Check out our new website at charlestownpreservation.org To Join CPS and help support preservation in Charlestown, click here. Thank you for supporting your preservation society!

Quick Links Visit our website Join or renew your CPS membership Apply for a CPS mini-grant In this season of celebration and thanksgiving, we have both progress and programs to celebrate. And we have you to thank for your continuing support. Happy holidays from your preservation society! Click on any topic to find out more: Update: Sullivan Square/Rutherford Ave Redesign and Community Meeting CPS Mini-Grant Applications Due February 2 Training Field Signage Coming This Spring Renew Your CPS Membership Preservation Park Repairs Slated Free Hands-On Workshops on Researching Your Old House How to Order Your CPS Historic Marker 2010 Historic House Tour is September 25 Boston's Demolition Delay Ordinance Strengthened All about Decorative Cast Iron The South End Cast Iron Initiative Update: Sullivan Square/Rutherford Ave Redesign and Community Meeting The Sullivan Square/Rutherford Avenue redesign is proceeding apace, with the city of Boston sponsoring a series of public meetings in Charlestown to consider two design options: a surface roadway and an underpass. The next community meeting is tentatively scheduled for January. The CPS Design Review Committee (DRC) has endorsed the surface road design, which would narrow the roadway and locate all intersections at street level. DRC believes this would improve pedestrian and vehicular connections and moderate Rutherford Avenue's current character as a speedway. The surface design includes space for a new Sullivan Square park plus a landscaped buffer with a multi-use path running from Ryan playground to City Square. For info about the next community meeting, now scheduled for January, go to http://www.cityofboston.gov/transportation/rutherford/ CPS Mini-Grant Applications Due February 2 The CPS mini-grant program supports Charlestown-based projects that help preserve the town's quality of life. Any Charlestown nonprofit can apply for a grant of up to $250. Grants are awarded three times a year, and the next application deadline is February 2, 2010. Click here to download a CPS Mini-Grant application. Training Field Signage Coming This Spring Thanks to a generous grant to CPS from the city of Boston's Edward Ingersoll Browne Fund, new interpretive signs will appear in the Training Field this spring. Over the past year CPS worked with the Boston Parks Department, the Browne Fund, the Friends of the Training Field and many Charlestown residents to hire a team of preservation professionals to research, design, fabricate and install the signs. We also held a series of public meetings to gather community information and input. Preliminary panels were recently on display for public comment at the Training Field Fall Fair and the Charlestown Branch Library. Stay tuned for more details and a community celebration when the signs go up. Renew Your CPS Membership If you haven't renewed your CPS membership yet, we hope you'll consider doing it by the end of the year: it's tax-deductibie to the full extent allowed by law. As a member you get reduced-price house tour tickets, a chance to meet preservation-minded neighbors, and the satisfaction of knowing you're helping to preserve the architectural heritage and quality of life of our unique urban village in all the ways described in this newsletter. Click here to join or renew your membership Preservation Park Repairs Slated You probably noticed the wounded fence and gaslight on the Austin Street corner of Preservation Park, site of the Charlestown holiday tree. A wayward driver did the damage just before Thanksgiving. As the park's developer and custodian, we're happy to announce that the city's Edward Ingersoll Browne Fund will repair the damage under a maintenance agreement with CPS. Meanwhile the Boston Parks Department, owner of the little green oasis, is collaborating with the police on an accident investigation. Free Hands-On Workshops on Researching Your Old House Two dozen Charlestown residents learned how to research the history of their houses this fall at a series of free CPS workshops. At the Charlestown Branch Library, they learned to use 19th century real estate atlases, City Directories and the Boston Landmarks Commission's Charlestown Survey. Some intrepid attendees then moved to the Middlesex Registry of Deeds to explore dusty plan books, grantor/ grantee indexes, and the intricate penmanship of the original deed books. The workshops, led by CPS board member and preservationist Judy McDonough, help residents learn about their houses and – optionally – prepare an accurate application for a CPS historic house marker. Two more workshops are scheduled for May 2010. To be notified about workshop dates, email info@charlestownpreservation.org How to Order Your CPS Historic Marker Want a handsome bronze CPS markers for your house? Getting a marker requires a current photo plus a completed application documenting the age and a short history of your house. In 2010 CPS is accepting applications between June 1 and August 15. CPS sells the markers at cost and works hard to keep prices down in the face of rising foundry and mounting costs. To do this we need a minimum order of 20 markers. We expect to announce the exact marker price in May and anticipate it will be about $250. A marker doesn't limit your ability to sell or renovate your house. To get one, you do need to provide accurate documentation of your house's age, history and eligibility for a marker. CPS offers free research workshops to help you do this. Click here to download a CPS Historic Marker application. 