Planning for the Historic New England Center for Preservation and Collections

A transformational, multiyear initiative

This issue’s cover features a historical image of the Lang Building in Haverhill, Massachusetts. Constructed in 1911-12, this eight-story building once housed manufacturers that supported the city’s thriving shoe industry. Today, it serves as Historic New England’s administrative headquarters and is home to our state-of-the-art collections storage, care, and conservation facilities.

Historic New England’s 125,000 objects collection— stored in the Lang Building and on view at our historic sites—and our 1.5 million-item archival collection represent the most extraordinary assemblage of New England cultural and architectural history in the world. We are ready to leverage this world-class collection, the potential of the Lang Building in the city of Haverhill, and our reputation as a thought leader in preservation and collections management to create the Historic New page 4 Among the vast range of objects in Historic New England’s collection are footwear and glassware from different periods. right The Lang Building at 151 Essex St. in Haverhill, Mass., serves as the Historic New England Center for Preservation and Collections. Plans are in the works to realize the building’s potential as a contributor to the revitalization of the onetime major industrial city.

England Center for Preservation and Collections.

Haverhill has been home to Historic New England’s collections for more than three decades. In 1988, the organization moved our off-site storage to leased space in the Lang Building. In 2006, Historic New England purchased the building to meet our own growing collections needs, provide support to other institutions in need of leased storage space, and in recognition of the site’s potential in an industrial Massachusetts Gateway City reinventing itself for the future.

Our Haverhill facility, located adjacent to the Amtrak and Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority Commuter Rail Station, represents an unprecedented opportunity to leverage the work and mission of Historic New England along with Haverhill’s attractive downtown market, as well as to do our part as a cultural catalyst for the continued revitalization of this great historic city.

The Historic New England Center for Preservation and Collections will be a community anchor, a generator of social capital, a hub of creative innovation, a center for exhibitions and curatorial expertise, and a powerful partner in Haverhill’s economic development. The impact will reverberate through the region and beyond.

Transforming Historic New England’s Haverhill site into a centerpiece for discovery, public programming and education, and an active part of the revitalization of the city is a key goal of The New England Plan, our strategic agenda for 2021-2025. Work has begun on this exciting multiyear initiative, and we look forward to providing updates as the effort advances.

This fall, Historic New England members are invited to discover what lies behind the Lang Building’s concrete walls at our special behind-the-scenes collections tours. We hope you’ll join us.