Our final Membership Month installment is all about Vision, Believe and Encouragement! Preservation can be (and often is) a daunting, overwhelming and time consuming undertaking. Yet time and time again we have seen people stay the course and succeed because they had vision. They see potential in an old main street storefront, in the underutilized mill, in the closed up movie theater downtown. They saw potential and believed it could be a reality. Having vision and belief

A Membership Month Story: One of Preservation Massachusetts' core programs is our Most Endangered Historic Resources List. Since 1993, this advocacy program has shone a spotlight on important buildings, landscapes and structures that are threatened in some way. Using our statewide platform, we strive to collaborate with local advocates and others in a positive way to find a successful preservation outcome. Of course not everything turns out the way we hope (there's always a

There is a lot to love about Massachusetts! We love our cities and towns, historic buildings and our main streets. We love the rolling landscapes, parks, open spaces and shores. We love people using older buildings, reusing and restoring the past for the future. This month we invite you to “Feel the Love” for preservation in Massachusetts by joining us as a member! Through your support of Preservation Massachusetts, you advocate, you educate, and you empower preservation e

Please join us at the next meeting of the Western Massachusetts Historical Commission Coalition Topic: Why and How: Repairing Historic Windows Thursday, March 15, 2018 (Snow Date 3/22/18) 10:00-12:00 The John W. Olver Transit Center, First Floor Meeting Room, 12 Olive Street, Greenfield, Massachusetts, 01301 Hosted by the Franklin Regional Council of Governments For a copy of the agenda click here Members of Historical Commissions, historic preservation advocates, and other

Storytelling is an integral part of history. Stories teach, they inspire, they motivate, they caution. Stories tell where you have been and where you are and were you hope to go in the future. Preservation Massachusetts is excited to launch a new bi-monthly feature called “Storytellers”. Beginning in February, we will share a local preservation story that can serve to educate and inspire others. It may be the tale of saving an historic church, of community outreach and cons

February is Membership Month at Preservation Massachusetts! This month we invite you to "Feel the Love" for historic preservation in Massachusetts by joining us as a member. Through us you help advocate, educate and empower historic preservation efforts in cities and towns all across the Commonwealth. All month long we will be sharing ways in which your membership dollars have made an impact on preservation and sharing new opportunities on the horizon. If you have already

For me, trips to Vermont in January usually meant a car packed with equipment and supplies for a ski excursion. I’ll admit it’s been a while since I have been to Vermont, but earlier this month I was lucky to find myself in Dummerston, just outside of Brattleboro. I was sitting in a cozy study talking about the trials and tribulations of non-profit communications in a house designed for Rudyard Kipling (yes, the Jungle Book Rudyard Kipling). Members of fellow preservation

Preservation may be rooted in history, but it has always served the future. It is about more than just a building—it is about relationships, making the old new and relevant again, recycling, up-cycling and sustainability, breathing life back into our community centers and neighborhoods, providing services, and activating appreciation and pride in the places we call home. Preservation began as a movement because of people with an unwavering belief that their communities were

During the winter semester break, Preservation Massachusetts was fortunate to have not one but two interns working with us on some long-anticipated projects; getting our new advocacy database up and running and creating an historic landscape resource guide. We will certainly share more about these projects, but we wanted to use this opportunity to introduce you to these two “next generation” members of the preservation community. Clelie Fielding: Historic Landscape Intern 1.)

Just before the end of 2017, tax reform was passed by the Federal Government. Included in the legislation that was signed into law was the Historic Tax Credit program, which had been under threat. The House and Senate Conference Committee reconciled the differences between their two versions of the tax bill. The final agreement eliminated the pre-1936 10% non-historic tax credit but included the 20% Historic Tax Credit (HTC) with a provision that it will be claimed over five