenance is a huge issue facing the owners of every church and religious building in the city,” according to Jeff Bass, director of the Emmanuel Gospel Center. “The challenge is immense, but I believe that with hard work, cooperation and God's grace, we can make progress, and this conference is a big step in the right direction.”

The workshop provided tools and information for building assessment and maintenance, described a process for moving forward when a building has problems, provided resources for on-going assistance, and promoted peer-to-peer networking, assistance and support. In addition to the panels of experienced professionals who spoke, extensive handouts were made available and participants were each given an “Owner’s Manual” for religious properties. The workshop took place at Roxbury Presbyterian Church on Warren Street, where a major restoration has recently been completed.  The day concluded with tours of the facility, which allowed participants to see first-hand, the dramatic improvements that have been made to this highly valued space.

Alliance Advocacy Leads to Enhanced Preservation for Fort Andrews on Peddocks Island

Following the Alliance’s comments to the Massachusetts Secretary of Energy & Environmental Affairs a more comprehensive historic preservation strategy will be pursued for the invaluable resources of Fort Andrews on Peddocks Island, part of the Boston Harbor Islands National Park.

Fort Andrews was built at the turn of the twentieth century as a major component of the Boston Harbor defense system. It is the only fort constructed in Massachusetts during the Spanish American War and consists of a remarkable collection of historic buildings that form a coherent complex.

The Alliance recognized that it was not be feasible to restore a number of the buildings on the island, which after decades of vacancy were in a state of substantial disrepair. However, the Alliance raised concerns about the amount of proposed demolition, advocated for a more complete plan to protect the landscape features and archaeological assets on the island (which is known for its Native American archaeology), and pushed for stronger commitments with respect to historic interpretation. Now, a Memorandum of Agreement has been signed between the Alliance, the island’s stewards, the Department of Conservation and Recreation and the Boston Harbor Island Alliance, and the Massachusetts Historical Commission and the Hull Historical Commission. This agreement will ensure that additional buildings will be stabilized and will require more archaeological survey, landscape planning and interpretation.

Moving forward, the Alliance and the National Trust for Historic Preservation have expressed a willingness to provide assistance in the development of a comprehensive preservation plan for the island, including feasibility analysis for the re-use of the soon-to-be stabilized buildings on the island. Currently there is no proposed long-term use for these buildings. The Alliance looks forward to continuing to work with the Department of Conservation and Recreation and the Boston Harbor Island Alliance whom we are confident will prioritize long-term preservation of and access to the historic buildings on this captivating, but little known, fort in Boston Harbor.