An Archive of Past NPT Events

Preservation Week 2022, May 20-22, 2022. In 2022 Preservation Week's industrial history theme was the "The Mills of Newburyport: The Dream That Ran Out of Steam --- From 19th-Century Speculation to 21st-Century Preservation." The keynote presentation on Friday evening was followed by a weekend of guided and self-guided outdoor walking tours, all of which incorporated stories of innovative technology, entrepreneurship, immigrant opportunity, worker exploitation, growth of mill neighborhoods, economic change, and, in more recent times, the adaptation of old but-still robust mill buildings for new uses. On Friday evening was an illustrated lecture at the Custom House Maritime Museum by author, historian, and museum professional R.W. Bacon that provided micro and macro context for the weekend walking tours. On Saturday were guided walking tours of the 1846 Ocean Mills complex on Kent St. (now in residential use), and the former site of the 1845 Globe Steam Mill at Liberty and Federal Sts.(now the site of the Tannery Marketplace). Through the weekend were self-guided exterior walking tours of the 1843 James Steam Mill (now in residential use), and the 1866 Merrimac Arms/Towle Building (now medical offices). Outdoor explorers also enjoyed guided tours of Newburyport’s 1822 Powder House Park & Learning Center led by trust co-president Tom Kolterjahn, who directed NPT's award-winning multi-year preservation/restoration project. The nominations, documentation, and evaluations for NPT's Preservation Awards were suspended for 2022.

The Pandemic Time-Out of 2020 and 2021: Preservation Week events were suspended in 2020 and 2021.

Preservation Week 2019, May 17-19, 2019. In 2019 Preservation Week turned the three-day spotlight on Newburyport's smaller footprint homes in the National Register Historic District, how they fit into the city's history, and how they contribute to neighborhood ambience. The "Small Houses - Big History" weekend included keynote speaker Chris Scoville of the Boston Preservation Alliance presenting "Beyond Brick and Mortar: Preserving a Sense of Place"; a nautical-themed scavenger hunt for families; an architectural walking tour of the Ocean Mills neighborhood, home to the growing population of 19th-centiury mill worker families; a tour and workshop with Window Woman of New Hampshire; tours of NPT's Powder House Park and Learning Center; a fund-raising concert by the Chris Walton Band; and a walking tour of small-footprint historic homes in the South End. Preservation Week 2019 concluded on Sunday with the annual Preservation Award ceremony and reception. 2019 Preservation Awards: Preservation Leadership: Bethany Groff Dorau; Stewardship: Ann & Jeffery Stott, Amanda & David Kipp, and Patricia & Philip Hurzeler;; Historically Sensitive Craftsman: Robert Himeon; Interior Restoration: Barbara Posnansky; and Next Generation Preservationist awardees: Maximin Clement, Maeve Taylor, Carly Schwab, Matthew Bazenas, Issa Garcia and Jackson Byrne.

Preservation Week 2018, May 19-20, 2018. Newburyport celebrated and commemorated historic preservation during the 12th annual Newburyport Preservation Week, May 19-20, 2018. The 2018 theme was "Newburyport Parks: Past, Present, & Future." Events included tours and presentations at Battis Grove on the Clipper City Rail Trail, Powder House Park & Learning Center, Atwood Park, Atkinson Common, and Cornelius J. Doyle Triangle; plus an anniversary open house at Window Woman of New England. This year’s keynote presentation was “Bartlet Mall: History, Significance, and Preservation,” by architect Charles O. Griffin, Saturday afternoon at the historic 1805 courthouse on High Street. The presentation filled the upstairs courtroom of the Charles Bulfinch-designed building with attendees eager to learn about the restoration possibilities for the Bartlet Mall trees, slopes, fountain, and pond. 2018 Preservation Awards: Preservation awards in multiple categories brought Preservation Week 2018 to a celebratory conclusion at the Custom House Maritime Museum on May 20, 2018. At the standing-room-only ceremony, the Newburyport Preservation Trust presented its 2018 awards in six categories: Stewardship: David A. Bak & Deborah A. Duncan (34 Boardman Street); Martha C. Muldoon & Carolyn J. Davis (6 Beck Street); James G. Shanley & Karen P. Battles (15 Olive Street); and Kenneth A. & Lauren J. Woods (18 Temple Street); Education: John M. Webber, teacher at Rupert A. Nock Middle School; Research: Sharon L. Spieldenner, senior librarian and archivist at the Newburyport Public Library Archival Center; Leadership: W. Michael Mroz, former director of the Custom House Maritime Museum in Newburyport; Historically Sensitive Craftsman: Paul R. Miller (1931-2012) of Newburyport; Philanthropy: James Agrippe Morrill, Robert Dodge Morrill, & James Astle Morrill, trustees of the Mayor Gayden W. Morrill Charitable Foundation. 

