Nantucket Preservation Symposium
Decisions in Preservation: Understanding, Repairing, and Preserving Historic Nantucket Houses Wednesday Evening, June 6 All Day Thursday, June 7, 2018
Window on North Liberty, Garth Grimmer
nantucket preservation trust Preserving the Island’s Architectural Heritage
T
he Nantucket Preservation Trust is proud to sponsor its second preservation symposium: Decisions in Preservation: Understanding, Repairing, and Preserving Historic Nantucket Houses.
We were thrilled with the success of last year’s inaugural symposium: Nantucket’s Golden Age. This summer, we continue many of the important conversations that started last year and take a closer look at the challenges and triumphs those who steward historic homes share. Nantucket has a higher concentration of historic buildings than most communities, yet the lessons learned in this workshop can be applied wherever you are from. We are pleased to share our island with you, and hope you find it the perfect classroom to return to again and again. Sincerely,
Michael May Executive Director 11 Centre Street • P.O. Box 158 Nantucket, MA 02554 508.228.1387
www.nantucketpreservation.org 3
Nantucket Preservation Symposium COMMITTEE
Caroline Ellis and Barbara Halsted, Co-Chairs
MEMBERS
David Brown • Alan Forster • Anne Troutman
NPT BOARD Executive Committee Ken Beaugrand, Chairman David Brown, President Michael Ericksen, Vice President Anne Troutman, Vice President Alan Forster, Treasurer Caroline Ellis, Secretary Directors Mary-Randolph Ballinger • Michelle Elzay • Andrew Forsyth Mark Godfrey • Susan Zises Green • Barbara Halsted • Carol Kinsley Mary-Adair Macaire • Angus MacLeod • Craig Muhlhauser Maxwell Mundy • Dennis Perry • Alison Potts • Mickey Rowland Esta-Lee Stone • Marie Sussek • Pam Waller
NPT STAFF
Michael May, Executive Director Mary Bergman, Director of Media & Communications Julie Kever, Administrative Assistant Michelle Whelan, Director of Development
PHOTOGRAPHY AND CONSULTANTS
Garth Grimmer All historic photographs courtesy of the Nantucket Historical Association. Aisling Glynn–ACKtivities, Event Consultant Kathleen Hay–Kathleen Hay Designs, Graphic Designer
www.nantucketpreservation.org
Copyright © 2018 Nantucket Preservation Trust 4
Featured Speakers Morris (Marty) Hylton III
Director of the Historic Preservation Program, University of Florida’s College of Design, Construction, and Planning, and Director, Preservation Institute Nantucket
Morris (Marty) Hylton III is Director of H istoric Preservation for the University of Florida. He oversees the PhD, graduate, and certificate programs and directs the Preservation Institute Nantucket and St. Augustine. He also created and manages the Envision Heritage initiative dedicated to exploring how new and emerging technologies can be used to document, conserve, and interpret heritage.
Michael May
Executive Director, Nantucket Preservation Trust
Michael May joined the NPT in the spring of 2006 as Executive Director. Michael has an extensive background in architectural history and preservation planning, having worked in the nonprofit, private, and government sectors in New York, New Jersey, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. He holds an MS degree in Historic Preservation from Columbia University.
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We’re Excited to Support NANTUCKET PRESERVATION TRUST…
WINNER OF NPT’S STEWARDSHIP PRESERVATION AWARD IN 2016 Enjoy a memorable stay in our grand and historic resort, featuring excellent & friendly service. We’re TripAdvisor’s 2018 Travelers’ Choice Award winner for “Top Hotel (#1) in the United States” • Offering hotel rooms, 1-4 bedroom suites & 1-2 bedroom cottages
• Outdoor heated swimming pools & hot tub
• Complimentary Kids’ Club programs
• Concierge services
• The Nantucket Club fitness & spa facility – yoga & fitness classes
• Shuttle service to-and-from the high-speed ferries
BREEZE RESTAURANT
Indoor/Outdoor Terrace Dining by the glowing fire pits
Accommodation Reservations: 866-807-6011 or reservations@thenantuckethotel.com Breeze Dining Reservations: 508-228-4730
77 Easton Street | Downtown | thenantuckethotel.com
Brian Pfeiffer
Architectural Historian, Building Preservation Associates
Brian Pfeiffer is an architectural historian involved in both the documentation and repair of historic buildings using traditional building materials and techniques. He has supervised preservation projects at the Historic Unitarian Meeting house, the Siasconset Union Chapel, and private homes on Nantucket. Pfeiffer is the founder of Archipedia New England, a website devoted to documenting the building traditions, craft techniques, and materials of New England.
