Landmarks Commission to Hold Hearing on Demolition by BC of Foster Street Houses

The Boston Landmarks Commission will be holding a hearing on Tuesday, July 22nd regarding a request by Boston College to demolish three houses at 188, 192, and 196 Foster Street.

Thomas Keady, Jr., BC's Vice President for Governmental and Community Affairs, told the now-defunct BostonNOW newspaper last year, "Those three houses will be coming down."

The three houses are located on the corner of the five-acre lot bought by BC from the Archdiocese of Boston. (One house and its comparatively small lot was purchased from a private seller in 2006.) BC has proposed to demolish all three to make way for a 75-bed Jesuit seminarian and theology graduate student housing complex as part of the re-affiliation of the Weston Jesuit School of Theology with BC. The three buildings date to the time period 1870 - 1885.

BC submitted their demolition request to the city, and the BLC will hold this hearing in order to determine whether or not to invoke a 90-day demolition delay under the Article 85 process.


Alternatives to Demolition

Despite arguments presented at this blog as to how BC could incorporate these three houses into their new construction, rather than demolish them, BC has shown no inclination to consider the alternatives. No assessment of the feasibility of renovation or preservation of the buildings was presented in their revised IMP. (By comparison, last year the university extensively renovated three houses bought recently on Wade Street.)

Harvard University, on the other hand, followed such an alternative path 25 years ago with their University Place development -- preserving two houses by incorporating them into their new development to positive reviews from the community.

The Massachusetts Historical Commission in January called for BC to explore alternatives to demolition:

Rehabilitation alternatives should include additions to the existing houses and/or compatible, adjacent new construction. Feasible alternatives that would preserve and protect the historic properties should be adopted and implemented.

The houses "display elements of Victorian eclectic style and are fine examples of this period and type of construction," according to the MHC letter. All three houses are identified in the appendix of BC's IMPNF as listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In their revised institutional master plan, BC has disputed the architectural significance of the three houses (DPIR 11-5 to 11-6), disagreeing with the MHC's letter:

This opinion is not substantiated with an explanation as to how these buildings are representative of any style or construction, not does it address subsequent changes to 192 and 196 Foster Street which seriously detract from their integrity.

The MHC and BC dispute whether or not the three houses lie within the "Upper Foster Street Area," which is part of the MHC's Inventory of Historic and Archeological Assets and is an area that the MHC said "meets the criteria for listing in the National Register of Historic Places," or the "Foster Street Area," an area that the MHC has not commented on regarding its eligibility for the register.

The Foster Street houses were built by Horace W. Baxter on the southern end of his Baxter Estate, according to an email provided by Brighton historian Bill Marchione. The property traces its prior lineage back to Reverend John Foster, "Brighton’s first resident minister (and namesake of the street), and his wife Hannah Webster Foster, the first native born American female novelist," according to Marchione. Mrs. Charles Eldredge (aka "Fanny Fern") -- "the most popular female writer/ journalist of her day" and author of the novel Ruth Hall -- also lived on the estate.

The Foster Rock is located on the opposite end of the five-acre site from the houses. BC's proposed development would not modify the granite outcropping.


How Can the Public Comment?

The BLC hearing will be at City Hall on Tuesday, July 22nd at 6:25 pm in Room 900.

Verbal public comments will be allowed at the meeting, and written public comments are accepted in advance of the meeting. Written public comments are only accepted by mail. In order for the public comments to be considered at Tuesday's meetings, they must be received before 3:00 pm on 7/22:

Gary L. Russell, Staff Architect
Boston Landmarks Commission
City Hall, Room 805
Boston, MA 02201
617-635-3850

In documents provided by Russell, he notes that consideration of demolition delay by the BLC involves assessing whether or not the building is "preferably preserved" based on:

• the building's historic, architectural, and urban design significance;
• whether the building is one of the last remaining examples of its kind in the neighborhood, the City, or the region; and
• the building's condition.