Preservation Week 2017, May 10-16, 2017. This year's Preservation Week theme, “Newburyport in the Historic American Buildings Survey,” looked back at the federal program that advanced architectural preservation in the 1930s. In Newburyport, one property surveyed in 1934 was the “Old Gaol” on Auburn Street, and on May 19, 2017 the well-preserved granite structure was in the spotlight as the venue for a sold-out fund-raising event for the Newburyport Preservation Trust. Newburyporters were happy to spend “An Evening in Gaol,” thanks to the welcoming generosity of property owners Chuck & Gillian Griffin. Other highlights of the week were the debut of a new book, The HABS and the HABs NOTS: Documenting the Architecture of Newburyport in the Historic American Buuildings Survey; two exhibitions related to the Historic American Buildings Survey, one at the Custom House Maritime Museum and one at the Museum of Old Newbury; Open House at the Perkins Mint; Sash Revival Day with Window Woman of New England; and the presentation of the annual Preservation Awards. 2017 Preservation Awards: Kathleen Schoonmaker & Sandra Pilt (interior restoration); Craig & Karen Holt (historically sensitive addition); James & Clorinda Schiavone (adaptive reuse); Luka Celebic (preservation craftsman); Robin Pagliarulo for (preservation sensitive Realtor – new category); The Newburyport Art Association (historically sensitive community garden – new category); Jesse “Skip” Motes & Marge Motes (historical research); and Charles & Gillian Griffin (landmark preservation of Newburyport’s 1825 “Old Gaol”).

Preservation Week 2016, May 10-16, 2016. Newburyport celebrated and commemorated historic preservation during the tenth annual Newburyport Preservation Week, May 10-15, 2016. The 2016 theme, "Preserving the Architecture of Faith," featured the architecture and preservation of the city's many churches, old and new, and their presence that contributes to our sense of place. Six days of activities for all ages and interests included tours, lectures, and the annual Historic Preservation Awards. Events included: Illustrated Lecture Presentation & Reception, Newburyport's Architecture of Faith, by R.W. Bacon; Open House & Burying Ground Tours,First Parish Church of Newbury; Presentation & Tour: “Visions Of Hope: The Story of Hope Community Church Since 1805,” by Pastor Pete Balentine at Hope Community Church; Open House at the Cushing House (Museum of Old Newbury); Open House at the Perkins Printing & Engraving Plant (Museum of Old Newbury); Presentation & Tour: Central Congregational Church; Presentation & Reception: “A Preservation Commitment Journey: The First Religious Society Steeple Project,” by William Heenahan; Walking Tour: “Historic Churches,” by Ghlee Woodworth; Tour: “A Woman, a Dream, and a Library” at the Emma L. Andrews Library; Tour: “Old South Church History Tour”; Tour: Powder House Park & Learning Center; Tour & Discussion: “Sabbath in the Synagogue” at Congregation Ahavas Achim; Performance “American Music Sampler” at St. Paul’s Church; Open House: First Religious Society, Unitarian Universalist Church; Sanctuary Tour & Music: Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church; Organ Concert & tour at Belleville Congregational Church; and the 2016 Preservation Awards Presentation & Reception. 2016 Preservation Awards: Leading the list of this year’s Preservation Award recipients was the First Religious Society and its team of experts that restored the exterior and steeple at 26 Pleasant Street: Painters Pride, Matthew Construction, Rich Duca Design, Young’s Woodworking, Anthony & Associates, American Steeple & Tower Co., and Construction Engineering Services. Also receiving awards in various categories were Kem & Betsy Widmer (Interior & exterior restoration of 272 High Street); Gerald Lipsky & Carol Rouleau (Stewardship, 26 Olive Street); Brendan & Katy Banovic (Window Restoration, 1 Walnut Street); William & Deanna Swilling (Historic Landscape Restoration, 6 Dexter Street); Window Woman of New England (Historic Window Preservation); John Leydon & Debra Pare (Historic Masonry Repair, 2 Beck Street).

