We are excited to announce that Nantucket Preservation Trust has been awarded a historic properties redevelopment planning grant from the 1772 Foundation to conduct a revolving fund feasibility study.
With funding from this grant, NPT will hire leading historic preservation consultant Mary Ruffin Hanbury of Hanbury Preservation Consulting to lead the feasibility study. The study will explore possibilities for NPT to create a revolving fund to purchase distressed historic properties, restore them, and place preservation easements on the properties, with the goal of then using these restored historical properties as affordable workforce housing for Nantucket’s year round community.
The creation of a House Rescue program has long been a goal of NPT, and we are excited to be working with Mary Ruffin Hanbury, who is an expert in historic preservation revolving funds and has worked with dozens of other preservation organizations across the country in realizing similar projects.
The 1772 Foundation, based in Pomfret, Connecticut, plays a leading role in promoting historic properties redevelopment programs, also known as revolving funds. The grant award received by NPT was part of over $1.5 million in grant funding awarded by the 1772 Foundation for the first quarter of 2021, its largest single round of grant funding in the foundation’s thirty-five-year history.
Hanbury Preservation Consulting was founded in 2008 in Raleigh, North Carolina. The firm specializes in historic preservation planning, heritage tourism planning, and strategic planning for preservation organizations. Principal Mary Ruffin Hanbury has led revolving fund feasibility studies for numerous other historic preservation organizations, including Preservation Texas, the Landmark Society of Western New York, the Montana Preservation Alliance, the Madison-Morgan Conservancy, Historic Columbia, and Historic Fort Worth.
Nantucket Preservation Trust annually recognizes individuals and organizations who have undertaken projects that advance the cause of historic preservation on Nantucket. The awards recognize preservation work on historic buildings and landscapes, as well as those who protect and steward island resources.
NPT’s Preservation Awards program is designed to show that a building or landscape can be sensitively updated while maintaining and preserving its historic integrity. In general, the NPT Preservation Awards emphasize proper preservation, showcase the island’s craftspeople, and reveal the foresight of owners who care about our historic structures and landscape.
The Boston-Higginbotham House
27 York Street
Museum of African American History
The Museum of African American History of Boston and Nantucket has completed a multi-year restoration of the Boston-Higginbotham House and outbuildings on York Street. The Boston- Higginbotham House was constructed c. 1774 by Seneca Boston, a weaver and formerly enslaved man. The home is especially important as it boasts more than 200 years of ownership by free Black Nantucketers. The house was owned by Boston’s descendants until 1919. In 1920, cook and domestic worker Florence Higginbotham purchased the home. The house was altered many times over the years, and the Museum of African American History, working with architect Marsha Fader and builder Chuck Lenhart of Sandcastle Construction, made careful decisions to utilize different rooms of the house to emphasize 18th, 19th, and 20th century stories while honoring the full 200 years of African American ownership. Highlights include Florence’s 1920s-era kitchen, complete with her Household Regal Cookstove, found in pieces in the basement and beautifully restored for present-day use, a Greek Revival mantelpiece, and 18th-century fireplace paneling. The home will be open to the public while also serving as housing for MAAH interns and visiting scholars. Work on the outbuildings included converting the former Chicken House into accessible restrooms, a small Cottage into a Visitor Reception Center & staff offices, and the Garage into an educational classroom which will include documentation of archaeological artifacts excavated on-site by graduate students from Fiske Center for Archeological Research of the University of Massachusetts Boston. Restoration work was funded through the Community Preservation Committee, the Tupancy- Harris Foundation, and The Weezie Foundation for Children, as well as donations from many island businesses and contractors. The newly restored Boston-Higginbotham House and outbuildings, together with the African Meeting House, now form a complete campus where centuries of Nantucket’s African American history can be experienced and researched.
2020 Historical Renovation Award
10 Martins Lane
Ken Jennings and Al Messina
Sandcastle Construction Inc.
