Lessons Learned from the Pandemic

by PETER GITTLEMAN Team Leader for Visitor Experience

A child makes a magical find during a fairy house scavenger hunt on the grounds of the Eustis Estate in Milton, Massachusetts.

As we begin to see light at the end of the long tunnel in which we have been trapped since March of last year, Historic New England welcomes you back this summer to many more historic sites and increased opportunities for personal interaction. The past year was filled with uncertainty and constant change, and throughout we tried to remain nimble and adapt to an ever-changing set of rules and precautions designed to keep staff, members, and visitors safe.

During the long months of the COVID-19 pandemic we experimented with new ways of serving the public that allowed us to safely keep some of our sites open, encourage use of our landscapes, and connect with visitors in cyberspace. As we get back to normal, many of our new outreach efforts were so successful that we are carrying them forward this year and beyond.

Virtual lectures, workshops, and performances

In spring 2020, when it became impossible to hold any type of public program in person, Historic New England began offering programs online for a modest fee. We quickly discovered that geography no longer played a role in people’s decisions to attend a lecture, workshop, or concert. Where once program space was filled with people from within a twenty-mile radius, our virtual programs attracted people from across the country, and even some from beyond the United States. No longer was room capacity an issue since the virtual auditorium has a vast number of seats. To expand our audience further, we used a flexible fee model that encouraged participants to pay what they could afford. This model covered program costs and attracted a more diverse audience than we ever would have seen at museum events.

Virtual school programs

By March, our museums were closed and the schools we partnered with for years were teaching students remotely. To help, Historic New England’s education staff created virtual versions of many of our school programs that we

PAGE 2 TOP Micro-weddings were a successful alternative to larger nuptials during the pandemic. Crisp October foliage at the Codman Estate Carriage House in Lincoln, Massachusetts, provided the perfect backdrop for this couple’s Halloweeninspired ceremony. BOTTOM This traditional Jewish ceremony in the parlor at the Eustis Estate in Milton, Massachusetts, was a memorable micro-wedding to end our winter season this past March. LEFT Historic New England President and CEO Vin Cipolla (center) with visitors in September 2020 on the “Breath of Fresh Air” landscape tour at Beauport, the Sleeper-McCann House, in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Photograph by Bill McQueen.

could present live, sometimes from staff members’ homes and other times while walking through empty museums. As word spread that we had offerings that could be accessed from home, teachers beyond our usual partners asked for services. We listed our virtual offerings online and began providing programs nationwide. They are now a permanent addition to our onsite school programs.

Timed tickets

To accommodate visitors at our six open historic sites in 2020, we had to limit the number of people who could tour at one time. This could only be accomplished through timed tickets sold in advance online, an approach we had never before tried. With a bit of work behind the scenes by our technology staff, we quickly pivoted to prepurchased timed tickets to a variety of events ranging from large-scale outdoor programs such as our fine arts and crafts festivals to more modest homeschool programs. We will continue offering timed tickets for many tours and programs, which is convenient for visitors and allows us to the manage crowds more effectively.

Private picnics

Before any of our museum buildings could reopen in July 2020, we made twelve landscapes available for socially distanced public use. At the Gloucester, Massachusetts, seaside gardens of Beauport, the Sleeper-McCann House, we created an intimate opportunity for family pods, allowing them to rent the space for private picnics. Families celebrated birthdays, anniversaries, or just got out of the house and enjoyed the gardens overlooking Gloucester Harbor. This offering was so popular we kept it going through the summer and fall and are continuing it this year.

Micro-weddings

Historic New England began offering micro-weddings last summer, adhering to gathering sizes limited by state guidelines. Most had fewer than fifteen people, but offered couples a safe and inexpensive option for a ceremony, photographs, and a celebratory event at a beautiful site during a challenging time. Nearly fifty couples took advantage of the opportunity at sites in five states, and we realized that this was a great model going forward for couples looking to have streamlined, affordable weddings.

Outdoor events

With so many indoor events canceled in 2020, Historic New England planned several new ones that were exclusively outdoors, where required social distancing could be maintained. Several of these were such a hit that we will have them again. At the Eustis Estate in Milton, Massachusetts, we transformed our fall children’s program into a fairy house event with timed tickets that sold out within days. Family groups came at appointed times to explore the grounds in search of fairy houses nestled in the gardens and woods. A winter holiday market, also at the Eustis Estate, attracted hundreds of people over a five-hour span that was carefully planned to give visitors and vendors space to stay safe.

Although these changes to our regular programs were in response to the pandemic, all have proven that they will be valuable beyond the time when we have to worry about limiting numbers and social distancing. No matter what the circumstances, in trying new ways to serve the public, there are always lessons to be learned.