Ramblings 2008

RAMBLINGS

AN ANNUAL PUBLICATION OF NANTUCKET PRESERVATION TRUST VOL. II • 2008

Building Artisans Preserving Nantucket’s Historic Structures Richard and Valerie Norton • 508-228-9987

Photographed by Billy Cunningham

Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club Decorator Show House, New York

S US AN ZI SE S GRE E N, I NC. ASID Antiques

Interior Design

Nantucket 508 228 316 0

Decoration

New York 212 824 1170

design associates inc crisp, buildable design grounded in nantucket tradition design-associates.com

Susan Boardman Embroidered Narratives

Studio 508-228-6489 • www.susanboardman.net Commissions represented by Nantucket Looms •16 Federal Street • 508-228-1908

P R E S E RV E R

Photo by Jeff Allen

Saluting the Important Work of the Nantucket Preservation Trust K ATHLEEN H AY D ESIGNS T ASTEFULLY I NSPIRED I NTERIORS 508.228.1219 www.kathleenhaydesigns.com

SOMETHING NEW ON KEEPING THINGS OLD

WITH OVER A DOZEN NEW TITLES,

VISIT THE ATHENEUM AND LEARN ABOUT

KEEPING YOUR HISTORIC HOUSE AUTHENTIC.

Nantucket Atheneum • Lower India Street • 508.228.1110

Welcome Last year, to celebrate the Nantucket Preservation Trust’s tenth anniversary, we launched the premiere issue of Ramblings. The publication serves as a guide describing our mission, programs, and services and provides helpful information to owners of historic homes and visitors who love Nantucket’s rich architectural heritage. Ramblings’ success has led us to expand the guide and to increase its distribution.

We welcome the opportunity to provide you with a fresh sampling of Nantucket’s rich architectural history and hope you will share Ramblings with friends and family. We also encourage you to contact the NPT—and to join our growing organization—to learn more.

Michael May Executive Director

The Nantucket Preservation Trust, a nonprofit, membership-supported organization, was formed in 1997, and today has more than seven hundred members dedicated to the preservation of the island’s historic architecture, gardens, and sense of place.The NPT serves as an advocate for Nantucket’s rich architectural heritage through year-round educational programs and preservation services.

Nantucket Preservation Trust Two Union Street, 2nd Floor Nantucket, MA 02554 508-228-1387 www.nantucketpreservation.org

Photo by Cary Hazlegrove

For more information please visit us at:

NPT Board of Directors Richardson T. Merriman Chairman Christopher Mortenson President Ken Beaugrand Vice President John Sussek Treasurer Nancy Forster Secretary Harris E. Stone Personnel Susan Boardman Elin Hilderbrand Cunningham Christopher L. Dallmus Caroline Ellis Susan Zises Green Bridget O. Hubbard Sanford Kendall Carol Kinsley Kevin Kuester Kent J. Murphy Lyman Perry Jeffrey Rayport Georgia U. Raysman Esta-Lee Stone Pamela Waller

Staff Michael May, Executive Director Dawn Darbey-Dugan, Administrative Assistant Summer Interns Guy Blanchard, Molly Lester, and Hunter Palmer Photography Jeff Allen Kathleen Hay Cary Hazlegrove Michael May Pixel Perfect Guest Contributors Betsy Tyler Jascin Leonardo Finger Graphic Design Kathleen Hay Designs Copy Editing Elizabeth Oldham Advertising Sales Carolyn Walsh

Cover Photo by Cary Hazlegrove

Historic images courtesty of the Nantucket Historical Association

Table of Contents Nantucket’s Preservation Alphabet

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Help Document Nantucket’s Historic Interiors 12 An Overview of Nantucket’s Early Resort Years 14

A Walk Down Broadway 18 A Self-GuidedTour through ’Sconset’s Historic Core Walking Tour Information

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Summer Kitchens: 24 An Annual NPT House Tour

The Same Ax,Twice 32

Author Howard Mansfield Speaks at NPT’s Annual Meeting

Preservation Awards 36 A Look at NPT’s 2007 Recipients

August Fête and House Tour 38 A Celebration of Historic Preservation: Moors’ End Garden and Private Homes in the Pleasant Street Neighborhood Gardens and Open Spaces

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Tips and Services 48 Preservation Assistance for Owners of Historic Properties Fighting Rot 54 Be Green 59 Ten Tips to Green Your Old House End Note 62 Become a Member: Celebrate Wabi-Sabi 63 Links 64 A Sampling of Resources for Owners of Historic Homes NPT’s Ramblings echoes a guide first published in 1947 entitled, Rambling Through the Streets and Lanes of Nantucket,

by Eduoard A. Stackpole Copyright © 2008 Nantucket Preservation Trust

Preservation Alphabet for Nantucket ARCH–A support over an open space, such as a doorway BALUSTRADE–A row of small supports with a rail supporting them, such as in a staircase CASEMENT–A hinged window that opens outward DENTILS–A series of small blocks projecting like teeth, usually in a decorative band ELLIPTICAL ARCH–A half-oval-shaped fanlight, usually above a doorway FLEMISH BOND–An early brick pattern consisting of alternating headers (short end of the brick) and stretchers (long ends) GAMBREL ROOF–A roof with two planes on each side creating a larger attic space HIPPED DORMER–A roof window crowned by a roof with a sloping end and sides IONIC COLUMN–A support with a capital, or top, containing a Greek ornamental scroll JAMB–A side post of a door or window KEEP–A round brick storage area usually located under the kitchen LUNETTE–A half-moon window, or fan, usually in the gable end of an elevation MORTGAGE BUTTON–A round, ivory disk placed prominently on the newel post after the final mortgage payment NEWEL POST–The upright support at the base or head of a stair railing ORIEL–A large window built out from a wall and resting on brackets or a corbel PARAPET–A wall that extends beyond the block of a building QUOIN–Large, square stones or blocks that run along the corners of a building, usually on the main elevation, from the first floor to the roofline ROOFWALK–A platform with a railing on the roof ridge SASH–The frame and glass section of the window that can be raised and lowered TRANSOM LIGHT–A series of fixed panes of glass over an exterior or interior door UNCOURSED STONE WALL–Stones set in a random pattern, often found in a foundation VERGEBOARD–A board, often ornately carved or pierced, attached to the projecting edge of a roof WAINSCOTING–A decorative or protective facing, such as wood paneling, employed on a house’s interior walls X-RAILING–A porch railing with x-shaped supports Y-TRACERY–A window, usually in a church, that is divided into parts forming a “Y” pattern ZIG-ZAG motif–A decorative band often found along a porch or roofline resembling a continuous inverted “V”.

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Photo by Jeff Allen

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ith more than 800 pre-Civil War buildings in downtown alone, ­Nantucket has one of the country’s largest intact concentrations of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century structures. However, many of these historic ­properties have never been fully documented and—believe it or not—there is no c­ omprehensive record of what remains.

Help Document Nantucket’s Historic Interiors How many historic houses have been “gutted” in recent years? Which ones are threatened? Which houses have had minimal changes and which retain their original plans and details?

To identify those structures at risk and to create a list of significant historic Nantucket interiors that will assist with preservation planning for years to come, the Nantucket Preservation Trust is creating a database to track ­interior conditions and changes.

Please help us by letting us know which house interiors on your block retain their historic integrity, and consider allowing us to begin by documenting your home’s interior.

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An Overview of Nantucket’s Early ResortYears

Springfield House

Did you know?. . .

