To the editor:
I feel strongly that Beverly needs to protect and preserve the Second-Period homes and structures abutting the Beverly Common and the library.
Second-Period structures are houses built after 1750 until about 1820. Two of these Federalist structures by the Common that are in danger of demolition are those at 11 and 13 Winter St. These beautiful, white-clad structures are not stately homes, but homes for the common man and are unique in that they have survived. One was built in 1794 for mariner David Thomas and the other in 1795 for David Fornis by bricklayer William Fornis.
According to the Montserrat College of Art, the buildings adjacent to the Beverly Public Library are to be replaced this June with prefabricated housing for 85 students.
Let me say that the college is a great addition to the city. However, the college already has multiple properties downtown without needing to redesign a historic landscape. The Common is surrounded by a critical mass of historic structures. Readers may recall the Dalton House built in 1825 that was moved to Winter Street during the library expansion.
The library was designed by the renown architect Olmstead. In fact, the library is framed on either side by two complimentary white Second-Period homes. One of the houses slated for demolition, 13 Winter St., once had a little corner store that the mother of Tubbie Marshall owned. Tubbie went on to found the Marshall's department store chain with a loan from her and his ability to win money at cards.
Notable also is the Capt. Ebenezer Rogers home at 24 Essex St., built in 1768. The house is beautiful, so it is no wonder the college uses it as administrative offices. Mary Foster, who once owned 24 Essex St., as well as 11 and 13 Winter St., was proud of the fact that her father had, with difficulty, kept this block of historic homes intact throughout the great Depression of the 1930s.
Among the other notable homes around the Common is the "Pepper" mansion built for the Pepper candy company heiress. Two First-Period homes by the Common are the Edward Bond house and Rev. John Hale House.
Let me say that a new house can always be built, but you can never build a historic home. I put to the decision-makers in Beverly that the college has other properties that it should be encouraged to demolish or build upon in the downtown such as the old Kransberg furniture building. These homes, whether we notice them on a daily basis or not, make the Common and Beverly a more desirable and attractive place to live. I know because I was born in Beverly and have enjoyed the visual beauty of my Common neighborhood for 37 years.
KENNETH H. GLOVER
Beverly