When Ken Jennings and Al Messina first saw inside the lean-to house at 10 Martins Lane in 2017, they felt they had found an “untouched gem” and jumped at the chance to purchase it. The home, built on Fair Street in 1756 and moved to Martins Lane in 1801, had been owned by the same family for 75 years and used exclusively as a summer home. Working with a team led by Chuck Lenhart of Sandcastle Construction, Jennings and Messina completed a renovation and restoration to make the home suitable for year-round Nantucket living. To that end, projects included installing central heating and restoring the home’s four fireplaces to working condition. All historic floors, windows, trim, and hardware were restored and retained. Minimal repairs to the interior plaster walls were completed using the original lath and a multi-layer keyed plaster finish. Approximately 75% of the exterior cedar wall shingles were replaced, along with sections of rotten wood gutters, and an asphalt shingle roof was removed and replaced with cedar. The home has a narrow winder staircase in the front entry, which was retained. However, to allow for increased accessibility to the second floor, a more accessible staircase was added at the rear of the home by extending a dormer. A porch addition was converted into a first-floor bedroom, and a new porch was added. The bedroom addition and stair alteration were done sensitively in order to maintain the home’s scale and exterior appearance from the street, but these alterations will allow for Jennings and Messina to enjoy their home for decades to come.
2020 Stewardship Award
The Pacific Club
15 Main Street
Pacific Club Directors
For centuries, the Pacific Club at the foot of Main Street has been a reminder of Nantucket’s seafaring economy. The three-story brick building, originally constructed in 1772 as William Roach’s counting house, was swiftly rebuilt following damage in the Great Fire of 1846. Over the centuries it has served many purposes. In 1861 it was purchased by the Pacific Club, an organization of whaling industry businessmen, and served as their meetinghouse and social club. In the 20th century, it housed county courts, until the Town and County Building opened on Broad Street in 1966. Today, members of the Pacific Club maintain the building. Starting in 2008, Virginia Andrews, Charles Duponte, and Richard Phelan, Directors of the Pacific Club, spearheaded an effort to restore the building. Securing the building’s exterior envelope was their first task. Michael Burrey led the work of installing new wood rafters, and Pen Austin oversaw extensive masonry work. Exterior windows on the first and second floors were rebuilt with original arches, and steel was removed. Interior work on the third floor revealed mid-19th century murals with symbols of the Masons and the Order of the Eastern Star. The painting on the north wall was coated for protection and left exposed, while false walls were installed to protect the murals on the other walls. The original wall trim was reinstalled on these false walls to remain visible. The Pacific Club Directors are applauded for their careful stewardship of this iconic landmark, inside and out.
Academy Hill Apartments
4 Westminster Street
HallKeen Management
Sitting at one of the highest points in the Old Historic District, the impressive façade of the Academy Hill Apartments is instantly recognizable to almost any Nantucketer. Since leasing the building from the Town of Nantucket in 1985 and converting the 1929 three-story brick school building into 27 one- and two- bedroom apartments for senior citizens, HallKeen Management has shown proven dedication to the building’s careful preservation. Project managers Kurt LeMar and Kate Schroth worked with preservation consultant Marsha Fader to assess and determine the preservation needs of the building. Recently, Lewis Gillespie refabricated and reinstalled copper gutters, Chris Bouque of Nantucket Millworks rebuilt the front doors, and Gary Gnazzo of Joseph Gnazzo Company, Inc. restored the masonry. The 98 original wooden sash 15-over-15 double-hung windows were carefully restored according to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation by Ted Eayrs of Blackburn Building Conservation LLC, following window prototype work performed by Brian Fitzgibbon and Patrick McCarthy of Nantucket Carpentry Inc. HallKeen also oversaw the restoration of the central pediment above the main entrance, work that included flush boarding, wood brackets, and a large carved wood seal of the Town of Nantucket, which was badly weathered. Ivan Niero of IN Enterprises completed the pediment restoration, and Ted Eayrs restored the town seal. Work was partially funded through the Community Preservation Committee. HallKeen’s high quality maintenance of Academy Hill not only preserves its historic character, it positively impacts the quality of life of its residents and helps contribute to a vibrant year-round presence in the downtown historic core.
