NEWS

Each year at the conclusion of Preservation Week the Newburyport Preservation Trust recognizes the efforts of select property owners with Preservation Awards for “their outstanding work on preservation of their properties and overall contributions to preserving Newburyport historical assets.” This year awards were made in the following categories: Stewardship: Cynthia and Byron Getchell for maintaining historical aspects of their home at 14 Milk Street for more than 30 years. Preservation Design: Linda Reppucci for restoration of her 1900 bungalow at 330 Merrimac Street. Window Restoration: Novack and Stephanie Niketic for their work at their Italianate house at 93 High Street. Contractor-Builder Award: Pat and Bill Starck of Starck Housejoiners, Inc. (storm window work at 93 High Street). Historic Landscape: Jennifer Day and Marc Cendrone for their effort on an 1840 garden layout at their home at 89-91 High Street. Preservation Leadership: William Harris for “his dedication over the years in preserving Newburyport’s historical assets.” Adaptive Reuse: Julia and Walter Clay at 8 Dexter Lane (carriage barn) and Dr. Saira Naseer (offices) for adapting the Nicholas Brady House at 28 Green Street for use as a medical resource. Congratulations to all 2013 award recipients!

Newburyport Preservation Week 2013: It's history! Thanks to the efforts of many, the Newburyport Preservation Trust is glad to report on a successful 2013 Preservation Week May 8-12. This year's theme was Women and Preservation, and elbow-to-elbow attendance was seen at nearly every event. The Newburyport Preservation Trust extends gratitude to its enthusiastic collaborators, host venues, presenters, and volunteers, whose combined energies resulted in a week of engaging and enlightening events to benefit the entire community. Read more about Preservation Week 2013, including this year's Preservation Award recipients, at the Preservation Week page. The schedule remains posted --- so you can refresh your memory of a great week ... or see what you missed!

The Newburyport Preservation Trust strongly supports establishment of a Local Historic District (LHD) in Newburyport as a proven way to ensure preservation of individual neighborhood streetscapes as well as our more high-profile architectural gems. The distinctive, authentic architectural and historical character draws people to live, work, and play in Newburyport, and sustains the city’s economic vitality. For all the logic in favor of an LHD, the topic is fraught with misconceptions. NPT's Local Historic District Advocacy page aims to clear some misconceptions and state reasons why an LHD remains overdue in Newburyport.

This news item is always current: Newburyport residents can monitor the pulse of preservation at meetings of the city's Historical Commission, City Council, Zoning Board of Appeals, and other boards and committees.

The Newburyport Historical Commission meets on the first and third Thursday of each month at 7:30 p.m. in the City Council Chamber, City Hall, 60 Pleasant Street, Newburyport.

Confirm specific meeting dates and times for the City Council and other boards at the city's online meeting calendar.

A Measure of Change (1975) by Lawrence Rosenblum is a must-see eye-opener for every new arrival to Newburyport, and for those who may have forgotten the 1960s-70s. In just 29 minutes, the video documentary examines the landmark decision to use historic preservation principles for the first time in federal HUD urban renewal projects. Because of its relevance to multiple preservation topics, links to this video can be found in several places on the NPT web site, including the Preservation Resources & Links page.

Walk Newburyport.If you don’t yet own a copy of NPT’s informative guide to the city’s architecture published in 2011, which includes three self-guided walking tours, you can now order it online directly from our web site's Donate & Shop page.

Walk Newburyport: Three Self-Guided Residential Walking Tours, With an Overview of Common Styles, Local History, and Significant Public Buildings is sure to lead you to new discoveries of architectural gems, all within a short distance from downtown. Prepared by local architects, writers, and designers – all members of NPT – the book includes an introduction to the periods and styles of domestic architecture in Newburyport, a glossary of terms, and historical sidebars in addition to the walking tours. Walk Newburyport is a must-have for residents who want to learn more about the buildings that give Newburyport its special character, and a must-have for those who enjoy introducing Newburyport to their guests. Order yours today – one for yourself and one for your guest room! It's Only $10 postpaid, and you can order it online directly from our web site's  Donate & Shop page. You can also purchase Walk Newburyport locally at the Book Rack, Fowle’s, Jabberwocky, the Cushing House Museum, or Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm.

Throughout the NPT site --- and on the dedicated Preservation Resources page --- are informatively annotated links to external sites of interest to Newburyport architecture enthusiasts and of use to owners of older homes. The new site includes the equivalent of 50 pages of all-new professionally-prepared text content, 113 photos, 33 custom graphics, 18 historic maps, 8 hours of video, 117 links to publications and organizations, and access to 6104 pages of Newburyport history, architecture, and preservation knowledge.

As we gain familiarity with the many available functions of the new site, we will activate new features. Our goal is to allow members to easily log-in, update contact information, renew membership, make purchases, donate, and register for events all online.

Content compilation/composition, site organization, design, and custom graphics were accomplished in-house by NPT. The site was implemented by Tykatech, a Massachusetts company experienced with online membership management applications.

We invite members to explore the site, and then send comments, compliments, complaints, brickbats, suggestions, etc. to webwrangler@nbptpreservationtrust.org.