That Nantucket’s seaside-resort industry began prior to the decline of the whaling industry? As we ramble the streets and lanes of Nantucket today, most of us may not realize the important role that the seaside-resort trade has played in Nantucket’s history. Several key structures in town served as early inns and hotels, and many others were built or converted to house summer visitors.

For instance, did you know that the Jared Coffin House, at the corner of Centre and Broad streets—built in 1842 and one of the brick houses that survived the Great Fire of 1846—was among the island’s earliest hotels? A year after the Great Fire, the Nantucket Steamboat Company purchased it for use as a hotel and named it “Ocean House.” To keep up with demand and competition from new hotels, the Ocean House evolved. A seventyroom addition was constructed in 1882, and a new kitchen added in 1886.

By 1904, an enclosed sunroom surrounded the main façade and east elevation. In the 1960s, the structure was renamed the Jared Coffin House for its builder and original occupant, and was restored, with several later additions removed.

Among the prime locations for lodging at the turn of the twentieth ­century were Orange Street and North Water Street—most likely due to the views from Orange Street and easy access to the shoreline from North Water.

Along Orange Street there were three major inns: American House, at the corner of Martins Lane; Sherburne House, directly across the street; and Bay View House (38 Orange), which is the only one of the three still standing. Originally constructed in the late 1830s as a private home, Bay View House was converted in 1873 for use by seasonal visitors.

Orange Street’s commercial role in the housing of seasonal visitors has ­declined, but the North Water Street area retains a strong connection. ­Several houses on North Water were converted to resort use in the 1860s and 1870s to take advantage of the booming tourist industry. In 1878, the popular Springfield House was expanded by converting a house at 29 North 15

We Invite You Inside the Most Extraordinarily Designed Homes

We are proud to support the Nantucket Preservation Trust Kitchen Tour To subscribe call 800.765.1225 or visit www.nehomemag.com

Water Street to an inn. The structure, although extensively altered over the past year, retains a French Mansard roof that appears to have been added at the time of its conversion 130 years ago. Like most structures of the era, it featured a gracious porch across its façade.

By the last two decades of the nineteenth century, the trend for housing summer visitors had shifted to the construction of large hotels. Several large shingled hotels were built near North Water Street, the Point Breeze (c.1891) being the last of these early structures to survive. A fire in 1925 destroyed much of the original complex, but the 1904 pavilion withstood the fire and still dominates the streetscape along Easton Street. Significant changes and renovation of its interior have taken place in recent years.

Today, guest houses and small hotels in town still cater to Nantucket’s ­summer trade, and histories of individual buildings associated with the ­industry continue to be unlocked as we learn more about our nineteenthand early-twentieth-century past.

For those who wish to find out more about the resort industry on ­Nantucket, we recommend reading Clay Lancaster’s Holiday Island, which is filled with local history and details of this important industry.

Point Breeze Hotel 17

A Walk Down Broadway A Self-GuidedWalking Tour through ’Sconset’s Historic Core

A visit to Nantucket is not complete without a walk around ’Sconset’s ­historic core.

We hope this brief review of some of ’Sconset’s earliest ­cottages will whet your appetite for exploring this extraordinary village.

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lthough much of ’Sconset’s development occurred in the late nineteenth century, when the summer resort industry boomed along the Atlantic coast, the village’s history goes back much further. ’Sconset’s beachfront was used as a “fishing stage” by Native Americans and later by early English settlers, and the village is one of the earliest seasonal communities in the country. ’Sconset is short for Siasconset, a Native American term meaning “place of great bones.” Accounts suggest that many early settlers traveled from the town of Nantucket to the remote eastern end within a few years of the island’s settlement, and that by the 1670s ’Sconset was one of four fishing “stands,” or stations, with constructions to provide temporary shelter.

As you wander the lanes of the village, you will notice that it grew “­organically”—that is, without much planning, but on an as-needed basis.

Note the intimate scale that marks the width of the lanes, the low cornice heights (some shorter than an adult human), and the very modest massing of the houses. Reusing building materials was prevalent in ’Sconset due to its remoteness and the difficulty of hauling materials to the area. Accounts suggest that the first structures were grouped around what is now Pump Square and were very crude, one-room, post-and-beam buildings with dirt floors and gable roofs.

As the years passed, subsequent owners added to the shelters with simple lean-to additions called “warts.” Obed Macy, the first Nantucket h­ istorian, wrote in the 1830s that the buildings were constructed with wooden ­chimneys and that the exterior walls consisted of vertical boards without shingles. The small yards were filled with secondary buildings such as small barns, peat houses, boat houses, outhouses, and fish-drying racks called “flakes.”

Although ’Sconset was a seasonal fishing village for most of its early h­ istory, by the mid-nineteenth century visitors from the mainland began seeking ­summer refuge at ’Sconset. These early seasonal residents included an influx of Broadway actors, many of whom rented new cottages just south of Main 19

Photo by Michael May Nauma, 27 Broadway, ’Sconset

Street. Their influence in the village may account for the naming of ­Broadway—one of the oldest lanes in ’Sconset. Today, Broadway retains some of the best examples of these early structures.

Nauticon Lodge, at 4 Broadway, probably dates from the early eighteenth century, and like most whaling houses was built in phases. The first section, known as the “Great Room” with chimney (at center), was later expanded into a T-shaped plan. This early form is still clearly evident. The wings have shed roofs and appear as warts to the main block. Nauticon Lodge also ­retains an early outbuilding—a stable located at its south end.

The George C. Gardner House across the street, at 5 Broadway, was built at the end of the eighteenth century, and its design reflects that of earlier whale houses. Its T-shaped plan was part of the original mass rather than part of later additions. The building served as the village’s library for summer residents for much of the early twentieth century.

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Auld Lang Syne, at 6 Broadway, is perhaps the oldest structure on island (if you live in town you probably argue that “The Oldest House” is). Edward Underhill, who gathered histories of many of ‘Sconset’s cottages in the late nineteenth century, notes that Auld Lang Syne was first owned by Michael Coffin, who employed Native Americans to fish for him while he remained ashore to do the cooking. The house grew from a rectangular structure with a great room and two small chambers to the south. In the eighteenth century it evolved into a T-plan structure with low shed-roof extensions. It was e­ xpanded in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries with warts on the south side, a kitchen at the north side, and a shed.

Dexioma (which means “welcome” in Greek), at 7 Broadway, has been called the “most perfect gem” by Henry Chandlee Forman, an ­architectural historian, and the author of Early Nantucket and Its Whale Houses. The south end is the oldest section. A north kitchen was added in the early nineteenth ­century, with warts to either end added by 1840–50. Dexioma also ­incorporates an early boathouse, which is now attached and found along the structure’s Front Street side.

Dexioma, 7 Broadway, ’Sconset 21

As you follow Broadway, you will note that many cottages have changed ­appearance with the addition of second floors, including Liberty Hall, House of Lords, and Mizzentop. All, however, began as simple cottages with a T-plan.

One of the best preserved cottages is Shanunga, or the Betsey Cary cottage, 10 Broadway. It is believed to date from the 1680s. The tall wing toward the north was added about 1780, adjacent to the oldest core and its early warts.

By 1835, Shanunga was held by Betsey Cary, who ran a tavern there. By 1873, the cottage was an early post office operated by Captain Baxter, Cary’s son-in-law. Local histories suggest that the name Shanunga comes from a quarterboard that once hung here, taken from a shipwreck in 1852.

Across Mitchell’s Lane is another fine early cottage known as The Maples.

It was built by the early eighteenth century and occupied by Eliza Mitchell, for whom the small lane separating the houses may have been named. The south end is the oldest section. Later wings are evident to the north. The house’s small scale and its crooked windows and wings are an essential part of its character and authenticity.

