Historic Landscapes

BROWN, RICHARDSON + ROWE

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS AND PLANNERS

HISTORIC SITES

Chestnut Hill Reservoir Boston, MA

image © Chris Barnes

OUR PHILOSOPHY

Brown, Richardson + Rowe’s portfolio of historic preservation projects is extensive. Over the past four decades, we have honored the histories of New England sites and adapted existing spaces so that they comply with current accessibility standards and community desires in a way that is respectful of their histories. Most of the New England sites contain overlapping layers of historic significance.

The integration of historic sites into a contemporary cultural framework provides an opportunity to honor the past, present, and future of historic places. We are committed to a robust process of community and client engagement that informs and directs the reimagined future of each site, carefully weighing the choices for site adaptation with precise attention given to the desired site uses for clients and stakeholders.

Within this commitment to site, client and community, accessibility is of paramount importance. In 1990, Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act, and many historic sites are still being reimagined with public accessibility in mind.

Beyond ideas of physical accessibility, we are passionate about creating spaces that invite a sense of comfort and belonging across the entire spectrum of users. By pursuing accessibility in the broadest possible way, we help clients breathe new life into historic projects, designing them to both honor the past and celebrate the present.

Brockton City Hall Brockton, MA image © Gregg Schupe

image © Gregg Shupe

BROCKTON CITY HALL

BROCKTON, MA

CLIENT: The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Gateway City Parks Program

COMPLETION: 2015

The City of Brockton sought to revitalize this important downtown open space by rehabilitaing historic City Hall Plaza. BRR’s design includes historically appropriate lighting, an accessible amphitheatre with granite seatwalls and a stage for municipal celebrations, food vendors and musicians. The project improved the settings for existing memorials such as the Strand Memorial which honors the Brockton firefighters who died in the Strand Theater fire and the Thomas Edison Memorial.

image © gregg shupe

ANDERSON MEMORIAL BRIDGE + MEMORIAL DRIVE

CAMBRIDGE, MA

CLIENT: Department of Conservation and Recreation + MassDOT

COMPLETION: Memorial Drive Phases I and II and Anderson Memorial Bridge

Along the Charles River in Cambridge, Brown, Richardson + Rowe completed the the first two phases of the Rehabilitation of Memorial Drive as part of the Historic Parkways Initiative. Memorial Drive was originally used by horse-drawn carriages. First designed by Charles Eliot and the Olmsted firm, the historic landscape contained character-defining features such as attractive iron railings and large framed deciduous trees planted in a linear pattern along the river. Tetra Tech and BRR widened the park land by reducing the width of the roadway and added pedestrian and bicycle trails and returned the character defining features to the parkland. With Stantec and McGinley Kalsow, we protected the historic features that give the Anderson Memorial Bridge and its approaches their historic character. The landscape construction documents covered tree replacements, meadow restoration, riverbank planting, path improvements and LED lights.

image © Chris Barnes

CHESTNUT HILL WATER WORKS

BRIGHTON, MA

CLIENT: Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset

Management and Maintenance

COMPLETION: 2011

The Chestnut Hill Water Works project was an adaptive reuse of historic buildings and the rehabilitation of an Olmsted Brothers landscape. Brown, Richardson + Rowe preserved the pastoral landscape of large oak trees and rolling lawns, while adding new interior courtyard gardens for 21st century living.

image © Chris Barnes image © Chris Barnes

LOWELL PAVILION + BOARDING HOUSE

LOWELL, MA

CLIENT: Lowell Historic Preservation Commission + The National Park Service

COMPLETION: 1990

The park commemorates the nineteenth century mill girls. The performance pavilion designed by William Rawn Associates, Architects won a Federal Design Achievement Award in 1995. The park is site for ethnic festivals and performing arts, a green space in heart of city and part of 5.5 mile long canalway.

image © jerry howard image © Chris Barnes

LYNN COMMON PROJECTS

LYNN, MA

CLIENT: City of Lynn + The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs

COMPLETION: 2014

BRR prepared a master plan and construction estimate for the rehabilitation of the large and small historic commons. The plan enabled the city to apply for funding for subsequent projects. BRR completed work on the small common and bandstand in 2014 and the large common in 2019.