Betsy Tyler
Historian, Author, and Nantucket Historical Association Research Fellow
Betsy Tyler has conducted research for more than a hundred NPT house-markers. She is the author of several dozen NPT histories of h ouses, public buildings, and neighborhoods. Currently a free-lance researcher and writer, she was until recently the Obed Macy Research Chair and Library Director of the Nantucket Historical Association. She is the author of the following NHA publications: G reater Light: A House History; ’Sconset: A History; Sometimes Think of Me: Notable NantucketWomen Throughout the C enturies; The ’Sconset Actors Colony: Broadway O ffshore 1895–1925; and the NHA’s Historic Properties Guide.
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site Speakers Michelle Elzay is the co-founder of Sparrow Design, a c ollaborative design workshop. Elzay was the recipient of the Nantucket P reservation Trust’s 2013 and 2016 Architectural Preservation Award for her work in historic preservation of Nantucket houses and is an NPT Board member. Chuck Lenhart of Sandcastle Construction has been designing and building residential and commercial properties on Nantucket since 1982. Luke Thornewill founded Thornewill Design on Nantucket in 1992 with a focus on residential design. In 1997, Thornewill Design expanded to include construction management. Thornewill Design has completed over 300 residential projects.
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house tours map
A digital version of the tour map is available at: http://bit.ly/NPT18map 9
6 Gull Island Lane 10
itinerary Wednesday, June 6, 2018 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.: Registration at Sherburne Hall, 11 Centre Street 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.: Welcome Reception at Sherburne Hall
Thursday, June 7, 2018 8:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.: Registration and Coffee at Sherburne Hall Promptly at 9:00 a.m. Welcome......................................David Brown, NPT President Introduction.......................Michael May, NPT Executive Director Nantucket: A Historical Overview..............................Betsy Tyler How to Read a Building.........................................Brian Pfeiffer BREAK 11:00 a.m. Tour of 6 Gull Island Lane................Brian Pfeiffer, Luke Thornewill BREAK FOR LUNCH AT SHERBURNE HALL AFTERNOON LECTURES AT SHERBURNE HALL 1:00 p.m. Historic Interiors Survey......................................Marty Hylton Historic Research: Assisting in Preservation Projects........Betsy Tyler 3:00 p.m. Tour of 10 Martin’s Lane..................Brian Pfeiffer, Chuck Lenhart Tour of 14 Orange Street...................................NPT Historians 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Tour and Closing Reception, 55 Union Street............Michelle Elzay 11
case study houses 6 Gull Island Lane Built sometime after 1784, 6 Gull Island Lane was originally part of the Thomas Gardner estate. Gardner likely built it for his daughter Hannah at the time of her marriage to Josiah Sheffield. Hannah died in 1809, six weeks after the birth of her fifth child. Her father sold the house to widower Josiah Sheffield in 1810, around the time he married second wife Keziah Comstock. Josiah and Keziah sold the house to their son Joseph C. Sheffield in 1859, with the stipulation that they would remain in the house the rest of their lives. The house remained in the Sheffield family until 1892. A kitchen was added around 1810 and a living room in 1940 by s ubsequent owners. The house came under new ownership in 2015 and is about to undergo a new chapter.