Farther along on the right is Willow Harp. It, too, was built in the late ­eighteenth century and was later owned by Benjamin Bunker, whose mother kept a teahouse. It has been added to in an unusual fashion, but the early structure is easily discernible.

Elisha Clark’s Stable, a gray-trimmed building with a storefront-like ­window, found on the right near the shell path to Front Street, was later converted into Crosby’s store at the turn of the nineteenth century, and a second floor was ­added.

The three cottages at the head of Broadway are believed to have been built elsewhere and moved to ’Sconset in the early nineteenth century. San Souci (meaning “without a care”), which fronts on Centre Street, may have been erected on Traders Lane in town and used as part of a twine factory. Local histories suggest it was moved to ’Sconset in 1814 and was the first cottage in the village to be raised to two stories. The kitchen to the north was a boathouse, and bricks for its chimney are said to be from the British ship Queen when she wrecked.

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Early records indicate that the first known owner of Nauma was Rachel Paddack, the widow of Reuben. Local histories suggest the cottage was moved from nearby Sesachacha Pond. The barn now attached at the north end is believed to have been brought from Shimmo in 1868.

Whale Spray, at the top of Broadway, dates to 1796 and was moved from the Five Corners section of Nantucket Town, once known as New Guinea.

After walking along Broadway, we suggest wandering back along Front Street, Centre, or Shell—or better yet, double back and explore all three lanes to view similar cottages or to catch glimpses of the ocean.

For those who want to delve into more architectural history, we suggest picking up a copy of Henry Chandlee Forman’s book, Early Nantucket and Its Whale Houses, which describes the evolution of ’Sconset’s early houses, street by street. Also, the Nantucket Historical Association’s exhibition on ’Sconset is currently on view at the Whaling Museum on Broad Street in town.

Guided architectural walking tours of ’Sconset, cosponsored by the ’Sconset Trust and Nantucket Preservation Trust, are held at 9:00 A.M. on the second Tuesday of each month, in season. Contact the NPT office for information and reservations at 508-228-1387.

The NPT also conducts tours of Main Street in town every Wednesday and Thursday from midJune through September. The Main Street tour begins at 9:30 a.m. from our office at 2 Union Street, at $10 per person. A discount to visit the Maria Mitchell Birthplace (4 Vestal Street) is provided as part of the tour.

Grab a copy of NPT’s A Walk Down Main Street: The Houses and Their Histories, if you prefer a self-guided tour. The beautifully written and illustrated book makes a perfect gift or memento of your visit. It is available for $25 at the NPT office or local bookstores.

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Photo by Pixel Perfect

Summer Kitchens: An Annual NPT House Tour

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NPT’s Annual Summer Kitchens House Tour Featuring Celebrity Chefs: Sarah Leah Chase, Natasha Misanko, and M.J. Mojer Historic Centre and North Water Street neighborhoods July 17, 2008 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Tickets are $40 and may be purchased in advance or on the day of the tour.

For information contact the NPT office at 508-228-1387.

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lease join us for the Fourth Annual Summer Kitchens Tour along ­historic Centre Street, Step Lane, Ash Lane, and North Water Street.

Located just north of the central business district, this area contains some of ­Nantucket’s earliest homes.Tour participants will also have a chance to view some early sections of several houses as well as kitchen gardens.

Overall, the houses demonstrate an array of kitchen types and reveal how each historic house can be sensitively adapted to provide modern and functional kitchens without compromising historic integrity.

The Houses

Research for the houses participating in this year’s summer kitchens tour was compiled by historian and author Betsy Tyler.

4 Ash Street, c. 1847 The Great Fire of 1846 destroyed the building that was formerly at this location. Three months after the fire, master mason Joseph F. Worth purchased the land from Warren Phinney for $50;Warren had been married to Joseph’s daughter Lavinia, who died in 1844. Joseph and his wife, Sophronia, had six other children; their son Samuel, a mariner, purchased the family homestead from his father in 1853 and owned the house for thirty more years.

It is Greek Revival in style, like so many houses built immediately after the fire. The front door of the house faces west, rather than north to Ash Street, probably because the house was built so close to the street there was no room for an entry on the street side.

8 Ash Street, 1765 Luckily for owner George M. Jones, the Great Fire that was raging through 25

the neighborhood on July 13, 1846, stopped short of the eighteenth-century house he had purchased from the heirs of Benjamin Barney Jr. in 1832.

Barney, a cooper, had acquired the land at this location in 1765, and built the house before the Revolutionary War. It originally had a large central chimney and traditional winder stairs, but was remodeled in the first half of the nineteenth century with four end-wall chimneys and a larger stair hall.

A two-story rear ell was added after 1834, and was reconfigured by the current owners to include a kitchen with dining and sitting area on the first floor and a needlework studio on the second floor.

10 Ash Street The east half of the house at 10 Ash Street was reputedly moved to this location in the second quarter of the eighteenth century from the early English settlement west of town. The original dwelling was a lean-to half house, and like most Nantucket houses from that era it was situated on the lot to face south. The homestead of George Folger (1730–1813), his wife, Sarah Coleman (1734–78), and their eight children, it was enlarged to a full house to accommodate the family. Heirs of George and Sarah owned the house until the 1820s.

10 Ash Street 26

51 Centre Street

51 Centre Street, c. 1790 Known as the Peter Folger House, this three-story dwelling was built in the last quarter of the eighteenth century by boatbuilder Peter Folger (1737– 1808), a descendant of the famous early settler of the same name. A story taller than most Nantucket dwellings, the house reputedly sported a flat roof when first built, but was altered by Peter’s son Uriah early in the nineteenth century. Five generations of the Folger family lived in this house, occupying the premises until 1955.

57 Centre Street, c. 1780 Originally a small-scale, 1¾-story dwelling, this house has been extended in the rear to accommodate a generous kitchen and expanded living space.

The house was built by James Coffin (1744–1820), who was married to a Coffin cousin named Jenet, Jennette, or Janet, as the name was variously spelled. Jenet’s father, Josiah Coffin, gave the couple the land on Centre Street in 1780, and as they already were parents of six children, it is likely that the house was built soon thereafter. It was owned by members of the Coffin family for about seventy-five years.

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68 Centre Street, 1870s

68 Centre Street, c. 1803 This “typical” house is similar to dozens of others in town, built in the ­period 1760–1830, in a style that is identified with Quaker simplicity. It was built by ropemaker Henry Riddell (1769–1840) in the early nineteenth century on land his father, Samuel, had purchased in 1803 in an area called No Headed Hill. It is not known exactly when Henry built his house, but it was probably soon after the land was purchased; he had married his second wife, Hepsabeth Wyer, in 1799, and they had two very young children, plus three children under the age of ten from Henry’s first marriage.

3 Step Lane, Veranda House, c.1838, expanded 1881 When Joseph H. Nickerson sold the new dwelling house at 3 Step Lane to Edwin Coffin in 1838, an old house was on the property—it had been built from parts of the 1684 William Gayer house that once stood on C ­ entre Street, but the old dwelling was removed. Nathan Chapman, a retired ­farmer from Long Island, bought the house in 1881, the year of the first Coffin family reunion on the island, and like many of his neighbors he agreed to board some of the attendees. The experience was so enjoyable he decided to expand his house, add sea-view porches, and cater to seasonal visitors; the Veranda House opened the next year, and has been a hostelry ever since, operating under the name of The Overlook from 1930 to 2002.