2020 Traditional Building Methods Award
Ben Moore
Carpenter Ben Moore has lived and worked on Nantucket since 1985 and opened his own shop and business, Moore Woodworking, in 2001. He has contributed to numerous preservation-minded residential, commercial, and community projects, including creating custom doors, windows, stairs, newel posts, furniture, and cabinets. Recently, the trustees of Siasconset Union Chapel commissioned Moore to reconstruct the door jamb, threshold, exterior trim, rosettes, and decorative exterior molding of the Chapel’s front door, which Moore created from rot-resistant mahogany. He has also completed restoration work of the entryway arches of St. Mary’s Church, the finial on the cupola at 19 Broad Street, the fence at Hadwen House, and numerous other island projects. He combines traditional joinery methods with modern woodworking tools to help maintain Nantucket treasures.
2020 Landscape & Garden Award
Russell and Marian Morash
Perched on a hill overlooking Nantucket Harbor, the house and garden of Russell and Marian Morash evoke a special sense of place for its creative owners, who are comfortable digging island soil or around the wide world. In over forty years as Nantucket seasonal residents, they have graciously welcomed visitors to their property, hosting events for many island nonprofits and inspiring our community with their love of growing and cooking their own food. Their home, a contributing structure to Nantucket’s National Historic Landmark designation, was one of the first new construction houses to be approved by the Historic District Commission following the expansion of its jurisdiction to cover the entire island in 1972. The raised bed gardens evoke the English style kitchen gardens planted by the first Europeans to settle on Nantucket in the 17th century, and their property highlights the value in using the landscape in a historic way, to grow food. Russell was a longtime television creator, director, and producer who created The Victory Garden, This Old House, and The New Yankee Workshop. Marian, a James Beard Award-winning chef, was a regular on-screen contributor to The Victory Garden and authored The Victory Garden Cookbook series. Starting in 1976, she was the founding chef at the iconic Straight Wharf Restaurant. For decades, Russell and Marian have inspired people on Nantucket and across the country to get their hands dirty and “do it yourself.”
Last week, Nantucket Preservation Trust put out a call asking Nantucketers, or anyone who loves Nantucket, to send us artistic representations about what they love most about their Nantucket home, or any building on Nantucket. So far, we have received dozens of fantastic pieces. To submit your own, please email an image with a brief caption to rcarr@nantucketpreservation.org.
RL Smith: My grandmother built this simple cottage on Dionis in 1957 and it is still in the family. One of the very best places to nap, read, or just chill is this daybed in the northwest corner. Open the sliding windows, listen to the waves lapping at the shore and feel the soft summer breeze enfold you. Heaven.
Continue reading below to see more photos, paintings, and drawings.
Adjusting to life during the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the spread of COVID-19 means that Nantucket residents will be spending more time in their homes for the foreseeable future. For Nantucket Preservation Trust, celebrating Nantucket’s unique architectural heritage also means celebrating the interior spaces where we will be keeping a safe social distance for the time being.
In an effort to forge connections during a time of isolation, at NPT, we’re asking all of our Nantucket community—whether you are physically on the island, or just dreaming of the time when you will be—to show us what you like most about your home, or any building here on Nantucket. Is it the way the light comes through a certain window in the morning? A corner with your favorite comfy chair? Some lovely architectural detail? Send us a drawing, a photo, or any other artistic representation about what you like most about a house, or any building on the island that you love, along with a brief caption, and we’ll share what we receive in a web gallery.
The former whale oil storehouse and candle factory at 21 Washington Street began as an industrial, utilitarian structure, but the building took on a new life in 1928 when it became the home of the Byron L. Sylvaro American Legion Post #82. Over the past ninety years, it has a central hub in the lives not only of Nantucket veterans, but the wider Nantucket community. Countless dinners, dances, fundraisers, meetings, and performances have been hosted at the building. From its 19th century industrial origins to its current usage as a community space, the building has maintained many historic elements and is a standing reminder of Nantucket’s whaling past. A new preservation restriction placed on the structure with the Nantucket Preservation Trust, now in the final phases of completion, will ensure the historic character of the building is maintained in perpetuity.
American Legion Post #82, 21 Washington Street.
The brick warehouse at 21 Washington Street was built in 1837-38 as the William French & Jared Coffin Candle House. The building housed equipment for processing, then storing, whale oil and spermaceti. The building lies just to the east of Commercial Wharf, which would have been bustling with whaleships in the 1830s. Jared Coffin, a 6th-generation descendant of Nantucket proprietor Tristram Coffin, was a wealthy Nantucket businessman who partnered with his son-in-law William French.