10 Martin’s Lane Originally built in the mid-18th-century house at 17 Fair Street, this house was moved in 1801 to its current location by Stephen Chase, a carpenter. Chase purchased the house from Jonathan Macy, a mariner. The deed for the house explicitly states that the house was conveyed to Chase without the land under it. Stephen Chase purchased the land for his house from his father, Charles Chase.The house is currently under construction. 12
The Levi Starbuck house at 14 Orange Street was home to whale oil merchant Levi Starbuck and is an iconic example of a grand Nantucket home. Built by William M. Andrews, 14 O range Street is one of the earliest examples of Greek Revival architecture on Nantucket. Andrews was only 26 years old when he completed 14 Orange Street, after completing another house with Greek Revival features at 22 Hussey Street. Andrews may also have built 24 Hussey and 8 Orange Street. Levi Starbuck purchased the Andrews house in 1838, by which point the 69-yearold was already a successful businessman. He was a member of one of the most prominent whaling and merchant families on the island. He spent the last ten years of his life in the opulent new house on Orange Street.
55 Union Street, c. 1834 The Nicholson-Andrews house sits on land that was part of a larger parcel purchased in 1834 by John B. Nicholson, house carpenter, from Peleg Macy, Jr. Nicholson, a builder and speculator, subdivided the parcel and in 1835 Charles G. Andrews, master mariner, purchased the property. In 1842, Andrews’ widow sold the property. Many decades later, in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century, the property was once again purchased by the Andrew family. The house was adapted as a multifamily dwelling and used as a lodging house during the Great Depression. The house was unoccupied for nearly sixty years until a major conservation and restoration in 2015. A Typical Nantucket House, the house retains its a symmetrical façade, paneled front door, original floor plan, and many of the interior and exterior architectural elements. The house is an example of a successful restoration. 13
Photo by Nantucket Architectural Photography
Photo by Michael Rynes
14 Orange Street, c. 1837
6 Gull Island Lane 14
stay connected Why not take what you learned during the workshop and continue the conversation? Help the Nantucket Preservation Trust in its mission to preserve the island’s unique architectural heritage for the benefit of present and future generations. Advocate for historic p reservation and use these social media and contact listings to engage with the symposium attendees, speakers, organization, and businesses who also participated. Share photos, learn about preservation, events, lectures, and happenings, and show your support for architectural preservation. Your support matters. Marty Hylton mhylton@dcp.ufl.edu Michael May mmay@nantucketpreservation.org Brian Pfeiffer brpfeiffer22@gmail.com Betsy Tyler betsytyler@comcast.net RECOMMENDED SITES: Archipedia New England Four Centuries of Distinctive Building in New England www.archipedianewengland.org National Trust for Historic Preservation: www.savingplaces.org Preservation Massachusetts: www.preservationmass.org Nantucket Preservation Trust: www.nantucketpreservation.org @ackprestrust @ackpreservationtrust @nantucketpreservationtrust #ackpreservation 15
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NANTUCKET ISLAND
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contributors EVENT UNDERWRITERS $10,000+ Amos and Barbara Hostetter $5,000 to $9,999 Doug and Caroline Ellis
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LEADERSHIP SUPPORT $1,500 to $4,999 David and Mary Brown Barbara Fife Craig and Ann Muhlhauser Mark and Gwenn Snider, The Nantucket Hotel Marie and John Sussek $750 to $1,499 Ella Wall Prichard
HARD HAT SPONSOR Sandcastle Construction
IN-KIND SUPPORT AND OTHER CONTRIBUTIONS A special thank you to the homeowners and volunteers for their support in making this program possible. Maureen Dunphy Michelle Elzay and Matthew Brannon 6 Gull Island Lane Realty Trust Aisling Glynn – ACKtivities Mark Goldweitz and Family Marty Hylton Ken Jennings and Al Messina Chuck Lenhart Luke Thornewill Nantucket Preservation Trust P.O. Box 158 • Nantucket, MA 02554 www.nantucketpresrevationtrust.org