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Veranda House

6 Step Lane, c. 1890 Step Lane is so named because it was once a footpath improved with a ­wooden stairway. The steps were removed by Nathan Chapman, who ­enlarged the house at 3 Step Lane and opened it as the Veranda House in 1882; for a number of years thereafter, Step Lane was known as Chapman Avenue. The house at 6 Step Lane was built on land once belonging to the owners of the house at 47 Centre Street, but sold to Sylvia G. Crocker in 1889. In 1914, it was known as “Vine Cottage Tea Room”; a newspaper advertisement for the tea room offered children’s parties, afternoon tea, and luncheon sandwiches.

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24 North Water Street, c. 1770 Benjamin Folger (b. 1740) inherited this property from his father, Timothy, in 1769; when he sold it in 1784, there was a dwelling house on the land.

By 1805, there was also a candleworks and other buildings, outhouses, and fences on the property, which extended to the highway on the west (­Centre Street). Like all “typical” Nantucket houses, it is 2½ stories high, with a large central ridge chimney that provides fireplaces for all the rooms on both floors.

13 North Water Street, c. 1874 All of the houses on the east side of North Water Street, up to Sea Street, were destroyed in the Great Fire of July 13, 1846. The lot here at the corner of Sea Street was still empty when Barzillai Ray sold it to George K. Long for $150 in gold coin in 1874. Long built his house sometime before 1887, when it shows up on the first Sanborn Insurance Company map of the area; he and his wife, Hannah, were both in their late fifties, and their children were grown and married when the couple moved into their retirement home. Described by architectural historian Clay Lancaster as a Victorian Gothic with Eastlake details, the house has pointed windows on the second floor and is decorated with elaborate woodwork.

13 North Water Street 30

Photo by Pixel Perfect

Fewer and fewer Americans possess objects that have a patina, old furniture, grandparents’ pots and pans—the used things, warm with generations of human touch . . . essential to a ­human landscape.

Susan Sontag 31

Š University Press of New England 32

NPT Annual Meeting Author Howard Mansfield, Guest Speaker Friday, July 25, 2008 Unitarian Church, 11 Orange Street, 11:00 a.m.

The public is invited The Same Ax,Twice With the continuing loss of historic fabric through “gut rehabs,” authenticity on Nantucket is threatened as never before. Mr. Mansfield has written extensively on the subject of authenticity, not only as it relates to architecture, but to our everyday lives in general.We think his insights will stimulate conversation and help focus attention on preserving historic Nantucket.

“Howard Mansfield has never written an uninteresting or dull sentence. All of his books are emotionally and intellectually nourishing,” said the writer and critic Guy Davenport. “He is something like a cultural psychologist along with being a first-class cultural historian. He is humane, witty, brightminded, and rigorously intelligent. His deep subject is Time: how we deal with it and how it deals with us.”

Writing about preservation, architecture, and American history, H ­ oward Mansfield has contributed to The New York Times, American Heritage, the ­Washington Post, Historic Preservation, Yankee, and other publications. ­Mansfield has explored issues of preservation in five books, including In the ­Memory House, of which The Hungry Mind Review said, “Now and then an idea ­suddenly bursts into flame, as if by spontaneous combustion. One instance is the ­recent explosion of American books about the idea of place....But the best of them, the deepest, the widest-ranging, the most provocative and eloquent is Howard Mansfield’s In the Memory House.”

Researching The Same Ax, Twice, Mansfield immersed himself d­eeply in the search for restoration. He traveled with Civil War re-enactors to help recreate the Battle of Antietam; he enrolled in auctioneer school to ­observe the endless recycling of artifacts, and he compared the ­process to the sterile preservation of these same objects in displays and museums; he toured eighteenth-century houses that have been variously 33

restored to their “original” condition or stripped to their essence; he observed the ongoing work of preserving the USS Constitution, “Old Ironsides,” a ship that has been replaced over the years board by board.

“The Same Ax, Twice is filled with insight and eloquence,” said The New York Times Book Review. “A memorable, readable, brilliant book on an ­important subject. It is a book filled with quotable wisdom.”

Mr. Mansfield’s latest book is The Bones of the Earth. He is also the author of Skylark: The Life, Lies, and Inventions of Harry Atwood, and Cosmopolis:Yesterday’s Cities of the Future. He has contributed to two anthologies, Writing on Air and People and Place, and is editing the forthcoming Where the Mountain Stands Alone.

Mr. Mansfield has been a keynote speaker at preservation conferences and has spoken at many historical societies, art museums, and colleges. He was graduated from Syracuse University in 1979 with a dual degree: Magazine Journalism and Honors in American Studies. He was one of two undergraduates to be awarded the Chancellor’s Citation for Exceptional Academic Achievement. He and his wife, the writer Sy Montgomery, live in a 120year-old house that they have left mostly untouched.

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A man is rich in proportion to the number of things which he can afford to leave alone.

Henry David Thoreau

Two views of Post Office Square, ’Sconset

Preservation Awards

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Preservation Awards program, to honor historic resources and their stewards, was unveiled at the Tenth Annual Meeting of the NPT in July 2007. The recipients were Bernie and Carol Coffin and Ginger Ivey, who undertook two high-profile restoration projects in ’Sconset.

The Coffins completed a restoration of the ’Sconset Post Office—a true village landmark, built by James H. and Charlotte M. Gibbs about 1875, and used as a post office since 1902. The project was accomplished in the off-­season in time for the summer of 2007. The work included a ­total ­rehabilitation of the structure and restoration of elements such as the ­original roof cresting noted in early photographs. In addition, the Coffins sensitively added a new rear wing that is in keeping with the original structure’s form and massing.

Ginger Ivey completed a renovation of Wolf’s Head at 8 Cottage Avenue—a Gothic Revival structure believed to have been part of the 1870s development of ’Sconset’s south end. Ms. Ivey’s aim was to retain the charm of this early cottage by restoring original features. Among the highlights are the exposed rafters of the second floor with the original painted ceilings.

Wolf’s Head was built in 1872 by Charles H. Robinson and Franklin A. ­Ellis. The land upon which the cottage was built was part of a large tract of land Robinson and Ellis bought that year to create the Sunset Heights ­development south of Main Street along Ocean Avenue. Robinson, a prolific island builder, constructed dozens of cottages, and sold 8 Cottage Avenue to Isabella Coffin in 1886.

In the early twentieth century, the cottage was owned by Vida Croly Sidney, the wife of English playwright Frederick Sidney. In 1921, Sidney sold Wolf’s Head to Helen Stowe Penrose, whose family retained it until 2005.

We hope the awards program will gain more and more attention each year and will help to instill a sense of community pride and stewardship. Please join us for the 2008 awards presentation at NPT’s Annual Meeting on July 25th.

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Jt is going to be more than Pleasant...

Photo by Cary Hazlegrove

AUGUST FêTE AND HOUSE TOUR NPT’s Annual Neighborhood Block Party August 7, 2008 Six o’clock in the evening Tour historic homes along Pleasant, Mill, and North Mill streets

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he August Fête is NPT’s premier fundraising event and provides an opportunity to participate in an old-fashioned block party while ­ ­celebrating Nantucket’s architectural heritage and supporting our advocacy efforts. D ­ escribed as one of the island’s best summer events and a feast for the eyes and the palate, the evening includes a reception and tour of private homes that retain their architectural integrity and demonstrate how historic homes can function for modern living. We hope you will commit to protecting and preserving Nantucket’s historic architecture by joining us on August 7th.

The NPT is grateful to those who, over the years, have graciously opened their homes for this event, as well as to the August Fête Committee. For t­ ickets call 508-228-1387 or visit our website: www.nantucketpreservation.org.