BRR and McGinley Kalsow designed the rehabilitation and restoration of the Frederick Douglass Bandstand. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Massachusetts State Register of Historic Places, the Bandstand was constructed ca. 1890-1900 and was re-named in 1944 in honor of Douglass. The Lynn Bandstand is now universally accessible and reopened to the public in 2014.

image © Shawn Hogan

U.S.S. CONSTITUTION

CHARLESTOWN, MA

CLIENT: U.S. NAVY

TEAM: MN-FST JOINT VENTURE

COMPLETION: 2018

George Washington ordered the construction of the Constitution as one of six ships designed to protect America’s maritime interests in the late 18th century. During the War of 1812, she was nicknamed “Old Ironsides” when cannonballs glanced off her sturdy hull. The oldest commissioned warship still afloat is moored in the Charlestown Navy Yard, a 30 acre National Historical Park preserved by the National Park Service. BRR assisted the team with repairs to the Berth 7 Pier for the Department of the Navy, Naval Facilities Engineering Command -- Mid-Atlantic. New granite seat walls on the pier close to the ship enable visitors to listen to talks about naval history. New movable stanchions facilitate increased pedestrian flow and ADA accessibility on Pier 1. Historically appropriate movable fencing and a refurbished Freedom Trail clarify pedestrian routes. Fencing and stanchions separate visitors from the Navy’s maintenance areas.

drawing © walter baranowski drawing © walter baranowski

SHIPYARD PARK PHASE II

CHARLESTOWN, MA

CLIENT: Boston Redevelopment Authority

Within the Charlestown Navy Yard, Shipyard Park provides a broad promenade surrounding one of several old drydocks that open onto Boston Harbor. The park also exhibits some artifacts of Boston’s maritime history such as a crane and anchors. The brick and wood walkway has withstood heavy public use and salt spray and is consistent with the Navy Yard’s past. The renovation preserved the necessary water-dependent uses, such as mooring space for historic boats and shallow draft commuter shuttles.

imageS © Charles Mayer

HOUSE MUSEUMS

FRANCES PERKINS HOMESTEAD DAMARISCOTTA, ME

CLIENT: Frances Perkins Center

The Frances Perkins Center is located on the summer property of the first female US Cabinet member and coauthor of the New Deal. BRR. worked with the Spencer Preservation Group to preserve the Homestead’s house and barn as a living laboratory to inspire current and future generations.

THE OLD MANSE CONCORD, MA

CLIENT: The Trustees of Reservations

Reverend William Emerson built the Manse in 1770. It is registered as a National Historic Landmark. In later years, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Nathaniel Hawthorne lived here The gardens, historic entry, trees, stone walls, fields, boathouse and orchards are all character defining features of this cultural landscape.

Landscape design services included providing for accessible circulation, parking, fencing, and planting, all of which would be appropriately scaled, detailed, and contextually appropriate for this historically and ecologically sensitive site. In addition, the restoration of landscape conditions present within the period of significance were explored.

PATTON HOMESTEAD

HAMILTON, MA

CLIENT: Town of Hamilton

Home of General George Patton. BRR prepared a site plan that provides universal accessibility and respects original site character. The scope included planning studies, design proposals and costs for accessible vehicular parking, accessible site circulation around the house, and a terrace at the rear of the house.

ENDICOTT HAY BARN DANVERS,

MA

CLIENT: Town of Danvers, Spencer Sullivan and Vogt

The barn is located in the 165 acre Endicott Park within an agricultural heritage site in the Danvers Salem Village Historic District. Brown, Richardson + Rowe developed options for outdoor event spaces, a terrace, universal access, walkways, parking, and plantings.