Preservation Week 2015, May 12-17, 2015. The 2015 theme was “Signs of the Times,” referencing the new National Register District Signs, the new NPT Historic House Plaque program, and the pro-preservation sentiment of Newburyport voters at the ballot box after failed Local Historic District campaign. A highlight of the week was the ceremonial unveiling and installation on May 12 of five signs that mark the city’s National Register Historic District. The district – the largest in Massachusetts, encompassing over 2500 contributing structures from Joppa in the South End to Atkinson Common in the North End – was established in 1984 by the U.S. Department of the Interior to recognize the national significance of the city’s architecture, grand and modest, from the late 17th century to the early 20th century. Other highlights included an exhibition at the Custom House Maritime Museum detailing the Historic American Building Survey (HABS) of Newburyport’s restored 1822 Powder House; a presentation by Window Woman of New Hampshire; plus tours, lecture programs, and the annual Preservation Awards. 2015 Preservation Awards: Awards were presented to recipients in the following categories: Historically Sensitive Planner/Consultant - Nicholas Cracknell, Amesbury, Mass.; Stewardship - William Hickey (1 Parsons St.); Stewardship - Howard & Dorothy Fairweather (4 Parsons Street); Historic Landscape Restoration - Belleville Improvement Society (Atkinson Common); Preservation Research - Linda Tulley; Preservation Leadership - Linda Smiley; Historically Sensitive Contractor/Builder - Brad Kutcher (386 High Street); Historically Sensitive Contractor/Builder - Mark Wojcicki (386 High Street); Exterior Restoration - Paul & Patricia Henault (owners) (7 Marlboro Street); and Exterior Restoration - Dodge & Dodge General Contractors (contractors) (7 Marlboro Street).

Preservation Week 2014, May 14-18, 2014. The theme of Preservation Week 2014 was Celebrating the City's 250th Anniversary and the Challenges of Preserving Our City. Events included: a fund-raiser at Oregano's Restaurant; a week-long exhibition, Vanishing Treasures:Preservation Challenges; an interactive debate illuminating the 1764 separation of Newbury and Newburyport, Separation Anxiety; a lecture, What Style is My House and Why Should I Care?; a tour of historic fireplaces with restoration mason Richard Irons; a living history tour of the Emma L. Andrews Library; tours of the Powder House Park & Learning Center; tours of the Old South Church; a walking tour of the Clipper Heritage Trail with local historian Ghlee Woodworth; a lecture, High on High: An Exquisite High Street Home Restored; a tour of St. Anna's Chapel, A Historic Restoration in Progress; a lecture by Historic New England's Sally Zimmerman, Reading the Clues; and the 2014 Preservation Awards. Preservation Week 2014 was presented in partnership with the Custom House Maritime Museum, the Theater-in-the-Open, and Historic New England. 2014 Preservation Awards: Historically Sensitive Craftsman: Jasper March; Historically Sensitive Craftsman: Benjamin Twombly; Historic Landscape Restoration: 100 State St. Condominium Association and Matthew Blanchette, Preservation Mason; Stewardship: Leah McGavern & Clifford Goudey (21 Marlboro St.); Exterior Restoration: St. Anna's Chapel of St. Paul's Church (166 High St.); Interior Restoration: St. Anna's Chapel of St. Paul's Church (166 High St.); Preservation Leadership: Jared Eigerman (Newburyport City Councilor, Ward 2); and Sensitive Addition to a Historic Building: Newburyport YWCA (11 Market St. apartments).