In addition to providing a special tour of some of Nantucket’s ­architectural gems, this year’s August Fête highlights a reception at the beautiful walled garden adjoining the large brick home known as Moors’ End, south of Main Street at 19 Pleasant Street. Below is a brief history of this Nantucket landmark by historian Betsy Tyler. We hope it will entice you to join in the celebration.

Moors’ End is one of the most remarkable houses from the decade of the 1830s, Nantucket’s era of great prosperity. Built for Jared Coffin, a merchant with a fondness for imposing brick houses, the Federal-style house at the c­ orner of Pleasant and Mill streets was situated on the outskirts of the bustling whaling town, far removed from the commercial and industrial center. ­Although it predates the brick houses on residential Main Street, it was built at the same time that many of the older houses in that neighborhood were being renovated and expanded.

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Gardens at Moors’ End, Estate of Colonel Stewart, 1920s-30s

Jared Coffin (1784–1860) bought the land on Pleasant Street in 1828/29; the footprint of the house appears on William Coffin’s 1833 Map of the Town of Nantucket, indicating that it was constructed in the early 1830s. When Jared and his wife, Hepsabeth Swain (1788–1859), moved into the new house, their seven children ranged in age from two to twenty-four. On October 14, 1838, daughters Eliza and Anna B. had a joint wedding in the family home.

According to local tradition, the house was too far from town to suit Mrs. Coffin, so Jared had a second brick house built at the corner of Broad and Centre streets. Grander and more stylish—Greek Revival rather than Federal—the new three-story house was built in 1845, just a year before the Great Fire of July 13, 1846, destroyed almost the entire downtown, sparing the new brick house, but surrounding it with utter devastation. The Coffins had moved to Boston before the fire, and did not choose to own property in town, selling what is now known as the Jared Coffin House in 1847 to the Nantucket Steamboat Company, which turned the house into a hotel called the Ocean House. The Coffins kept the house at 19 Pleasant Street until 1851, when Reuben Hallet bought the property. It wasn’t until Henry Bigelow Williams of Boston purchased the house in 1899 that the garden 40

was created; he acquired the land south of the house—the site of a house belonging to Prince Gardner, which Williams removed—and had a formal garden installed. A newspaper article from 1906 describes the grounds: Coming on it unexpectedly the stranger is halted by curiosity. The garden is enclosed by a high wall, brick on the side next the street. The house encloses another side and on the fourth is the stable, built in a style of architecture suggesting a Spanish church.

Within the wall are delightful walks, greensward, and many lovely flowers, of which a glimpse may be caught through the latticed gate.

A photograph accompanying the description shows a two-story veranda wrapping around the south and west sides of the house, and a formal garden laid out in a geometrical pattern. Williams owned the house until 1911, when he sold it to William Flanagan of Boston. In 1926, Congregational minister Edward F. Sanderson and his wife, Ethel Eames, purchased Moors’ End and set about to restore and expand the house, employing prominent architect Fiske Kimball, who wrote about the house and garden in The ­Architectural Record, September 1927: Given a superb early American house, the effort was to restore and furnish it with ­artistic sympathy and historic accuracy, while at the same time seeking the fullest comfort and convenience for modern living. The house and other buildings, the ­garden, the interiors and furnishing were all under the single artistic control of the architect, but many collaborated with him and worked in harmonious collaboration.

The garden that Henry Bigelow Williams had laid out twenty years earlier was completely redesigned.

The garden was simplified in form and brought into relation to the house by ­relocating its stone retaining wall, using this as the foundation for the porch terraces of brick, and carrying along it the arches of the basement. TheVenetian campanile of the stable was pulled down and the building given a simple treatment along the lines used by Bullfinch’s successors.

The resulting plan consisted of a not quite rectangular garden divided by a hedge of dwarf boxwoods into an inner area with beds of old-fashioned flowers and a central fountain. The garden is now planted with roses.

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Old places, as in Europe, gather m ­ emories and associations. . . . But most of ­America’s old places decay and are d­ iscarded, or are replaced and restored to a false and sparkly new use, all suffering and ambiguity erased, renovated out of existence.

Howard Mansfield

Photo by Kathleen Hay

E

Gardens and Open Spaces

ach year more and more green space in the downtown area is replaced with additions and secondary buildings. We at the Nantucket Preservation Trust believe that the gardens that link historic buildings are critical to the quality of life on Nantucket, and will become more treasured as more and more of our historic landscape is replaced. Fortunately, Nantucket has a number of pocket parks and other public gardens that are welcomed oases, and will remain so for years to come.

In this year’s publication we focus on a new garden that has recently been purchased by the Nantucket Land Bank, which we believe will be a ­valued green space due to its prime location. In addition, we look back at a ­hundred-year-old garden tended by the Maria Mitchell Association along historic Vestal Street.

For those who wish to view private gardens, we urge you to attend the Nantucket Garden Club’s 2008 tour to be held in ’Sconset on Wednesday, August 13, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Land Bank Purchases Main Street Lot We were pleased to learn that earlier this year the Nantucket Land Bank purchased a portion of the open lot at the corner of Main and Fair streets for a new pocket park. At the writing of this publication, plans for its transformation were just under way, but officials at the Land Bank tell us that they hope it will be completed later this season.

We thought this was a perfect opportunity to look into the history of the lot.

Here is what historian Betsy Tyler found: Unlike most open spaces on Main Street created in the last fifty years or so, the lot at the southwest corner of Fair Street has been open and used as a garden for nearly a hundred and fifty years. However, prior to 1860, a house stood at this location for approximately a hundred years.

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Jonathan Swain, housewright, sold the ground that comprises much of the open lot to Paul Gardner, boat builder, in 1759. The Gardner house was built soon thereafter, and both William Coffin’s 1834 Map of the Town of ­Nantucket and the H.F. Walling Map of 1858 clearly indicate its presence.

Henry Barnard Worth, who wrote history bulletins in the period 1901–13 that became the book Nantucket Lands and Land Owners, also confirms the ­existence of the house as well as its removal—noting that “the Gardner House stood at the southwest corner of Main and Fair Streets and was taken down nearly fifty years ago.”

The house appears to have passed to George Gardner (1760–1835) son of Paul Gardner (1730–1813) and most likely was purchased by John W. ­Barrett in the 1830s. Barrett constructed the large Greek Revival house at 72 Main in 1831—several years prior to his purchase of the Gardner property. Barrett held the property for many years, and by 1860 had the old Gardner house removed, most likely to expand his garden.

Spotlight on the Maria Mitchell Association Garden

by Jascin Leonardo Finger

The Maria Mitchell Association garden is found along Vestal Street just west of the historic Mitchell House, birthplace of Maria Mitchell (1818– 89), America’s first woman astronomer, and in front of the Maria Mitchell ­Observatory, built a hundred years ago this year. The garden has taken many forms over the last century and currently holds native and domestic plants, some of which were once found in the garden of William Mitchell, Maria Mitchell’s father.

A quiet and restful spot, the lawn space of the garden is used for daily in-­season talks on the solar system, led by astronomers from the Maria ­Mitchell Association. Demonstrations include a discussion of the sun dial found on the lawn, created by islander Robert diCurcio, and viewing sun spots with the use of a telescope. Visitors may also tour the Mitchell House, which is protected by a preservation easement, and the Hinchman House ­Natural ­Science Museum, which showcases the flora and fauna of the island, ­including live native animals.

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In 2008 and 2009, the Maria Mitchell Association will be restoring the 足garden and landscape of its historic Vestal Street campus with the help of the Nantucket Garden Club, as well as MMA summer interns in botany and 足history. For a small fee in-season, the public is invited to enjoy the garden and to visit all the museums and the observatories of the Maria Mitchell Association. The MMA campus is located only steps from historic Main Street, just south of the Civil War monument.

