The art of saving a city

By David Filipov| Boston Globe| July 24, 2010

Pittsfield — City of art, city of funk. The SoHo of the Berkshires, the Brooklyn of the Berkshires.

The sobriquets urban planners bestow upon this bygone manufacturing hub speak of their confidence that Pittsfield can become a center of culture and entertainment on par with Lenox and Stockbridge and Williamstown.

Once-vacant buildings in downtown Pittsfield are filling with galleries, and restaurants. North Street, the city’s long depressed main drag, now hosts regular street festivals, open houses and art shows that draw thousands of residents and visitors. …

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A Preservation Massachusetts Most Endangered Historic Resource in 1997, the Longfellow Bridge faces preservation and other issues in its upcoming rehabilitation.

Linking cities and eras

By Eric Moskowitz| Boston Globe| July 25, 2010

Boston — The Longfellow Bridge spans the Charles River between Boston and Cambridge with a mix of grace and heft. Below its heavily trafficked deck, a dozen granite piers alternate with 11 sets of steel arches that bound across the water like a skipped stone. Above, the bridge is adorned with four neoclassical towers that resemble salt and pepper shakers.

And then there is the view, a panorama that is a mainstay of postcards: the rooftops of Back Bay, the slope of Beacon Hill and the gleam of downtown skyscrapers rising beyond the deep blue of the Charles and the greenery of the Esplanade.
Ever since the original bridge was built in 1854 to connect Tom’s Neck with the main part of town, it has been an important historical link for the Community.

Up close though, the century-old bridge is in terrible shape…

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The State’s Fiscal Year 2011 budget, finalized last night, includes an extension for the state historic rehabilitation tax credit. The tax credit, slated to end in December, 2011, is now extended to December, 2017. The language was included in Section 45 of the budget as follows:
 

SECTION 48. Section 38R of chapter 63 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2008 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 35 and 36, the words —6 year period beginning January 1, 2006, and ending December 31, 2011 and inserting in place thereof the following words:- 12-year period beginning January 1, 2006, and ending December 31, 2017.

The FY 2011 budget now goes to Governor Patrick, who has 10 days for review.  Preservation Massachusetts, along with our legislative consultant Paul Pezzella and Legislative Committee, will continue to closely monitor the budget to ensure the credits extension remains in place.  Thanks to all who aided Preservation Massachusetts’ effort by contacting legislators and sending letters to the Joint Budget Conference Committee.  Be sure to check back for more updates in the coming days.

Massachusetts’ last wooden drawbridge faces uncertain future if not designated historic.

A Bridge to the Past

Editorial| Cape Cod Times | June 23, 2010

Chatham — The Mitchell River Bridge in Chatham is the last timber drawbridge of its kind- not just in Massachusetts, but in the entire country. The fact alone should be enough to support saving the wooden structure.

Ever since the original bridge was built in 1854 to connect Tom’s Neck with the main part of town, it has been an important historical link for the Community.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation wants to replace the wooden bridge with a wider wood-mimicking steel and concrete structure with a macadam surface. The DOT has allocated funds to build a spac that is supposed to last for most of the rest of this century.

Opponents of the redesign believe…

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PM needs your help in ensuring the Massachusetts Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit will continue to benefit our Commonwealth! The program is scheduled to sunset in December, 2011, unless an provision to extend the program is included in the Massachusetts FY 2011 budget.  The Senate’s version of the budget  included a proposal to extend the credit until 2017, but was not included in the House version.  The budget is currently in a joint conference committee and will be finalized and presented to the Governor by July 1.

So how can you help? PM is asking all members, partners and colleague to encourage the House to include the sunset extension provision in the final budget.  Write to the Joint Budget Conference Committee today, especially constituents of the following members:

Senator Stephen Panatiotakos (Chair, Senate Ways & Means) State House, Room 212

Senator Stephen Brewer, State House, Room 109B

Senator Michael Knapik, State House Room 419

Representative Charles A. Murphy (Chair, House Ways & Means), State House, 243

Representative Robert A. DeLeo, Speaker of the House, State House, Room 356

Representative Barbara A. L’latlien, State House, Room 237

Representative Robert S. Hargraves, State House, Room 238

Letters should be mailed to the Massachusetts State House, Boston, MA 02133

Click here to view the letter PM sent to the Budget Conference Committee on the economic and historic benefits of the tax credit program and use it as a template.  Please send your letter within the next week and feel free to contact PM’s office with questions about the MHRTC!

Click here to view PM’s Economic Study of the impact and benefits of the MHRTC.