Preservation Week 2013, May 8-12, 2013. The theme of Preservation Week 2013 was Women and Preservation. Events included: a fund-raiser at Oregano's Restaurant; a lecture, Women at Sea; a lecture, Women: History's Silent Partners; a tour of historic fireplaces in the South End with restoration mason Richard Irons; a tour of the Emma Andrews branch library, A Woman, a Dream, and a Library; a tour of St. Anna's Chapel at St. Paul's Church; a tour of Old South Church; a walking tour, Newburyport's Historic Business Women; a Tales & Ales historic tavern dinner at Historic New England's Swett-Illsley House; a lecture and Mother's Day brunch, The Herbalist's Garden, with John Forti of Strawbery Banke Museum; a tour of Powder House Park & Learning Center; and a lecture, The Passionate Preservationist, by Historic New England's Sally Zimmerman. Three of the events were held at the Custom House Maritime Museum. Newburyport Preservation Week 2013 was presented in partnership with Historic New England and the Custom House Maritime Museum. The Institution for Savings was a sponsor of The Herbalist's Garden lecture on Mother's Day. 2013 Preservation Awards: In 2013 awards were made in the following categories: Stewardship - Cynthia & Byron Getchell for maintaining historical aspects of their home at 14 Milk Street for more than 30 years; Preservation Design - Linda Reppucci for restoration of her 1900 bungalow at 330 Merrimac Street; Window Restoration - Novack & Stephanie Niketic were honored for their work at their Italianate house at 93 High Street; Contractor-Builder Award -Pat & Bill Starck of Starck Housejoiners, Inc. (storm window work at 93 High Street); Historic Landscape - Jennifer Day & Marc Cendrone for their effort on an 1840 garden layout at their home at 89-91 High Street; Preservation Leadership - William Harris for “his dedication over the years in preserving Newburyport’s historical assets.; Adaptive Reuse - Julia & Walter Clay at 8 Dexter Lane (carriage barn) and Dr. Saira Naseer (offices) for adapting the Nicholas Brady House at 28 Green Street for use as a medical resource.

Preservation Week 2012, May 16-20, 2012. On the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, the theme of Preservation Week 2012 was Newburyport's Waterfront: God, Gold, & Guns. Events included: a fund-raiser at Oregano Restaurant; continuous showings of the 1975 documentary film, A Measure of Change; A Pictorial Overview of the Newburyport Waterfront, a presentation of maps, paintings, and photos from the collection of the Custom House Maritime Museum; Adventures: Water Street Entrepreneurs of Maritime Newburyport, a presentation on the evolution of the city's maritime trade; Tales and Ales, a historic dining experience at Historic New England's 1670 Swett-Ilsley House (two nights!); Tiptoe Through the Tombstones, a walking tour of Oak Hill Cemetery; The Newburyport Powder House & Shipping, a presentation on the 1822 Powder House and an update on NPT's ongoing restoration project; Newburyport's Civil War Highlights, a walking tour and musket firing; Rediscovering Coombs and Lower Bartlet Wharves, a documentary film about recent archaeological discoveries; Brunch With Boardman, a brunch at the Henry Learned House followed by a lecture on Revolutionary-era privateer Capt. Offin Boardman; a tour of the St. Paul's Church cemetery; a tour of Old South Church; the 2012 Preservation Awards ceremony; and A Waterfront Retrospective, a panel discussion on Newburyport's 1960s-1970s partial demolition and eventual preservation. Six of the aforementioned events were held at the Custom House Maritime Museum, with post-event receptions. 2012 Preservation Awards: Preservation Leadership Award - Linda Miller; Outstanding Exterior - The Geerling House, 212 High St., Brenda & Huib Geerling; Outstanding Interior - The Herlihy House, 82 Middle St., Mary and Dan Herlihy; Landscape Restoration - Italianate Gardens at Maudslay State Park (Sandee Liversidge, Stephanie Hufnagel, Lindsay Cavanagh, Lillian Newbert, Karen Wakefield & Amy King); Contractor/Builder - Joseph Napolitano, nominated by the Powder House Restoration Committee; Written History - Jean Doyle, for her two-volume series on Newburyport from 1900-1985; Artifact Preservation - Researchers honored were Cynthia Muir, Susan Gallagher, & Jack Volke; History Education - Lawrence Rosenblum & Ronald Fleming for their 1975 documentary, A Measure of Change. The awards ceremony was captured in this 19-minute video. Read the Newburyport Daily News article about Preservation Week 2012 here.