The warehouse survived the Great Fire of 1846, but French and Coffin’s partnership disbanded in 1847. French left Nantucket and returned to his home of Providence, Rhode Island, and Coffin relocated to Brighton, Massachusetts. Henry Kelley of New York City purchased the building and land in 1857 but sold it less than a year later to Matthew Crosby. Eventually the warehouse became known as the Charles and Henry Coffin Warehouse, likely in the ten years after the dissolution of French and Coffin’s company and before their sale of the structure. By the turn of the 20th century, Joseph Barney, son of whale oil merchant Nathaniel Barney, owned the property. His heirs sold it in 1916 to Henry and Florence Lang of Montclair, New Jersey.
The Langs, influential Nantucket summer residents, purchased many historic Nantucket buildings in the early 20th century, a period when the decline of the whaling industry was still harshly felt among the island residents. Florence was an artist, and the Langs were patrons the arts on Nantucket and across the country. They purchased old commercial real estate along Washington Street and the wharfs, then turned the dilapidated storehouses and fishing shanties into artists’ studios. Deeply committed to supporting artists, Florence founded the Easy Street Galley in 1924, the first place on island where artists could display and sell their work.
In 1928, the Langs deeded the Charles and Henry Coffin Warehouse to the Bryon L. Sylvaro American Legion Post #82. The post, founded in 1919 and named after a Nantucketer who died in action in France in World War I, has been an organizing force in the lives of Nantucket veterans for over 100 years. Nantucket Preservation Trust is thrilled to join with Post #82 to preserve their historic building. By placing a preservation easement on the property, the Legion will be eligible to receive Community Preservation Commission funding for restoration work. This important landmark will continue to host community meetings, dances, and many other events. Its continued reuse today reminds us not only of Nantucket’s past as an international whaling port, but also Nantucketers’ resilient nature. To learn more about preservation easements, click here.
Starbuck Cottage, 19 Main Street ’Sconset, the latest to succumb to the gut rehab virus, passed from history earlier this week at the age of (at least) 163.
First built sometime in the 1850s by Thomas A. Gardner, 19 Main Street was sold to Matthew Starbuck in 1856 for $1,600—a high price for the time. The son of Joseph Starbuck, Matthew Starbuck’s year-round residence was the Middle Brick on Main Street in Nantucket Town. Fishermen’s cottages in the village of ’Sconset sold for less than one thousand dollars at the time, and sometimes for as little as three or four hundred dollars. Already Main Street ’Sconset was becoming a desirable location for a summer cottage for residents of Nantucket Town.
Later in the 19th century, Matthew’s wife, Catherine Wyer Starbuck is said, according to family history, to have planted the first tree in ’Sconset at the site. Despite assertations from friends that the soil was too sandy to sustain life, Catherine planted the tree and it grew. Sadly, this tree was also a casualty of the new construction taking place at 19 Main Street.
Photo via Nantucket Historical Association.
Many members of the extended Starbuck Family spent time in the cottage, and it eventually descended to Matthew’s granddaughter, Florence. A landscape architect, Florence married Frederick P. Hill, an architect of many ’Sconset homes. Florence is perhaps best known as the proliferator of the rosa American Pillar, the beloved bright pink climbing rose that adorns many of ’Sconset’s cottages.
In 1909, Florence bought 1,500 roses for 22 cents each and sold them to her neighbors in ’Sconset at cost. Over the next few years she repeated this feat. The iconic rose-covered cottages exist today because of Florence Hill, and the yard at Starbuck Cottage. It is hard to imagine one house that was more important to the landscape architectural heritage of ’Sconset.
Starbuck Cottage now joins the ranks of other Nantucket houses that have been stripped of their historic fabric and integrity. It will continue to live on in the memories of those who loved this house.
We’re excited to announce that our 2019 Summer Lecture & Luncheon with Paula Henderson is sold out! But fear not–we have made a limited number of Lecture Only tickets available.
If you would like to be placed on the waiting list for the Lecture & Luncheon, please email info@nantucketpreservation.org.
