MPPF Program Introduction

The Massachusetts Preservation Projects Fund was established in 1984 and is administered through the Massachusetts Historical Commission, or MHC. Secretary of the Commonwealth William Francis Galvin, Chairman of the MHC, is dedicated to preserving our cultural heritage through protecting our historical resources. Those landmarks that contribute to the sense of place of our cities and towns. Collectively, these resources distinguish the unique character of the Commonwealth and make it a special place to live.

The Massachusetts Preservation Projects Fund, or NPF, was initiated as a state funded brick and mortar program for these designated historic properties, landscapes and sites listed in the State Register of Historic Places. This annual grant program is open to municipalities and nonprofits and has provided over $60 million for pre-development development, acquisition and emergency work. This has benefited communities all across the Commonwealth as they work to restore, rehabilitate and document their historic resources.

The NPF program requires a 50% matching share from the grantee. Typically, the NPF matching share requirement leverages more than the 50% required match. Oftentimes providing a 2 to 1 or even 3 to 1 match federal funding through the Department of Housing and Urban Development or HUD. Such as Community Development BLOCK Grants or CDBG, is eligible as a matching share.

When applying for the NPF program. Those communities that have adopted the Community Preservation Act or CPA, are eligible to use CPA funds as a source for the match as well. NPF assistance ensures that work performed on historic resources complies with strict preservation standards by providing funding assistance to historically sources to read. The Commission hopes to ensure their continued use and integrity.

Funds available from NPF may be used to restore, rehabilitate and document historic and archeological resources owned by municipalities or nonprofit organizations. To date, the program has provided funding to over 1400 projects in more than 260 municipalities across the Commonwealth. Due to its initial mandate, the program remains one of the few sources of funding for historic building projects, including initial studies, bricks and mortar work or acquisitions.

NPF grants assists in projects across a broad spectrum of property types and community landmarks, ranging from fire stations to town halls and libraries to cemeteries, lighthouses, military forts and industrial sites. MVP of pre-development funds are awarded to conduct studies necessary for future development or the protection of the property. These studies are often the first step to preservation projects like the Mount Everett Academy in South L.A., Mount Village School, both in Egremont and Fort Sewell and Earth in Fort and Marblehead, were successful in documenting the historical evolution of the sites with conditions, assessments, feasibility studies for accessibility and treatment, plans for and preservation strategies for the future.

Fort Schools report also included the development of an interpretive plan for reopening the fort to the public. NPF development funding constitutes the largest portion of program assisted projects, including stabilization, protection, rehabilitation and restoration efforts. St Paul's Episcopal Church in Malden significant on the local level required masonry Repointing on its front facade. Masonry restoration included repointing repair and even rebuilding portions of the stonework and replicating cast stone trim.

The finished project restored the beautiful facade of this locally significant church, the Frederick Geer Mansion in Boston, A national historic landmark, received funds for the restoration of its front elevation. This is the only surviving Tiffany designed residential commission. Work included rebuilding the top of the curved bay on the front facade and restoration replication of the mansion's rare mosaic panels and band work.

Restoration work of the mansion's front facade was accomplished with the assistance of multiple MPF grants. One representative municipal project with the Northbridge Town Hall as part of the Grant assisted project scope. The building received much needed window restoration. The window sash were removed from the building restored and re glazed. The window frames were repaired and painted. Window specialist installed Exterior storms to increase energy efficiency.

Reinstallation of the fully restored and painted windows made a marked improvement of the town hall facade. A similar window restoration project took place at Fairhaven High School in Fairhaven. The historic leaded glass windows in the entrance lobbies and auditorium also required restoration and repair. As in Northbridge, the windows were removed, restored and reinstalled. The successful completion of this project were corrected Vulnerabilities to the buildings envelope.

Historic cultural resources and nonprofit and public ownership frequently suffered deferred maintenance. Incompatible usage. It may even be threatened by demolition. Many of these sites have also undergone inappropriate alterations and poor restoration work that threaten historical and architectural integrity. Some elements may even be beyond repair. The exterior architectural elements in the Provincetown Public library were in extreme disrepair, presenting a clear public safety hazard.

This necessitated that these elements actually needed to be removed. The building received two PPF grants to fully restore the exterior.

MVP of assisted project work included the exterior restoration of the front facade and projecting pavilion. The decorative wood elements of the facade were replicated to accurately match the original design. The architectural features were reinstalled. The library was then painted utilizing the original paint scheme determined through historic paint color analysis. The reintroduction of these distinctive features transforms the facade, and the restored library is now brought back to its original glory.

MPP grants often serve as critical seed money to get multi-phase projects underway, while also stimulating neighborhood revitalization. Funding may be used for feasibility studies and other types of building surveys that serve as invaluable tools for initiating long term planning and fundraising for historic preservation and rehabilitation projects. The Center for the Arts in Natick, for example, was awarded an PPF grant for an adaptive reuse plan and feasibility study for the old Natick Central Fire Station.

The report covered the history of the structure analysis of the site, a comprehensive survey of building fabric, a program summary for use in design, narrative and environmental review and phase cost estimates. One year later, the Center for the Arts was awarded an NPF development grant to address the recommended improvements to the front facade, including Masonry Repointing Reconstruct of the original arch doors and window repairs.

The historic building is now a fully functioning performing arts center, and PPF Grants can be the pivotal first step to rehabilitating a building. The Samuel Harrison House in Pittsfield, for example, was completely uninhabitable before it was awarded money for rehabilitation. The building, the former home of Samuel Harrison, a prominent African-American preacher, needed intervention. MVP funds were awarded to stabilize the structure, make necessary repairs to the foundations, completely restore the saving and trim, fabricate windows to fit appropriate openings, and paint the entire building in its original colors.