The Maria Mitchell Birthplace is located on Vestal Street, just steps away from Main Street.

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tips and services

Preservation Assistance for Owners of Historic Properties

A

n important part of the Nantucket Preservation Trust’s mission is to ­provide technical assistance to owners of historic buildings. We can provide answers to questions such as: Who built it and when? How can an addition be built without harming the historic fabric? What is the best way to protect a building’s historic character?

Here is a summary of NPT programs that we think every owner of historic property on Nantucket should be aware of and consider. Detailed information on these and other programs are available at the NPT office.

Investigate Your House

Free Consultation for the New Homeowner and Those Considering Renovations Want to learn more about your ­historic house?

The ­Nantucket ­PreservationTrust ­provides a free, onehour ­consultation called “Interviewing Your Old House.” Ideal for owners of historic ­properties and for real ­estate agents, an interview focuses on the evolution of the house through an ­investigation of its a­ rchitectural ­elements.

Members of the interview team usually include a preservationist and a contractor and/or architect.We walk through the house from basement to attic, point out old and original elements, and answer questions about the structure’s evolution. The program creates an opportunity for the homeowner to learn more about the building’s architectural style, its special features, and how it evolved over the years.

The interview is especially useful for the new homeowner or those considering renovations, but it is also essential for any homeowner wanting to learn more about the historic property. We urge you to engage our team of experts to discover what’s special about your old house.

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Make Your Mark

NPT’s Registry of House Markers The NPT marker program—which recognizes buildings fifty years old or older that are worthy of preservation—is a small wooden plaque in the shape of an elliptical fan. The marker serves as an important educational tool, informing the passerby about the age of the building, its association with particular individuals, and often the original owner’s occupation.

We begin the project by completing deed research to assist in d­ etermining the time of construction. Deeds can also provide information about the original owner and/or builder. The research becomes part of our registry of marked houses, with the assembled documentation available in the archives of the Nantucket Historical Association’s Research Library.

Often, we need to visit the site to verify the date through the building’s ­architectural elements. To date, more than a hundred NPT markers have been placed on island structures.

Unlock the History of Your House

NPT’s New House History Books Describe the Detailed Evolution of a Historic Property Every historic house has a story to tell. Do you know the story of your house? We have found that many owners want us to undertake a house history after a house interview and marker research have been completed. The NPT House History provides in-depth descriptions of the lives lived in historic Nantucket houses and is copiously illustrated and presented in book form. Each history documents in detail the evolution of a Nantucket house through time.

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Deeds, probate and cemetery records, family papers, town records, ­newspapers, and census records are a sampling of the sources investigated for clues to the history of the house and its inhabitants. The visual record of the evolution is presented through nineteenth- and twentieth-century ­photographs and maps, plot plans, and original line drawings.

As part of the Nantucket Preservation Trust’s educational mission, copies of the history are presented to the Nantucket Historical Association and the Nantucket Atheneum for inclusion in their permanent research collections.

Preservation Easements: The Ultimate Gift What is the best way to ­preserve a building? The best tool available today is the preservation easement. There are many misconceptions about how an easement works and what impact it has on the property.

Photo by Jeff Allen

It is important to remember that easements are flexible and protect historic features, but are usually structured to exclude most modern aspects of a building. Owners who have donated an easement find that it provides peace of mind—knowledge that their home will be preserved after their ownership. In addition, easements can provide substantial financial benefits through tax deductions.

Easements do not have to be burdensome. How restrictive an easement is depends on the wishes of the property owner, since easements are tailored to their specific needs.

A preservation easement is simply a legal agreement made between an o­ wner 51

of a historic property and a qualified easementholding organization, such as NPT. The easement protects the architectural integrity of the property by restricting future alterations and uses. A preservation easement can protect both the exterior and interior of a historic property, and leave the owner with full use of it.

In Massachusetts, preservation easements can be placed on historically significant buildings, structures, landscape features, and archaeological sites and their settings that are listed, or eligible for listing, on the National Register of Historic Places.

In order to qualify for tax deductions, an easement must include the building’s exterior (which already is regulated on Nantucket by the Historic District Commission) and can include historic interior features such as structural members, space configurations, chimneys, plaster walls, floors, woodwork, and stairways.

The resulting preservation easement provides the property owner with the comfort of knowing that the integrity of the historic house has been guaranteed. Property owners interested in preservation easements should also consult their attorney and/ or tax advisor for specifics on how the process can work for them.

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Photo by Jeff Allen

Where appropriate, the easement can protect original and historic hardware, decorative finishes, and fixtures. The document is usually prepared to exclude modern additions, bathrooms, and kitchens, and it allows for changes to mechanical systems. Often a portion of the building’s interior—such as second-floor rooms in a later wing—is excluded to allow for the needs of future generations.

NPT Preservation Easements Quaker Meeting House 7 Fair Street The Nantucket Atheneum 1 India Street Jabez Bunker/Prince Gardner House 85 Main Street Captain Thaddeus Coffin House 89 Main Street Thomas Starbuck House 11 Milk Street Rescom Palmer House 9 New Mill Street George Gardner House 8 Pine Street Nathaniel Hussey House 5 Quince Street Peleg Bunker House 4 Traders Lane Maria Mitchell Birthplace 1Vestal Street Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin Lancasterian School 4 Winter Street Higginbotham House 27 York Street

89 Main Street 53

Photo by Sandy Kendall

fighting

rot

O

n Nantucket, decay and rot due to moisture infiltration may be the most prevalent cause of wood deterioration.

Most problems with moisture can be resolved with routine maintenance, but identifying the cause of hidden moisture problems can sometimes be time-consuming and frustrating.

So what is a homeowner to do? Moisture invades most houses from time to time and the problem can usually be solved if it is weather-related or caused by leakage. Here are few tips to assist you.

First, keep an eye on potential problem areas to see if the issue can be corrected by simple steps, such as installing new flashing, replacing broken shingles, or directing a downspout away from the foundation. Routine maintenance can often solve the problem.

Don’t obsess about stopping all air leaks in your old house—you don’t want to trap the moisture inside. The best-preserved houses, ironically, are those that may not be the most energy efficient. There is enough movement of air in most old houses so that moisture trapping can be avoided by weatherstripping windows and doors.

Second, address potential problems associated with ground-related moisture and rain run-off. Are the gutters and downspouts in good order or are they filled with debris? Is there vegetation such as ivy on your walls—and is it trapping moisture? Does the ground slope away from the building as it should, or does it direct water run-off under the structure?

Check up on your other exterior weatherproofing. Is the exterior caulk around your doors and windows in good order? Are there shingles missing from the roof? Is the chimney capped and is the flashing in good repair?

Fix pipe leaks immediately. That small bathroom leak may be doing more damage than is obvious, allowing moisture to collect under flooring or in the walls and creating potential mold issues.

Investigate musty smells. Is there outside ventilation for your appliances, such as the clothes dryer? Open windows and doors to generate air flow whenever practical. Is the dirt crawl space allowing moisture to penetrate 55

the living area? A simple plastic vapor barrier laid on the dirt floor might do the trick (although some think this long-used method might trap m 足 oisture at the edges and along the walls). Consider using a dehumidifier in your basement if it tends to be damp. If problems persist, there may be a 足hidden moisture problem that can be identified and corrected by a contractor 足familiar with such issues.