If the BLC votes for a 90-day demolition delay, then they subsequently discuss if there are feasible alternatives to demolition based on:

• the outcome of the community meeting held prior to the hearing.
• the cost of stabilizing, repairing, rehabilitating, or re-using the building;
• any definite plans for the re-use of the property if the proposed demolition is carried out, and the effects such plans would have on the architectural, social, aesthetic, historic, and urban design character of the surrounding area, as well as on the economy of the area of the City as a whole;
• any conditions the Applicant proposes to accept for the redevelopment of the site that would mitigate the loss of the building;
• the availability of other sites for the Applicant's intended purpose or use.

In evaluating alternatives to demolition, the BLC may consider such possibilities as the incorporation of the building into the future development of the site.


BLC Hearing on Proposed Development at 332 Chestnut Hill Avenue

Also on the agenda for the July 22nd meeting is a design review meeting regarding the proposed demolition of the gas station at 332 Chestnut Hill Avenue and construction of a five-story residential building with retail on the first floor. The design review application will be considered at 3:30-4:00 pm, and then discussed by the BLC and voted on at 5:30 pm.


Note that the July 22nd meeting of the BC Task Force was postponed to July 29th in order to allow people to attend the BLC hearing.

BLC Report: Preservation, Not Landmark Status, For Sparhawk House

The Boston Landmarks Commission has issued a report on the future of the former Sparhawk family house located at 45 Murdock Street in Brighton which recommends that the house be preserved -- but that it not be designated a landmark under state law.

Commissioner Bill Marchione of Brighton, however, disagrees with the report's conclusion, and intends to continue to push for landmark designation when the full commission takes up the matter June 10th.

The current owner of the house, Dr. Arni Mohan of Newton, has previously filed with the city seeking a demolition permit. The BLC in January 2008 delayed demolition by 90 days due to the historic nature of the house, and extended that demolition delay another 90 days (to July 6, 2008) on an emergency basis while they researched the house and prepared a report. Everyone involved appears to concur that the house is currently in need of repair.


Sparhawk House Highlight's Early Brighton History

The house was built in 1802 and is the fourth oldest building in Allston-Brighton. It is only one of a handful of surviving Federal period farmhouses in all of Boston.

Marchione notes that this building "is the oldest surviving structure associated with a significant New England family," the Sparhawks. The family is one of the early settlers of what is now Allston-Brighton.

Nathaniel Sparhawk settled in Cambridge in 1636 -- present-day Allston-Brighton was at the time part of Cambridge called "Little Cambridge" -- constructing five houses across 1000 acres of land. His son, Nathaniel II, built his house later in the 17th century near present-day Elko Street; near that site would later be the location on which the present-day 45 Murdock Street house was constructed in 1802.

The BLC report found that building at 45 Murdock Street has been moved from its original site (at what is now the corner of Elko and Sparhawk Streets) and subsequently altered; moving the house appears to be their principal reason to recommend against landmark designation:

There is no direct association between this house and the earlier (pre-Revolutionary) regionally significant generations of the Sparhawk family. The house at 45 Murdock Street has been relocated from the site of the original Sparhawk family homestead. The layout of the house appears to be altered as the result of its relocation, and subsequent alterations to the exterior diminish the building’s architectural integrity. Therefore, the staff of the Boston Landmarks Commission recommends that the Sparhawk House not be designated a Landmark under Chapter 772 of the Acts of 1975, as amended.

Boston Landmarks Commissioner Marchione, also the President of the Brighton Allston Historical Society, did not write the report and disagrees with its main conclusion recommending against granting the house landmark status.

"I do not accept the logic that contends that the removal of a building from its original location (in this case only a couple of hundred feet from one part of the Sparhawk Estate to another) somehow robs it of its regional historical significance," wrote Marchione in an email response to a query. "This 1802 federal style building is still the oldest structure (by nearly a century) associated with a family of considerable importance, and a building that also just happens to [be] the homestead of one of Allston- Brighton's three founding families."

Marchione further noted that moving houses was a common practice in the 19th century, particularly due to the development of Boston's "streetcar suburbs." He intends to argue his case at the June 10th BLC meeting that the building should be granted landmark status.