Winter Seminar 2012. The one-day seminar, The Mystery of History: Researching & Documenting Your Old House, was presented Saturday, January 21 at Joppa Flats Education Center. The seminar included presentations on deed research (Skip & Marge Motes), documenting buildings through measurement, drawing, and photography (Linda Miller), and architectural investigation and historical archaeology (Joe Cornish & Caitlin Corkins of Historic New England). NPT members and presenters Skip & Marge Motes have generously made their 33-page house history research guide available to all as a downloadable and printable PDF file: The Mystery of History: Researching & Documenting Your Old House.

Preservation Week 2011, May 14-22, 2011. On the bicentennial of the 1811 fire in Newburyport that consumed over 16 acres of the downtown, the theme and title of the opening event of Preservation Week 2011 was Newburyport Up From the Ashes: After the Great Fire 1811-2011. Events included: Walk Newburyport, an architectural walking tour in conjunction with NPT’s newly-published book of the same name; All Fired Up, a chamber music concert fundraiser; the Blazing a Path to Preservation Bike Tour; a seminar in conjunction with the Custom House Maritime Museum, Historic Wharves of New England; a report on the Newburyport Powder House restoration project, Powderhouses - They’re Explosive!; a Historic New England lecture/presentation, Hot Preservation, Inside and Out; a mid-week fund-raising dinner; an illustrated presentation on a Portsmouth, N.H. restoration project, Flickers of the Past: The Joshua Wentworth House; the Sparks of History House Tour of a High Street mansion;an exhibition, Firehouses & Fire Trucks at the Ould Newbury Fire Museum; an illustrated presentation, Newburyport Fires & Firefighting Over Two Centuries; the NPT Preservation Awards ceremony; and a closing reception. In conjunction with Historic New England were several afternoons of vintage baseball at Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm, the Anatomy of a Fireplace seminar; and Tales and Ales dinner events at the Swett-Ilsley House. 2011 Preservation Awards: 25 Ashland Street, Emma Andrews Library Improvement Association, Ghlee Woodworth, 9 Orange Street, Historical Society of Old Newbury, and Sally Zimmerman. Read the Newburyport Daily News article here.

Preservation Week 2010, May 17-23, 2010. The 2010 Preservation Week event featured eight events: The Big Bang, a presentation on the powder house restoration and Civil War military re-enactment; White on White, a film and lecture about the early rural meetinghouses in New England; Restoring Old Hill, an update on preserving Old Hull Burying Ground, plus a demonstration on tombstone preservation and restoration; Tiptoe through the Tombstones, a tour of Oak Hill Cemetery and reception at the restored Brown Chapel; Music and the Manse, a fundraiser for the NPT featuring 18th century music; an Architectural Bike Tour of period homes of Newburyport; From Farms to Factories, a lecture and slide presentation of Newburyport's past; History Stations, short takes on Newburyport's past presented along Newburyport's new rail trail; and the presentation of NPT's annual awards. 2010 Preservation Awards: 47 High Street, 25 Water Street (Custom House), 21 Munroe Street, 1 Marlboro Street, 89 Curzon Mill Road, Anthony Furnari/DPS (City of Newburyport), and State Rep. Mike Costello. Read the Newburyport Daily News article here.

Newburyport: Farms to Factories (Video, 2010, 82 min.). This Preservation Week 2010 presentation at the Firehouse Center for the Arts by the Newburyport Preservation Trust was in collaboration with the Historical Society of Old Newbury. The program details the evolution from an agricultural to an industrial economy. Presenters are architect Linda Miller and Cushing House Museum curator Jay Williamson. (Filmed by Jerry A. Mullins, Port Media volunteer.)