Summer Lecture & Luncheon
Thursday, August 22, 2019 | 11:30 am | ‘Sconset Chapel
Join noted architectural and garden historian Paula Henderson for this year’s Summer Lecture: An Embarrassment of Riches: Preservation Across the Pond, focused on historic preservation in England where there are more well-preserved historic buildings than anywhere else in the world.
Drawing on her experiences working as a consultant on some of the most important country houses in England, Paula Henderson’s lecture will explore the challenges of opportunities of preservation in Britain. An independent architectural and garden historian with a Ph.D. from the Courtauld Institute of Art, Paula lectures widely in Britain and in the United States and has published over sixty articles on English houses and their settings. Her book, The Tudor House and Garden: Architecture and Landscape in the 16th and Early 17th Centuries (Yale University Press), won the Berger Prize for the outstanding contribution to the history of British art in 2005.
Each year, Nantucket Preservation Trust’s August Fête takes you inside some of the island’s most historic homes. This year’s Broadway Revival August Fête celebrate’s ‘Sconset’s history as an actor’s colony. With a reception at the ‘Sconset Casino and open houses in the village’s core, the August Fête is a fantastic night to learn more about the island we love and support Nantucket Preservation Trust. Tickets on sale now!
Here, take a peek at the houses that August Fête attendees will get a chance to tour:
Shanunga | 10 Broadway | c. 1680
Local lore has it that Shanunga was built in the 1680s and moved to its site on Broadway from nearby Sesachacha. The fish house’s name derived from the ship Shanunga of Philadelphia, which was lost in 1852 off the south coast of the island. The vessel’s quarterboard and figurehead graced the yard of the cottage for many years. The oldest section of Shanunga is the T-shaped south end. The north end’s tall section probably dates to the late 18th Century and the lean-to along the side lane was most likely added in the 19th Century.
Uriah Swain (1774-1810), who held the property prior to 1800, was one of the island’s most successful whaling masters. Upon Swain’s death in 1810, the cottage came into possession of his daughter, Elizabeth Swain Carey (1778-1862). Elizabeth, known as Betsey, married James Carey, captain of one of the island’s most successful ships, the Rose. Tragically, James died on a voyage to China in 1812, leaving Betsey with two young children. She ran a store and boarding house on lower Main Street, and later operated Shanunga as a shop and public house. After her death, the cottage passed to her daughter, Betsey Carey Baxter (1806-183), whose husband, Captain William Baxter (b 1805) was ’Sconset’s unofficial postmaster. The cottage served as the local post office and remained in the family into the early 20th Century.
The Maples | 14 Broadway | c.1800s
The construction date of The Maples is unknown, but Edward Underhill wrote in the 1880s that it was held by Latham Gardner in 1814. It’s possible that the fish house was built by Gardner (1760-1830), a Nantucket selectman and town clerk who is said to have served with John Paul Jones as a petty officer on the USS Ranger before becoming a whaling master. Local lore suggest that the house was built during the War of 1812, when iron for hardware was rare, since the house is among the few that were originally constructed with wooden hinges and other wooden hardware in lieu of iron.
The 1835 map of the village indicated the owner had the initials “B.C.,” who may be Betsey Carey—owner of Shanunga, the house next door. By 1858, The Maples was owned by David Mitchell (1799-1875) a successful blacksmith with a shop in town along the wharves and extensive real estate on island. For much of the late 19th Century, the cottage was known as the Eliza Mitchell (1808-1896) house, for David’s forth wife and widow. Today, the lane between Shanunga and The Maples still bears the Mitchell name.
One Ocean | 1 Ocean Avenue | 1919
Harry Lange Burrage (1872-1951) president of the Connecticut Cotton Company and banker, purchased the Ocean View Annex property in ’Sconset in 1919, with plans to tear down the old four-story building and put up a house in its place. Burrage married his second wife, the actress Mabel Davis (1886-1965) on October 14, 1919.
One Ocean Avenue was designed by the Boston architect William H. Cox (1879-1948). Cox designed the Chatham Bars Inn, the Cross Trees mansion in Chatham, and housing for workers at the Connecticut Mills Company, where Barrage was president. The work of razing the old Ocean View Annex started in the fall of 1919. Work continued into the summer of 1920, and Harry and Mabel sailed from Boston on their yacht to check on construction.