The building now houses a museum and serves as a meeting space for the Samuel Harrison Society, arresting the start of deterioration before irreparable damage can occur to historic buildings is a top priority of the program. Of particular importance is preserving character defining features or those unique, distinctive architectural features that set the building apart. The 1805 Nantucket Old Jail exhibited deterioration on its wood shingles, plaster and interior chimney.

Collectively, these elements contribute to the building's unique design as a small jail, a rare survival from such an early period as part of an empire of development grant, the building received a new shingle roof and new shingles, siding, chimney and repointing routine repairs on the windows, doors and interior plaster and reconstruction of the exterior stairs that originally provided access to the second floor.

This MVP funded work provided necessary stabilization for the building, ensuring its structural integrity and returning the jail to its original appearance.

Other character defining features may be equally identifiable as decorative features as functional elements. H.H. Richardson of Ames Memorial Hall in Easton is a national historic landmark and contains many distinctive elements of Richardson's notable style, such as rough masonry construction, massive arches, prominent chimneys and stick style Dormers.

These distinctive decorative elements were repaired and restored in order to prevent further damage to the building. The end result is a striking restoration of this distinctive Richardson design. While obvious deterioration of historic fabric is usually easy to find. It is often the unseen problems that are critical. While some brand projects restore decorative features. Many projects concentrate on structural stabilization and mitigation measures crucial to the halting of irreversible damage and funds allowed for crucial repairs and stabilization to the framing and chimney of the George Scio tennis manse in Dennis.

Due to chronic water infiltration and an unusually high water table, the Stone Foundation was in serious disrepair. This led to the need to temporarily lift up the house in order to properly rebuild the unstable foundation. Without this intervention, deterioration would have likely ruined this town owned historic property on Cape Cod in Hingham, and PPF funds assisted in the structural stabilization of the frame of the Old ship Meetinghouse.

National Historic Landmark. These repairs included steel reinforcement of the timber beams in the attic in order to prevent further structural deficiencies in Stockbridge. Empire Funds contributed to the stabilizing of the dresser. Don Merwin House Museum. Owned and operated by historic New England, the house received a new wood shingle, roof and masonry work to its chimneys. These mitigation measures were necessary for ensuring the structural integrity of this House museum.

Another notable transformation is that of the Fall River Waterworks and PPF contributed funds to an overall construction project of $1.1 million that included Masonry repointing, reinforcement of roof framing and window restoration. This municipal waterworks highlights the diversity of building use in historical sites represented by impact projects. Although the majority of development projects concern the exterior fabric, several projects have been completed on interior spaces.

The John B Goff House and Boylston received funding to completely restore and reconstruct the interior finishes within the library and library. Octagon addition rare period photographs were used as a guide to accurately replicate the historical features. These also guided further MPF projects and eventually restored most of the public rooms of this house. As a result of this restoration work, the completed spaces enhance visitors experience of this prominent Temperance Speaker's home.

Development funding may also be used for often overlooked cultural landscapes, such as historic cemeteries like the old burial hill in Marblehead. Over time, gravestones in monuments and tombs become damaged and need repair to protect their historic integrity. In Marblehead, the town received both pre-development and development and PPF grants to aid in the restoration of old Burial Hill. These funds assisted with the creation of a valuable tool to guide the restoration work and later actual conservation efforts.

The latter included the repair and resetting of a number of grave markers that exhibited immediate need for conservation. This work also helped to preserve the artistic and historic legacy of the town at the First Church burying ground in Templeton. MVP funds were used to repair several rows of granite tombs. These historic tombs were constructed circa 1800 and required stabilization measures to halt further damage.

The front walls of these tombs were leaning badly and needed to be taken down and rebuilt. This work helped to restore the original integrity of the tombs and stopped water infiltration. In addition to gravestones in tombs, character defining elements such as entry gates, landscape features and walls are vulnerable to deterioration and damage from the elements, from settlement or even vandalism.

In Brookfield and PPF funds assisted with the restoration of the 1873 Gateway to the Brookfield Cemetery. The initial grant was utilized to restore the granite masonry of the gateway. An additional MPO grant went to the restoration of the iron gates. These two projects helped preserve the striking entry arch to the Brookfield Cemetery. Salem Common is a significant cultural landscape.

Continuous public usage of the site over the years led to the deterioration of its surrounding cast iron fence, rusted, broken and vandalized. Entire sections of the fence were missing. MVP funds have assisted with multiple phases of restoring the entire fence. Repairing broken sections. Restoring the iron in fabricating missing elements. Restoration of the fence is an ongoing effort. Another MPF assisted project on a cultural landscape with striking results is the War Memorial Park in West Bridgewater.

This unique landscape was an old mill site dating from the 17th century. The park was developed by the Works Progress Administration and was designed by local landscape architect Evelyn Johnson, who incorporated the stone remains of the old mills into her creation. The masonry walls were severely deteriorated and intervention was needed to prevent further collapse. Contractors stabilized the fallen sections, replace broken stones and repaired the wall.

This work restored structural integrity to a character defining feature of this unique cultural landscape. The Massachusetts Preservation Projects Fund has saved community landmarks from neglect and inappropriate use by providing dollars for rehabilitation, restoration, documentation and preservation planning. The program has provided seed money to prime the pump and promote greater investment for larger projects. The program has also addressed serious maintenance issues before a manageable crisis can occur, and PPF has allowed communities to carry out sensitive restorative work without losing key architectural features.

Often overlooked and quick deferred maintenance repair jobs, hundreds of jobs for local contractors have been created through grant assisted project work. Continued success of the NPF will help to preserve the past while securing jobs for the future.