Finally, if you opt for insulation, make sure it is placed in the correct areas and correctly installed. Older homes often were constructed with an air space between the exterior and interior walls to help ventilate. If practical, the attic floor is the best place to place insulation. Insulation in the wrong area can be a serious mistake, as moisture could get trapped in the walls, causing major problems.

Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.

Confucius

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Photo by Jeff Allen

The best approach is to proceed carefully and eliminate possible 足problems with actions that will not compromise the historic fabric or do more damage.

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Be Green TEN Tips to “Green” Your Old House

W

e think the green movement is on the right track. Why replace ­building material when the best is already in place? The article below, h­ ighlighting steps we all should consider, is adapted for Nantucket from an article in Preservation News—the magazine of the National Trust for Historic ­Preservation.

The greenest house is the house that is already built.

Think about it. The energy needed to manufacture and import new materials is tremendous, especially on Nantucket, where all new materials must be shipped from the mainland. Even the most sustainable materials add to global warming when they all need to be processed and transported long distances. Restoring an old house, limiting the use of new materials, and recycling the old ones—which tend to be better-quality materials anyway— makes a lot of sense.

Preserving and reusing old materials reduces landfill waste. Recycling has been shown to not only reduce debris in landfills but also to decrease the demand for new materials such as vinyl (which unfortunately is becoming the product of choice, at least in America). Vinyl is nonbiodegradable and gives off by-products when it is made.

Keep original and older windows in place. Studies show that older ­windows can perform as well as replacements. Historic windows were made to be replaced in part and can be easily repaired.Weather-stripping windows to make them seal tightly and caulking exterior trim around them as well as ­repairing cracked glazing and putty around the glass will improve ­efficiency.

Reuse other old materials as well—including brick, stone, glass, wood, and slate—when making home improvements. On Nantucket, the reuse of ­materials has been a commonplace for centuries, so why not continue this tradition?

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Consider light colors when painting the exterior. Light colors reflect heat better than darker ones. This is also true with roofing materials— although if visible from the ground the historic appearance of the roof should not be sacrificed.

Conduct an energy audit to pinpoint problem areas and measure energy ­savings after you improve your home’s efficiency.

Keep doors airtight by weatherstripping, caulking, and painting them ­regularly. Surprisingly, recent studies suggest that installing a storm door is not necessarily cost-effective.

Insulate the attic (below the floor), basement, and crawl space. About 20% of energy costs come from heat loss in these areas.

Install fireplace draft stoppers, attic-door covers, and dryer-vent sleeves that open only when the dryer is in use. An open damper in a fireplace can i­ ncrease energy costs by 30%, and attic doors and dryer-vent ducts are ­notorious energy losers.

Plant trees in your yard away from the foundation of the house. Evergreen trees on the northern and western sides of your property can block ­winter winds, and deciduous trees on the south and west provide shade from ­summer sun. Using old photographs of your historic home can assist you in restoring the historic landscape.

In summer, open the windows and use fans and dehumidifiers. They ­consume less energy than air-conditioning, which really is not needed for much of the summer on Nantucket. Many older houses were designed with good cross ventilation, so take advantage of your home’s layout.

Restore porches and awnings, where appropriate. Porches, awnings, and operable shutters were intended for shade and ventilation. To save energy, draw shades on winter nights and summer days.

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End Note Preservation on Nantucket is something we live with every day. In so doing, it is not surprising that we tend to forget that the history and the preservation of Nantucket— its buildings, landscape, and other resources—are the glue that holds us together and makes this island unique. In 1955, when the local ordinances were adopted, preservation was still a fairly new idea and was somewhat controversial. But islanders decided to embrace the preservation philosophy and to lead the way. Since 1955, many communities that retain historic structures have adopted preservation procedures similar to those of Nantucket.

On Nantucket, the local laws that were enacted evolved not only from a love of history and appreciation of the island’s historic charm, but because the isolation that protected Nantucket from trends over in America was ­slipping away, and islanders recognized the need to act to preserve island ways. T­oday, most islanders and visitors think of Nantucket and historic preservation simultaneously; they go together—hand in hand.

Nantucket appears to have been concerned about the loss of historic f­abric years earlier. Everett U. Crosby, in his book Ninety-Five Per Cent Perfect, p­ ublished in 1944, voiced concern that care be exercised in making additions to the old houses. He noted that in 1937 “practically all of Nantucket’s contractors, builders, carpenters, masons, civic organizations, real-estate ­offices, dealers in building materials, and architects” voluntarily adopted basic specifications for additions and alterations to the exterior of old ­Nantucket houses.The specifications included suggestions for exterior materials—such as type and color of brick, clapboards and shingles, roof coverings, plaster, foundations, number of stories, roof types, ell additions, window sash, dormers, front doors, chimneys, shutters, gutters and downspouts, steps, and sidewalk. However, a review of the specifications reveals that preservation was in its infancy. In 1937, it was suggested that Victorian features such as varied shingle patterns, gingerbread, sun parlors, and bay windows be removed; today they would certainly be protected.

It shows that the preservation movement—like everything else—evolves. Today, we are still refining the meaning of preservation and what it takes to protect a historic structure.

Our role as stewards and advocates is to further this effort. We hope that more property owners will think of their historic homes as precious art objects—one-of-a-kind treasures that through a mix of luck and love have survived. In order to save Nantucket’s historic resources, we need to value and appreciate not only the exteriors of historic buildings, but the quirks and flaws in their interiors that make them different and give them character. And we all need to encourage patching instead of wholesale ripping out; repairing and recycling instead of replacing and wasting building materials; and turning to craftsmen instead of crowbars.

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Become a Member of the NPT Celebrate Wabi-Sabi “Wabi” and “sabi” are linked Japanese aesthetic concepts that help explain what all of us love about Nantucket. Wabi denotes something with simple, rustic beauty—maybe even with a small flaw that makes it unique. Sabi means something whose beauty grows with age.

On this beautiful island, all of us should celebrate the wabi-sabi that surrounds us—the cobblestoned street, the old and wavy window glass, the worn stair tread, and the uneven plaster that shows the mark of time. We believe in wabi-sabi. Do you?

Membership Form Name: (Dr./Mr./Mrs./Miss/Ms.)______________________________________________________ Address:______________________________Summer Mailing Address:_______________________ _______________________________________

_______________________

State, Zip_____________________________ Approx. dates for summer address: _________________ Tel: (

)_________________________

Tel: (

)_____________________

E-mail:___________________________________________________________________________________ To receive our Newsletter and important notices electronically □ Add me to the Preservation Alert email list. (Please indicate your email address above.) □ I want to learn about volunteer opportunities.

LEADERSHIP CATEGORIES Cupolas _____$10,000

Roof Walks _____$5,000

Balustrades Cornices _____$2,500 _____$1,000

MEMBERSHIP CATEGORIES Columns _____$500

Pediments _____$250

Shutters _____$100

Bricks _____$50

_____Enclosed is a check made payable to the NANTUCKET PRESERVATION TRUST. ______ Please charge my Visa/MC #_______________________________________________Exp_______ in the amount of $_____________________Signature______________________________________ ______ I would like to give a gift of securities. Please contact me at ___________________________ ______ I plan to remember NPT in my Estate Planning. ______ My employer will match this gift. (Please enclose gift form.)

