 Community Preservation Program |
Newton City Hall
& Civil War Monument
| location: |
|
1000 Commonwealth Avenue
Newton Centre, MA 02459 |
| goals: |
|
Preserve, restore and rehabilitate key, character-defining historic features and significant historic artifacts held in Newton's 1932 Georgian-style City Hall, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the surrounding landscape designed by the Olmsted Brothers firm, while allowing this historic building to meet current community needs.
See also City Archives page for related projects at several sites, including but not limited to City Hall. |
| total funding: |
|
| $446,910 |
|
CPA funds appropriated (historic resources) |
| $386,150 |
|
CPA funds spent (all unspent balances returned to Community Preservation Fund) |
$749,950 |
|
CPA funds requested for Accessibility & Acoustics project |
| $581,741 |
|
additional CPA funds to be requested if Accessibility & Acoustics scope of work is expanded at CPC request |
| $1,331,704 |
|
max. total CPA funds to be requested for Accessibility & Acoustics |
$1,100,000-
$3,200,000 |
|
additional PA requests anticipated (based on Fy14-19 Capital Improvement Plans) |
| NOTE: Amounts above exclude the City-owned Civil War Monument, on the grounds of the private Newton Cemetery. |
|
| individual projects: |
|
|
| contacts: |
|
For building:
Public Buildings Commissioner
City of Newton
52 Elliot Street
Newton Upper Falls, MA 02464
email:
phone: 617.796.1600
For historic art, artifacts & archives:
City Clerk
Newton City Hall
1000 Commonwealth Avenue
Newton Centre, MA 02459
email: dolson@newtonma.gov
phone: 617.796.1210
For landscape:
Commissioner of Parks & Recreation
City of Newton
124 Vernon Street
Newton, MA 02458
email: bderubeis@newtonma.gov & cschein@newtonma.gov
phone: 617.796.1500
|
| the historic significance of Newton City Hall: |
| 1997 |
|
listing of Newton City Hall on the National Register of Historic Places |
| February 2012 |
|
City Hall Historic Building Report - from CPA-funded series for all historic City buildings |
City Hall Accessibility & Acoustics
|
| goals: |
|
|
| Exterior Stairs |
|
Provide detailed recommendations for the restoration of stonework and masonry, including appropriate mortar, of the exterior stairs leading to the War Memorial Auditorium entrance on the west side of City Hall. Note: This study also included the municipal Civil War Monument, built of similar materials but located on the grounds of the nearby Newton Cemetery (private). |
| Acoustics & Accessibility |
|
Rehabilitate the War Memorial Auditorium by providing wheelchair access compliant with current standards, and improve acoustics in both the Auditorium and Aldermanic Chamber, to make these historic spaces usable for a wider range of public events while preserving their historically significant features. |
| total funding: |
|
| 2004 assessment of War Memorial exterior stairs: |
| $15,000 |
|
CP funds appropriated & spent (historic resources) |
| 2013-14 acoustics & accessibility project: |
| $80,000 |
|
federal (CDBG) funds spent |
| $749,950 |
|
CPA funds requested (historic resources) |
| $581,741 |
|
additional CPA funds to be requested if scope of work is expanded at CPC request |
| $1,331,704 |
|
max. total CPA funds to be requested |
|
Proposal Review & Appropriations
|
| Exterior Stairs |
| 15 October 2004 |
|
Proposal for Assessment |
| 30 March 2005 |
|
CPC funding recommendation |
| 16 May 2005 |
|
Board order (appropriation) |
| Acoustics & Accessibility |
| February-July 2013 |
|
pre-proposal |
| 18-20 December 2013 |
|
corrected full proposal (orig. submission 15 November 2013):
|
| 26 February 2013 |
|
slide presentation to CPC public hearing |
| 19-23 June 2014 |
|
revised draft proposal, with potential expanded/alternative scope requested by the CPC (accessible exterior entrance and restrooms; exterior elevator as alternative for accomplishing project goals) |
| 14 July 2014 |
|
Public Buildings' request for the CPC to hold this proposal temporarily |
Project News
|
| Exterior Stairs |
| June 2006 |
|
Interim Assessment Report |
| June 2007 |
|
Final Assessment Report, including recommendations (long file, may load slowly) and plans |
| Accessibility & Acoustics |
|
|
|
City Hall Balustrade, Windows & Lighting
|
| goals: |
|
Restore key, character-defining features of Newton's 1932 Georgian-style City Hall, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places: balustrade and cupola, arched wood windows (especially in the second-floor Aldermanic Chambers and War Memorial Auditorium); lighting in main public corridors. |
