The history of everything
During this mornings 508 I mentioned that the push by the Montvale Neighborhood to expand their historical district, as reported in yesterday’s T&G, may be the single most disgusting move I’ve seen by the city in my time here.
Here’s the short version of the story for those of you just tuning in.
- In 1812 Isaiah Thomas founded the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, MA to protect the collected works of early American history.
- Sometime in the early part of the 21st century Worcester City Clerk David Rushford decided the property value of his home ($520,300 according to the fiscal 2008 city assessment), which is adjacent to the AAS, was more important than the revolutionary war.
The American Antiquarian Society is that funny looking, near windowless brick building over on the corner of Park and Salisbury; I only point that out because I honestly had no idea what it was till I was almost out of High School. We’ve done a terrible job of promoting its existence and significance to Worcester residents. And I know this is going to sound pretty out there, but that weird looking building is the closest thing any of us alive today, can ever hope to come to understanding the spirit behind the Revolutionary War. It’s a collection of knowledge that could never be replaced; the physical embodiment of a set of ideals leaders in 2008 could not dream of replicating. The Montvale Neighborhood as a whole and especially the City Clerk really should be ashamed of themselves on this one. Neighborhoods are not valuable simply because they exist; their identities are what bind them. In this case the Montvale identity is inside that funny looking building and quite frankly, the neighborhoods wants are secondary to its identities needs.
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8 Responses to “The history of everything”
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Okay, totally with you on the importance of the Society. It’s amazing and awesome and we all should know more about it.
However…
Hang on, hang on: the neighborhood isn’t saying they should knocked down the AAS or something; they’re saying they don’t want a lit, 20-spot parking lot smack in the middle of what is, after all, their neighborhood. And other than the AAS, that’s a residential neighborhood, and AAS shouldn’t get to do whatever they darn well please.
While I’m not sure I agree with their tactics, at least they’re clever. I mean, resisting the Antiquarian Society with a historic district?
Brendan,
I enjoyed 508 as usual this week. Thanks to you and your colleagues for your work on it.
I just voted on Worcester Magazine’s Best of 2008. I was surprised that there wasn’t a choice for best blog. Has there been any talk about this? I would have thought there were enough great blogs (yours, Scott’s, Wormtown Taxi, a few music sites and many more) that cover the goings on in Worcester more closely than the NY based newspaper.
I disagree Tracy, completely. I would argue that if the AAS wanted to install a porta-potty on Rushfords front lawn, they should be allowed to do so. The AAS is so overwhelmingly important to historians in general and Worcester in particular, there is nothing we should stop them from doing. Especially when what they want would likely have no effect on a neigborhood that already sits on one of the busiest residential streets in Worcester.
Giving neighbors the ultimate final say on what happens in ‘their’ neighborhoods is exactly the reason most of our neighborhoods are utterly forgettable.
Another bizarro chapeter in this city’s schitzoidal fixation with parking.
Does anybody in Worcester understand what genuinely obstrusive developement is anymore?
Sorry, but the residents of Montvale gave up their right-to-complain when they decided to live there instead of Holden, a town much more hospitable to people willing to forfeit any sense of perspective in favor of petty bitching and nitpicking about zoning minutiae.
So the overwhelming importance of an institution allows it to do whatever it darn well pleases?
Nope. And praise be!
Plus, this is two things that get my goat in particular: lighting and parking. Worcester overlights everything (there’s a reason the sky is pink whenever we have cloud cover), and we think we need more parking always, everywhere. We don’t!
When what pleases is reasoned, as is the case here, than yes the importance of an institution, habitat or building does hold more weight than the wishes of neighbors. The logic in this should be rather obvious. The Montvale Historical District represents late 19th and early 20th century architecture which on it’s own is rather insignificant. You can find identical examples of period residential buildings in every city and most towns in Massachusetts; they are just a few steps up from being the GI Bill slabs of their time. The only thing which makes that neighborhood special are the amazing names attached to it; Isaiah Thomas and the AAS, arguably being the most important.
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In most places you are absolutely correct we need neither lighting (I would argue we need not less lighting, but smarter lighting) nor parking. This is not one of those cases, the AAS needs both and should be denied neither simply because it ruffles the feathers of people who chose to live in the neighborhood 150-200 years after the fact.
fairly funny article by DW today in the T&G…her articles do not generally make me chuckle but today’s did..it hit’s the nail squarely on the head
I have a new parking lot that sits behind a 6 unit in the rear of my house that that city allowed…always more cars in it than should be allowed by zoning..cars getting dumped there and no action by the city..horns honking all the time..cars repaired and the debris left on the ground..
I have to conclude that my neighborhood is considered dead and not a living breathing one by the city
if the city of Worcester (aka west side) was as vigilant with the urban core of this city as they are about protecting/preserving Nirvana aka west side..we may not each year be looking at new saviors of the urban core..1991-92..Med City & the Mall..2002-2005 City on the Move…2008 The Hanover Theater (many more)…blah,blah.blah
All those things you fight to keep out of the west side..low income housing, houses for this and that addiction, panhandlers try doing the same and with the same vigilance on the urban side of the city..watch what happens:>)