Your contribution is tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

Nantucket Preservation Trust Two Union Street • Nantucket, MA • 02554 508-228-1387 www.nantucketpreservation.org

links

Preservation Links A Sampling of Resources for Owners of Historic Homes Preservation Organizations

International Preservation Trades Network, Inc. www.iptn.org

Local

Massachusetts Historical Commission www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc

Egan Maritime Institute www.eganmaritime.org

National Center for Preservation Technology and Training www.ncptt.nps.gov

Maria Mitchell Association www.mma.org Museum of African American History www.afroammuseum.org

National Trust for Historic Preservation www.nationaltrust.org

Nantucket Arts Council www.nantucketartscouncil.org

National Park Services, National Historic Landmark Program www.cr.nps.gov/nhl

Nantucket Atheneum www.nantucketatheneum.org

Preservation Massachusetts www.preservationmass.org

Nantucket Garden Club www.nantucket.org/gardenclub

Preservation Resources

Nantucket Historical Commission NHC@nantucket.ma.gov

Architectural and Preservation Services David Barham Nantucket Archives davidbarham@comcast.com

Nantucket Historic District Commission www.nantucket-ma.gov/Pages/NantucketMA_ HistDist/index

Design Associates Inc. 508-228-4342 www.design-associates.com

Nantucket Historical Association www.nha.org Nantucket Preservation Trust www.nantucketpreservation.org

Lyman Perry Studios 508-228-3340 www.Lymanperrystudios.co

Preservation Institute: Nantucket www.dep.ufl.edu/hp/PINantucket ’Sconset Trust www.sconsettrust.org

Brian Pfeiffer Preservation Advisory Services 617-661-4753 brpfeiffer@verizon.net

State and Federal

Architectural Salvage

Historic New England www.historicnewengland.org

Nantucket Reuse Exchange 508-228-3205 www.NantucketReuseExchange.com 65

Blacksmith George Martell Martell’s Metal Works www.martellmetal.com

Paint Investigation and Conservation Sarah Jackson Nat’l Center for Preservation Technology and Training www.ncptt.nps.gov

Carpenters/Contractors Michael Burrey MLB Restorations Sgrafito9@aol.com

John B. Vaughan Architectural Conservation Services www.ArchConserve.com

Stephen DeMetrick www.stephencdemetrick.com

Frank S. Welsh www.welshcolor.com

Sanford Kendall-Old House Restoration 508-246-2316 sanfordkendall@yahoo.com

Window Repair and Restoration Brian FitzGibbon Nantucket Antique Windows & Doors 508-292-1096 brythai@hotmail.com

Kent J. Murphy Inc. 508-228-9730 www.ackbuild.com

Jade Mortimer Heartwood Building and Restoration www.heartwoodrestoration.com

Norton Preservation Trust Valerie and Richard Norton 508-228-9987 preserve@nantucket.net

New England Windows Restoration Alliance www.windowrestorations.com

Decorative Painting/Interior Finishes Blackburn Restoration www.blackburnrestoration.com

The Woodwright Company P.O. Box 494, Brewster, MA 02631 508-896-3393

Audrey Sterk 508-325-7050

Roofing James Lydon & Sons & Daughters 1-800-843-1106 www.jameslydon.com

Lesley Thompson 508-241-3017

Other Services

Christina Wiggins Decorative Painting 508-221-1159

Art Susan Boardman Embroidered Narratives 508-228-6489 www.susanboardman.net

Historians Betsy Tyler 508-228-3878 betsytyler@comcast.net Masonry, Plaster, Lime and Clay Mortar Pen Austin penaustin@gmail.com

Bakery Daily Breads 147 Orange Street 508-228-8961

Bruce Blanchard Historic New England www.historicnewengland.com

Banks Nantucket Bank 2 Orange St./104 Pleasant St. www.nantucketbank.com

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Dining and Inns Ship’s Inn and Restaurant 13 Fair Street www.shipsinnnantucket.com

Barbara A. Joyce Great Point Properties 508-228-0890 baj@greatpointproperties.com

Events-Tents Sperry Tents of Nantucket 508-228-5645 www.nantuckettents.com

The Maury People/Sotheby Int. Realty 508-228-1881 www.themaurypeople.com Nantucket Real Estate 508-228-2530 www.nantucketrealestate.com

Ferry Service Hy-Line Cruises 508-790-7280 www.hylinecruises.com Gardens and Landscape Design Nantucket Wildflower Farm 84 Old South Road 508-228-5551 Interior Design Susan Zises Green Inc. 475 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 212-824-1170 info@susanzisesgreen.com Kathleen Hay Designs 508-228-1219 www.kathleenhaydesigns.com Nantucket House Antiques & Interior Design Studios 2 South Beach Street, 508-228-2956 www.nantuckethouse.com Mailing Services The UPS Store Nantucket 2 Windy Way 508-325-8884 Realtors J. Pepper Frazier Company 508-228-3202 www.jpfco.com Jordan Real Estate 508-229-4449 www.jordanre.com

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WITH SPECIAL THANKS TO THOSE ­ MEMBERS AND FRIENDS WHO HAVE SUPPORTED OUR 2008 ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP APPEAL AT LEADERSHIP LEVELS As of May 31, 2008

Anonymous Bill and Susan Boardman Lucy E. Broadus Nancy and Art Broll Martha A. Carr Mr. and Mrs. Vincent D’Agostino Christopher Dallmus John DeCiccio (House History) Richard H. Driehaus Richard and Jean Marie Drucker (House History) Caroline and Douglass Ellis Mr. and Mrs. Michael A. Fabacher (House History) The Foley Fund Penny and Bob Fox Mr. and Mrs. Timothy M. George Kevin Kuester Edward and Joyce Lawrence Livingston Family Fund Mr. and Mrs. Hampton S. Lynch Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Edward J. McCarthy Mrs. Rachel L. Mellon Richard and Ronay Menschel Rich and Pam Merriman Raymond F. Murphy Jr. The Lydia and Robb Petty Family Foundation Jeffrey and Hillary Rayport Bob and Laura Reynolds Robert and Marion Rosenthal Charles Ryan Bonnie and Peter Sacerdote Georgia Ann Snell 68

John and Marie Sussek Edward amd Merrielou H. Symes Charitable Fund Pamela Thomas Hannah and Bill Wallace Peter and Elizabeth Wareing David and Mary Wolff Business Leaders Susan Zises Green Kathleen Hay Designs Hy-Line Cruises Lucille Jordan Associates, Inc. James Lydon & Sons & Daughters The Maury People, Inc. Real Estate Nantucket House Antiques & Interior Design Norton Preservation Trust Lyman Perry Architects Ltd.

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Your link to Historic or Contemporary Nantucket Properties

Barbara Ann Joyce Broker

1 North Beach Street • Nantucket, MA 02554 www.greatpointproperties.com

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Tel: 508-228-0890 Fax: 508-228-0872 Cell: 508-221-8788 baj@greatpointproperties.com

Sales & Vacation Rentals

35 & 37 Main Street Nantucket Island Massachusetts, 02554

Each Office is Independently Owned and Operated.

Tel: 508.228.1881 Fax: 508.228.1481 info@maurypeople.com www.maurypeople.com

STAY CONNECTED

Year-Round High-Speed Ferry Service

Setting the Standard

800.492.8082

Straight Wharf to Ocean Street

Family owned & operated since 1962

BOOK ONLINE AT www.hylinecruises.com

Come Home To Nantucket...

Private Vacation Rental Homes

View our entire collection of rental homes at www.maurypeople.com.

35 & 37 Main Street Nantucket Island Massachusetts, 02554

Each Office is Independently Owned And Operated.

Tel: 508.228.1881 Fax: 508.228.1481 info@maurypeople.com

Cary Hazlegrove

JAMES LYDON SONS & DAUGHTERS Des ign & Restor a t ion Roofing & S iding 508.325.0173 • 800.843.1106 www.jameslydon.com • jameslydon@jameslydon.com