In November 1923, the Burrage family sold the grand estate to Regan Hughston (1875-1951) and Maribel Hartman Hughston (1875-1958). At the time of her their marriage in 1918, Maribel was known as Ohio’s richest woman. Regan was a vaudeville star, and the couple met in 1911 when Regan was directing a play in Columbus, OH. Regan appeared in three silent films in the 1910s, and he was a member of the George Fawcett stock company in Baltimore in the early 1900s.
The Hughstons employed the Wilson family as domestic workers, though the Wilsons lived in Codfish Park. Clarence F. Wilson (1901-1993) was the Hughston’s private chef. Originally from Bermuda, Clarence came to the US in the early 1920s. He was married to Florence (Flossy) Adlina Deshields, also from Bermuda. They had three daughters, Lois Genevieve, Vivian Louise, and Joan Rita. The Wilson family arrived on Nantucket in May of 1938 where they spent 15 year employed by Regan and Maribel Hughston, both on Nantucket and in New York. Their 50th wedding anniversary was honored by all ’Sconset in 1975, and when Clarence died the flags at the ’Sconset rotary flew at half-staff.
Photo courtesy NHA
Svargaloka | 5 Elbow Lane | c. 1860s, moved 1871
On August 5, 1871, The Inquirer & Mirror reported that “E.H. Alley has purchased a tract of land at Siasconset near the verge of the bank and has also purchased the house on the Charles C. Folger Farm, which he intends removing to ’Sconset, to make two cottage houses of it.” Svargaloka is the farmhouse that was found on Hawthorne Lane, just west of town, and moved to ’Sconset. Elijah H. Alley (1819-1888) was a clothing retailer from Lynn, Massachusetts, who married Mary Burdick (1820-1888) of Nantucket. They had no children, and in 1888 the property descended to Mary’s sister Susan. It would eventually pass to Susan’s daughter, Eva Channing (1854-1930), who with her mother appear to have been frequent visitors to the cottage during the time the Alley’s lived there. A student of Sanskrit, Eva is credited with naming the cottage Svargaloka, meaning “land of paradise.” Eva made improvements to the house, including the construction of a piazza that once graced the Elbow Lane elevation but was destroyed in a windstorm in 1914.
Siasconset Union Chapel | 18 New Street
In 1882, a group of men formed a corporation under the name of Siasconset Union Chapel and organized a board of trustees. Builder and owner of the Ocean View House, Charles W. Robinson, and Dr. Franklin A. Ellis, both developers of the Sunset Heights area near Pochick Street, offered a choice between two Sunset Heights parcels for the worship center; however, the board decided on a lot on New Street which was closer to the village center and given by trustee Horatio Brooks. The building plans were donated by a Mr. Varney, a Detroit architect, and Robinson was awarded the bid for construction at a cost of $1,680.
Before construction, the name for the Gothic Revival-style chapel was uncertain. For a time, there was talk of calling it “Baxter’s Saints’ Rest” after Captain William Baxter (of 10 Broadway) a pious mariner who adhered to Christian principles though surrounded by temptation and sin. The church was finally named Union Chapel and was completed in 1883.
Reception Site
Siasconset Casino | 10 New Street | 1899
In 1892, $800 was collected to erect a casino building, and Mrs. Emily E. Rice of Detroit agreed to donate a lot on New Street for a “Hall of Amusement” with dedicated indoor and outdoor community space for social, dramatic, and sporting events. The Siasconset Casino Association was formed in 1899. Architect John Collins drafted plans for “a building with an audience room with a floor to be laid with special reference to dancing, a stage, ante-room, dressing, reading, and smoking rooms.” In mid-July 1900, the Casino and two tennis courts opened. In 1915, the Board of Selectman issued a permit to the Casino to show silent movies. Talkies came to the Casino on June 17, 1931, providing islanders entertainment and escape during the Great Depression. The same year, a movie set was built on the grounds of the Casino and several ’Sconset residents were cast in the film The Sinners.
Lobby card for “The Sinners.” Public domain/wiki images.
Each year the Nantucket Preservation Trust recognizes individuals and organizations that advance the cause of historic preservation on Nantucket. Awards are provided for preservation work on historic buildings and landscapes, and for the protection and stewardship of island resources.