The Allston-Brighton TAB editorialized in March 2008 that "a community like Allston-Brighton that is rapidly losing its history needs to do what it can to preserve as much of that history as it can. Or at least it needs to think long and hard before letting any of that history go."

The A-B TAB reported that the Brighton Allston Improvement Association expressed opposition in September 2007 to the demolition of the house, although Marchione noted that they did not vote specifically on a demolition delay. Dick Marques, President of the BAIA, said that after the September meeting the group needed additional information before they could vote; the group took a tour of the house shortly after the meeting.


Alternative Proposal: Renovate House and Build Elsewhere on the Property

After the property owner applied for a demolition permit the BLC consulted with the owner to draw up a plan by which the house could be renovated and an additional house built elsewhere on the property. The BLC argued that this combined project would be workable financially.

In particular, the BLC proposed renovation of the existing house into three separate units -- which could allow for state and federal tax credits due to the building's historic nature -- to which the owner could construct another three-unit building on the property in order to satisfy both the preservationists and developer. The lot is large (more than 19,000 square feet) and zoned for two families 2F-5000 (but listed as 4-6 families in the Boston assessing database); at one time earlier in the 20th century, as many as five families lived in the historic house.

The report gives no indication whether or not the owner approves of the BLC's six-unit proposal that would preserve the historic house. Marchione wrote that he thinks the BLC alternative proposal represents a reasonable compromise that would both allow development and preserve the house.

Parsons/Pike Pointed Picture

A couple of years ago, nice artwork was installed in the Parson Street underpass underneath the Massachusetts Turnpike in Brighton.  Diverted Motion blogger posts at The Bostonist about the "Asparagus Under the Bridge".

Many know Brighton historically for its role in the cattle trade, particularly for supplying George Washington's Continental Army (at a time that the area was called Little Cambridge and was a part of Cambridge).  Many are unfamiliar with 19th century Brighton's role in developing agriculture and horticulture, since it was seemingly dwarfed by the blossoming cattle trade; this mural offers insight into that part of the town's past.

I didn't know anything about the muralist who created the asparagus art, but the post at The Bostonist fills in the details:

Upon closer inspection of the murals, you may notice a striking similarity to other public art around Boston. Well, you're right! (Good job!) They were created by Joshua Winer, Boston's go-to public muralist. He's also responsible for the trompe l'oeil mural over the Harvard Square Theater and the Davenport Street Mural in Cambridge; The Chestnut Hill Highway Mural in Newton; the Kennedy Family Mural in Brookline; the Elephant Murals and the Alpha Omega Watch Mural in the Prudential Center; and The Newbury Street Mural on (you guessed it!) Newbury Street.

Historical 1875 Map of St. John's Seminary

At the community walking tour of the St. John's Seminary land on Saturday, April 21, guide Wilma Wetterstrom brought along copies of the 1875 map of the property. I've laid it side-by-side with a modern, satellite image of the property.



This and other historical maps of Allston-Brighton have been scanned in by the Brighton Allston Historical Society, and are available online. A great resource.

Walking Tour of Former Archdiocese Property: Saturday 4/21 at 11:00 am

Community Walking Tour of the Former Archdiocese Property

When: Saturday, April 21st , 11:00 am

Where: Meet at Clements Hall parking lot, 197 Foster Street, Brighton

The focus of the walking tour will be to view the open space, inspect the topographical features, and discuss the historical background of the site which contains the locations of several developments (new buildings and athletic stadiums) proposed by Boston College as part of its master planning process.

The tour will be led by long-time Brighton residents Charlie Vasiliades and Wilma Wetterstrom. One or more representatives from BC will also be on hand to answer questions.

The tour is expected to last 1½ hours. Comfortable walking shoes are advised. Rain or shine.

For more information, contact:
Mike Pahre, pahre@comcast.net, 617-216-1447; or
Charlie Vasiliades, 617-254-7024

PDF flyer can be found here.



Photos from the tour can be found here.