Preservation Week 2009, May 27-31, 2009. "This Place Matters" was the theme of Preservation Week 2009, which featured eight events: a viewing of A Measure of Change, the award-winning video documentary about Newburyport's preservation in the 1970s; Who Put the History in the Historic Paint Palette, a presentation on the development of "historic" paint colors; an exhibition of children's drawings of and letters to their houses; the Pedaling Through the Past bike tour, highlighting the history of the South End; a cemetery tour focusing on the Coffin family of Newbury; an architectural walking tour, Four Centuries of Building History; a family scavenger hunt and Historic New England's Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm; and Lost in Newburyport: Changes Revealed Through Photographs, a narrated slide presentation chronicling 150 years of Newburyport history; and presentation of the annual Preservation Awards. 2009 Preservation Awards: 65 Water Street (Newburyport Art Association), 31 Toppans Lane, 24 Broad Street, and Richard Irons.

Preservation Week 2008, May 13-18, 2008. Preservation Week 2008 presented a range of educational programs useful to homeowners desiring to preserve their property the right way. The event featured six programs during the course of the week: a panel discussion, Protecting Your Property for Future Generations; the Fruit Street Crawl, a walking tour of the city's first Local Historic District; a lecture, Your Old House and How to Conserve its Historic Character, a lecture, Old House Restoration: How to do it the Right Way; Dirt Detectives, a family archaeology program; a showing of A Measure of Change, the award-winning film documentary about Newburyport's preservation in the 1970s; and the presentation of the annual Preservation Awards. 2008 Preservation Awards: 17 Federal Street, Brown Chapel, 323 Merrimac Street, and 1 Jefferson Street.

NPT's Restoration Lecture Series - 2008

What Architectural Style is Your House? Newburyport Architectural Styles 1620-1900 (2008, 64 min.). A Newburyport Preservation Trust presentation at the Custom House Museum in 2008, part one of NPT's Six Degrees of Restoration series. Presenters are architects Linda Miller, Greg Colling, and Chuck Griffin. (Filmed by Jerry A. Mullins, Port Media volunteer.)

Historic Window Restoration (2008, 64 min.). A Newburyport Preservation Trust presentation at the Custom House Museum in 2008, part two of NPT's Six Degrees of Restoration series. Presenters are Bill & Pat Starck of Starck Housejoiners. (Filmed by Jerry A. Mullins, Port Media volunteer.)

Your House, and How to Preserve Its Historic Character (2008, 64 min.). A Newburyport Preservation Trust presentation at the Custom House Museum in 2008, part three of NPT's Six Degrees of Restoration series. (Filmed by Jerry A. Mullins, Port Media volunteer.)

Of Hearth and Home (2008, 64 min.). A Newburyport Preservation Trust presentation at the Custom House Museum on Sept. 16, 2008, part four of NPT's Six Degrees of Restoration series. (Filmed by Jerry A. Mullins, Port Media volunteer.)

Anatomy of a Restoration (2008, 64 min.). A Newburyport Preservation Trust presentation at the Custom House Museum on Nov. 18, 2008, part six of NPT's Six Degrees of Restoration series. (Filmed by Jerry A. Mullins, Port Media volunteer.)

Preservation Week 2007, May 5-12, 2007. NPT's first Preservation Week, in 2007, aimed to initiate discussion on how to balance Newburyport's present-day vitality with its historic foundations. Seven events were scheduled throughout the week: a tour of the "Old Gaol" on Auburn Street; a panel discussion, Historic, Green, & Profitable, about preservation and sustainable development; Restore It, a presentation chronicling the kitchen remodeling of an 18th-century home (the first of NPT's six-part lecture series); a tour of the Tracy Mansion, now the Newburyport Public Library; Treasures of Newburyport, an overview of the holdings of the library's Archival Center;Light and Color, with interpretations of old Nebwuryport as rendered by painter Richard Burke Jones; a viewing of A Measure of Change, the award-winning video documentary about Newburyport's 1970s restoration, and presentation of the annual Preservation Awards. 2007 Preservation Awards: 22 Prospect Street, Old South Church, 14 Beck Street, Bartlet Mall, 299 High Street, David Webb, and Newburyport City Hall.