NPT’s Preservation Awards program is designed to show that a building or landscape can be sensitively updated while maintaining and preserving its historic integrity. In general, the NPT Preservation Awards emphasize proper preservation, showcase the island’s craftspeople, and reveal the foresight of owners who care about our historic structures and landscape.
2019 Architectural Preservation Award
Photo courtesy of Garth Grimmer.
86 Main Street, Jeffrey Paduch and Caroline Hempstead
A finely detailed and early example of Greek Revival style architecture, the house at 86 Main Street commands attention. Proudly perched at the corner of Pine and Main Streets, the Allen-Crosby-Macy House was constructed in 1834 for Joseph Allen, a whaling captain who also speculated in real estate on Nantucket. Though updates to the house have been made over the years, the majority of the original finishings remained in position.
Unoccupied for more than a decade, 86 Main Street would have been an intimidating project for many homeowners. Jeffrey Paduch and Caroline Hempstead were well suited for the challenge and sought out project manager Brian Pfeiffer. Decision making at 86 Main Street became a collaborative process among the owners, craftsmen, project manager, project engineer, architect, and landscape architect, all of whom have contributed to the spectacular outcome.
Jeffrey and Caroline considered the history behind 86 Main Street to be an important part of their preservation planning. They understood immediately the importance of uncovering the home’s history before work began. The scope of work was immense and included: repair and re-installation of original window sashes and glass; reproduction of louvered shutters; reproduction of replacement window sashes; four original chimney stacks with ten original fireplaces repaired and relined, fireboxes and ovens repaired; reconstruction of cupola; excavation beneath foundation walls and installation of traditional underpinning of granite stones to create interior basement height to house modern mechanicals; structural repairs to timber-frame, west wall, southeast and southwest corners of the ell; repairs to interior woodwork and interior plaster; and reinstallation of interior shutters and doors.
A project this extensive is truly a team effort. Led by homeowners Jeffrey Paduch and Caroline Hempstead, the team also includes Brian Pfeiffer, Penelope Austin, Michael Gault, Jared Baker, Amy Boyle, Colin Evans, Michael Burrey, Nathaniel Allen, Aaron Beck, Adam Zanelli, Newton Millham, D. Randall Ouellette, Gary Naylor, Todd Strout, Betsy Tyler, Luke Thornewill, Janet Kane, and Martin McGowan.
2019 Historical Renovation Award
51 B Centre Street, Keith and Elizabeth Roe, owners; Michael Sweeney, builder
One of the largest differences between the way Nantucket’s historic downtown looks today and the way it looked two hundred years ago is the removal of outbuildings from the streetscape. The landscape would have been dotted with outbuildings—privies, stables, hen houses, to name a few. 51 B Centre Street is a 2-story wood-framed structure originally built as a stable for 51 Centre Street and today serves as a guest cottage. The construction of the early stable is the original, surviving post-and-beam wood frame. The original structure appears on the earliest Sanborn Map in 1887. Between 1898 and 1904, a separate structure at the west end was removed.
The cottage at 51 B Centre Street contributes to the island’s historic streetscape. It is rare to have survived in its original footprint and form from its beginnings as a utilitarian stable structure.
Michael Sweeney Construction oversaw the restoration and renovation of its existing form, footprint, and original post-and-beam structure. A one-story addition was designed and constructed to harmonize with the existing building. Sweeney also used salvaged materials from the structure to echo the look of exposed beams in the new addition.
2019 Historical Renovation Award
The Helm, 6 Evelyn Street, Sias., Alec and Brigid Lamon
According to Edward F. Underhill, developer of Underhill Cottages in ’Sconset in the 1880s, The Helm was “built following the traditions of the builders of a hundred years ago, who made their houses strong and compact for comfort and convenience and with no thought that the structures they reared would ever be in demand for the residences of families from distant parts during the warm season.” The cottages were modeled after the fish houses in the village core along Broadway, Center, and Shell streets—using the same architectural vocabulary, including warts, T-shaped plans, and half gable roofs.
Now an important part of the island’s architectural heritage, the Underhill Cottages (Pochick, Lily, and Evelyn Streets) are individually owned. Some of the original cottages have been heavily changed over the years, but The Helm retains much of its original architectural details and charm. The Helm has been in the Lamon family for decades, and owners Alec and Brigid Lamon recently underwent a careful historical renovation working with Angus MacLeod Designs.