2010 Historic House Tour is September 25 Mark your calendar for the 2010 CPS Historic House Tour on Saturday, September 25. The tour will feature elegant historic houses in all of Charlestown's eighteenth and nineteenth-century architectural styles, plus a gala post-tour party and silent auction at the Charlestown Boys and Girls Club. Proceeds help fund CPS initiatives to preserve Charlestown's architectural heritage and quality of life, including grants to community organizations, college scholarships, and major preservation initiatives like the recent restoration of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, the Training Field signage project, and the Charlestown Homeowner's Handbook now under development. To help with House Tour publicity and planning, or to sign up as a house sitter, email us at info@charlestownpreservation.org Boston's Demolition Delay Ordinance Strengthened The Boston Landmarks Commission (BLC) recently approved amendments to the City of Boston's Article 85 Demolition Delay Ordinance to require a community meeting that would outline alternatives to any proposed demolition of an historic building. The amendments also clarify what developers must present at a BLC hearing to demonstrate why there's no feasible alternative to demolition. They mandate notice to neighbors, prescribe the content of community meetings, and require a summary report of the community meetings. In short, they clarify and streamline the process in ways that strengthen the ordinance and benefit residents, government officials and developers alike. All about Decorative Cast Iron Next time you're on Monument Square, take a minute to admire the elegant cast iron fences, stair railings and balustrades that adorn many of its rowhouses. Rinceau Ironwork Renaissance Revival Ironwork Cast iron was developed in the mid 1800's as a more affordable alternative to wrought iron. It could be mass-produced, didn't require the same level of craftsmanship, and could be made into highly intricate designs -- all of which made it a popular addition to upscale houses. Cast iron is created by pouring molten iron into a pressed sand mold. It looks heavier than wrought iron but is often lighter because the center is typically hollow. Complicated elements like newel posts and balustrades are actually made up of many small pieces bolted together. There are four distinct styles: Rinceau ironwork – also called running rose or serpentine – is probably the most distinctive. It features simple plant motifs, scrollwork, roses and stylized five point flowers replete with swirls and organic forms. Renaissance Revival ironwork, with its single and double arches and pendant centers, is typically found in garden fencing. Italianate ironwork looks like a sturdy vase and is often seen in the form of balusters and stair railings. Rare Gothic ironwork features high pointed arches, geometric patterns and thorn and plant motifs. This article is adapted with many thanks from the South End Historical Society Newsletter. The South End Cast Iron Initiative Boston's South End boasts the city's most impressive collection of cast iron, which contributes to its cohesive streetscapes. Now the South End Historical Society (SEHS) is working to acquire molds for cast iron fences in the four styles above. The hope is to make the molds available at minimal cost to residents who want to restore their ironwork. Because mold making can be a third of the cost of restoring a cast iron fence, homeowners in quest of appropriate fencing could save significant money. CPS is exploring a collaboration with SEHS to make it possible for Charlestown residents to use the molds. welcome to the first CPS e-newsletter. It’s our attempt to save trees and postage while bringing you the latest preservation news in Charlestown. Check out Preservation and Development in Charlestown: A Practical Guide for Charlestown Residents This new CPS guide offers practical help in navigating Charlestown’s complicated preservation and development process. It’s useful if you’re building or renovating property, or if you’re concerned about a development or renovation project. Here’s what’s in the guide: Who’s in charge of preservation and development in Charlestown? Types of preservation protection Requirements for developing or renovating property here The nitty-gritty: How to apply for a building permit Preservation and development advice from the experts Suggestions for building and renovating in Charlestown What to do if you’re concerned about a development project Frequently-asked questions Useful contact information For your copy, just click here.  Phipps Street Burying Ground Clean-Up and Tour – May 2 Mark your calendar for the annual Phipps Street Burying Ground Clean-up and Tour on Sat. May 2 at 10am. It’s a rare chance to help tidy up a piece of history and take a self-guided tour of one of Boston's oldest cemeteries, which dates from 1630. Join us at the front gate on the corner of Phipps and Lawrence Streets (between the Zelma Lacey House and Mishawum Park). Rain date is Saturday, May 9.  Share Your Stories About the Training Field By this time next year our beloved Training Field will boast interpretive panels like the ones in Boston’s historic burying grounds, thanks to a $50,000 grant to CPS from the City of Boston’s Edward Ingersoll Browne Fund. Do you have stories, photos and maps of the Training Field? Let us know and we’ll pass them on to the professionals creating the panels and post them on the CPS website. To share your stories, photos, etc, just: write CPS at Box 290201, Charlestown, MA 02129 call us at 617.241.7500 (leave a message) email CPS at info@charlestownpreservation.org We’re in the process of hiring a team of preservation professionals to research, write, design, fabricate and install the panels, with plans to have them in place by fall 2009 or spring 2010.  St. John’s “Saints Preserve Us” Capital Campaign Our friends and neighbors at St. John’s Episcopal Church are raising funds to restore the interior and stained glass windows of its historic 1841 Gothic Revival church, make the altar handicapped accessible, and repair leaks and water damage to the 1871 Stick-Style Parish House. To find out more, go to www.stjohns02129.org or send your contribution to St. John’s Episcopal Church, 27 Devens St., Charlestown, MA 02129.  CPS College Scholarship – May 31st Deadline Every year CPS awards two $1,500 college scholarships to high school seniors: one to a Charlestown resident, and one to a Charlestown High School senior who doesn’t need to be a Charlestown resident. This year’s deadline is May 31st. To read some of the winning scholarship essays or download an application, click here. CPS Mini-Grant – May 4 Deadline The CPS Mini-Grant program supports projects that help preserve Charlestown’s quality of life with small grants of up to $250. Any Charlestown nonprofit is eligible. The next Mini-Grant application deadline is May 4, 2009. To learn more about the program or download an application, click here. CPS Annual Meeting This year’s CPS Annual Meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 17th at 6:30pm at the USS Constitution Museum. There will be updates on preservation activities in town, election of new officers and board, good food and good conversation with your preservation-minded friends and neighbors. We hope you’ll come! 9th Annual Framingham House Tour – Sunday, May 17 This year’s Tour celebrates eight historically intriguing residences in diverse settings for which Framingham is proudly famous. The John Bent House (c. 1662) is Framingham’s longest standing house and is a must see! To learn more, go to www.framinghamhistory.org.