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A  Speedway  in  central  mass?  DCR's  historic  curatorship  program  offers  new  future  for historic  mount  wachusett  building

1/31/2019

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Superintendent's House, Mount Wachusett State Reservation. Featured on the Architectural Heritage Foundation's website for the Speedway Headquarters redevelopment project. Photo: MA Department of Conservation & Recreation.
Superintendent's House, Mount Wachusett State Reservation. Photo: MA Department of Conservation & Recreation.
The Speedway Headquarters is not the only Shingle-style building with a recreational history in Massachusetts to be granted a new lease on life. Fifty miles away, the Superintendent's House at the Wachusett Mountain State Reservation has been undergoing rehabilitation through the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation's Historic Curatorship Program - the same program facilitating redevelopment of the Speedway. Besides their architecture and ownership, the two buildings have much in common. Both were constructed during at the turn of the twentieth century, when the state park system was being created; both served as residences for superintendents of state recreational agencies that eventually merged under DCR (the Metropolitan District Commission and Department of Environmental Management); both will contain food and beverage establishments and non-profit space; and both will serve as way-stations for people pursuing recreational opportunities in DCR parks. 

The Wachusett Superintendent's House, also known as the Vickery House, has long been a point of concern for the surrounding Princeton, MA community. Vacant for more than thirty years, the building sustained damage from the elements and vandalism. DCR's periodic investment in structural repairs was not enough to prevent the house from languishing.

Enter Katherine Huck and Robin Springfield. The Princeton residents wished to expand their local bakery Mountainside Market and were also eager see the Superintendent's House restored. Thus, when DCR included the building in its Historic Curatorship Program, Huck and Springfield seized the opportunity to do both. They proposed redeveloping the house as a mixed-use facility with a bakery, small brewery, offices, and non-profit space catering to the Princeton community, as well as visiting hikers, and skiers. DCR accepted their proposal and granted them a forty-year lease on the property. They commenced the $969,000 project last November. As with any historic preservation effort, rehabilitation of the Superintendent's House is far from easy. The structure must be brought up to code and its architectural features carefully repaired, sometimes off-site. In light of these complexities, Huck and Springfield estimate that full restoration will not be complete until 2023. However, they hope to open the ground floor to the pubic as early as this coming March. Patrons can expect an outdoor patio with Adirondack chairs and fire pits, a beautiful view of an adjacent hiking trail, and, of course, plenty of good food. 

For more information on the Wachusett Mountain Project, visit: 

http://www.mountainsidemarket.com/wachusett-mountain-project/
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Curatorship Program Highlight:Bradley Palmer Mansion

2/23/2015

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The Historic Curatorship Program is a great preservation tool developed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). This program works with private groups to find new uses for historic properties. By leasing the property to a private owner who finances the restoration and upkeep for a select period of time, the historic resource is saved and brought back to viable use. The Speedway Building is just one of the many DCR properties and we would like to take time to highlight other successful outcomes of the Historic Curatorship Program. 

Located in Topsfield, Massachusetts, the Bradley Palmer Mansion is a unique Craftsman and Tudor Revival Stone structure, commissioned in the early 1900’s.  Bradley Palmer, a noted attorney of the early 20th century, spent a good deal of time deciding where to build his “modest cottage” and settled on the affluent town of Topsfield, where there was plenty of land to exercise his horses. The architect was Charles Amos Cummings who also designed Cyclorama building of South Boston.  Palmer drew his inspiration for the house from the Mansions and Castles of Aberdeen in Scotland.  He incorporated motifs from the Medieval Period into the Arts and Crafts style- creating a very eclectic home.

The house features the original red slate roof, original leaded stained glass windows, stone-carved fireplaces, images of Knights and Kings, and intricate wood molding.  There is a strong equestrian theme throughout the house through carved and glass imagery, quotations and even the layout of the house is in a horseshoe shape.

From 1937 to 1944, Palmer donated all of his land holdings “to the people of Massachusetts as a place to enjoy the peace and beauty of river, woods, fields, and hills.” He transferred all ownership of his properties to the State with the stipulation that he would lease back 107 acres including his mansion – for the remainder of his days. The Bradley Palmer State Park continues Mr. Palmer’s legacy of conservation and every year is enjoyed by thousands of equestrians and outdoor enthusiasts.

The house is currently owned by the State of Massachusetts and is being restored and leased as part of DCR’s Historic Curatorship Program.  The Curators signed a fifty year lease in 1997 and have restored the mansion, operating it as the Willowdale Estate, a premier events facility. Willowdale is a shining example of private and public partnership.

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Read about the Bradley Palmer Mansion, and other DCR curatorship successes in the Spring 2013 issue of Retrofit Magazine:
http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/dcr/stewardship/curator/013-may-june-retrofit-magazine-with-cover.pdf

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