The kitchen and bathrooms were updated, and windows and insulation were added in the second-floor loft. A ca. 1940s wing to The Helm housed an additional bedroom but did not harmonize with the original structure. MacLeod took advantage of the cottage’s evolution and designed a functional bedroom and bathroom, and installed windows and a door to the side yard that complemented the original structure yet worked to integrate the addition. An outdoor porch was enclosed to create a welcoming breakfast nook but retains its old exposed shingles. Overall, The Helm is characteristic of the quirky charm of Old ’Sconset that Underhill sought to emulate.
2019 Traditional Building Methods
Newton “Tony” Millham
Tony Millham began blacksmithing in Newport, Rhode Island in 1970, forging architectural hardware for the Newport Restoration Foundation, and in 1977 he moved his shop to Westport, Massachusetts. All of Tony’s work is hand forged and hand finished. Careful forging combined with filing, fitting, and finishing are necessary to reproduce the details, finish, and feel of early wrought hardware.
Tony’s careful work can be found in many island homes and buildings, including the Old Gaol, Higginbotham House, 100 Main Street, 86 Main Street, and in ’Sconset. In addition to designs in his own catalog, Tony reproduces hardware by working from client’s original examples; photographs; sketches; architectural drawings; or references to images in books.
Not only a splendid craftsman, homeowners and project managers agree that Tony is an accessible resource. He is always happy to answer a question, aid in installation, or teach a homeowner the skills required to install and care for his pieces.
2019 New Construction Award
39 Main Street, Sias., Nell and George Wilson, owners
Perhaps the best indicator of an award-worthy New Construction project is that the only thing that sets it apart from other nearby buildings are the new cedar shake shingles. Once weathered to a soft grey, the house at 39 Main Street in ’Sconset will look as though it has always been there. Working with the Wilson family, designer Milton Rowland created a stately Main Street home that echoes the details of other houses that line the street and welcome you to the village. Set back from the road, the new house still retains a large yard. Many of the homes on Main Street were added to over the years, creating a visual reminder of the passage of time and tastes. The design of 39 Main Street mimics these older structures, creating a feeling of a large family home that has been expanded over the decades. The builder for the house was Rhett Dupont of Cross Rip Builders.
2019 Stewardship Award
Photo courtesy of Garth Grimmer.
Shanunga, 10 Broadway, Sias., Kristen Williams Haseotes, owner
One of the most architecturally significant buildings in ’Sconset, Shanunga needed a savior. A host of issues dissuaded many potential buyers, but Kristen Williams Haseotes was ready to take on the project. The best preservation practices guided her work, and she worked with fine craftsmen including Patrick McCarty of Nantucket Carpentry, and window restorationist, Brian FitzGibbon. The exterior of the house has been carefully restored and old timbers were retained and repaired rather than replaced. Today the old fish house has been refreshed with new shingles and restored windows—and the notable addition of a carved wooden figurehead once again graces the front yard. Previously hidden behind high hedges, the house now sits proudly as an important part of the streetscape with sensitive landscaping. The interior remains relatively untouched. Haseotes updated the kitchen and the bathroom, both in a careful manner in keeping with the rustic style of the house. The footprint of the structure also remains the same, and through her efforts, new life has been breathed into one of ’Sconset’s most adored buildings.
2019 Landscape Award
Rose covered cottage. Photo courtesy Nantucket Historical Association.
Florence Merriam Hill, posthumously
Perhaps no one person has had as much of an impact on the garden landscape of Nantucket—especially Siasconset—than Florence Hill. Hill, a Starbuck descendant, grew up on Upper Main Street in the stately Middle Brick mansion. But it was ’Sconset where Florence Hill’s influence is still felt today. Florence and Frederick Hill owned Starbuck Cottage in the easternmost village. A landscape architect, Hill was single-handedly responsible for the proliferation of American Pillar roses on Nantucket. In 1909, she bought 1,500 roses for 22 cents each and sold them to her neighbors in ’Sconset at cost. Over the next few years she repeated this feat. The iconic rose-covered cottages exist today because of Florence Hill.