| total funding: |
|
| $391,260 |
|
CPA funds appropriated 2003-04 (historic resources) |
| $330,500 |
|
CPA funds spent 2004-2008 (unspent balance returned to CP Fund) |
| $1,093,000 |
|
CPA funds to be requested as of 2012 (historic resources) |
$1,423,500 |
|
total of CPA funds spent and anticipated requests |
|
Proposal Review & Appropriations
|
| December 2002 |
|
combined proposal for multiple features of City Hall (cupola & balustrade, windows, lighting) |
| 8 January 2003 |
|
revised proposal:
|
| February 2003 |
|
|
| 7 April 2003 |
|
CPC funding recommendation |
| May 2003-May 2004 |
|
Board orders (appropriations):
|
| 3 July 2012 |
|
City Hall historic windows pre-proposal |
| 2 November 2012 |
|
The City of Newton postponed submission of a full proposal. |
| 24 July 2013 |
|
The CPC agreed to consider a full proposal once a prototype study has been completed to assess repair, restoration and replacement options for the various styles of historic windows in City Hall. |
City Hall Landscape
|
| goals: |
|
Provide a phased plan for the preservation and rehabilitation of this award-winning landscape, designed and installed in 1931-32 by Henry Vincent Hubbard of the Olmsted Brothers firm to complement the Georgian design of Newton's new City Hall, with ponds fed by Cold Spring Brook. |
| total funding: |
|
| $40,650 |
|
CP funds appropriated & spent (historic resources),including $650 for City of Newton legal services |
|
Proposal Review & Appropriations
|
| 27 April 2005 |
|
preservation plan: CPC funding recommendation |
| 2 June 2005 |
|
preservation plan: Board order (appropriation) |
| 8 August 2005 |
|
Board order (supplemental appropriation for City of Newton legal services) |
October 2006-
January 2007 |
|
Implementation Proposal, Phase 1:
|
Project News
|
| October 2006 |
|
Final Preservation Report & Recommendations (long files, may load slowly)
|
Civil War Monument
in Newton Cemetery
|
| location: |
|
791 Walnut Street
Newton Centre, MA 02459-1719 |
| goals: |
|
Restore the stonework and masonry, including appropriate mortar, of the City-owned Civil War Monument, sited in Newton Cemetery (private). This memorial, constructed in 1864 with funds donated by the citizens of Newton, was the second in Massachusetts and one of the first in the country to honor soldiers who had lost their lives during the Civil War.
This study also included the exterior stairs to the War Memorial Auditorium at City Hall. |
| total funding: |
|
| $15,000 |
|
CP funds appropriated for assessment & recommendations (historic resources) |
| $13,161 |
|
CP funds spent for assessment & recommendations (unspent balance returned to CP Fund) |
| $134,000 |
|
CP funds requested to create specifications & do restoration |
|
| contacts: |
|
Project Manager (responsible for project management & reports)
Frank Nichols, Project Engineer
Dept. of Public Works
Newton City Hall
1000 Commonwealth Avenue
Newton Centre, MA 02459
email: fnichols@newtonma.gov
phone: 617.796.1034
Preservation Planner
Dept. of Planning & Development
Newton City Hall
1000 Commonwealth Avenue
Newton Centre, MA 02459
email:
phone: 617.796.1129
Additional contact (not responsible for project management):
Newton Cemetery, a private garden cemetery founded in 1855 |
Proposal Review & Appropriations
|
| October 2004 |
|
funding for assessment: proposal |
| 30 March 2005 |
|
CPC funding recommendation |
| 16 May 2005 |
|
Board order (appropriation) |
| February-March 2012 |
|
funding for restoration:
|
| 4 April 2012 |
|
full proposal (long file, may load slowly), includes:
|
•
|
|
budgets & timelines for 1-, 2-, and 3-phase approaches |
|
•
|
|
photos |
|
•
|
|
letters of support |
|
•
|
|
National Register of Historic Places documentation |
|
•
|
|
deed/history information (expanded) |
|
| 10 April 2012 |
|
CIty of Newton Law Dept. memo (confirming City responsibility for maintenance & repair) |
| 24 April 2012 |
|
presentation to the CPC (includes photos & historical information) |
| 30 April 2012 |
|
CPC recommendation |
| 18 June 2012 |
|
Board order (appropriation) |
Project News
|
| June 2006 |
|
Interim Assessment Report |
| June 2007 |
|
Final Assessment Report:
|
| 24 May 2014 |
|
Redication ceremony at 1 pm. Check this page for details:
http://www.newtonma.gov/gov/planning/histpres/civil_war_soldiers_monument.asp |
 | |
