Monthly Archives: November 2010

This is not an indictment against house museums.     Let’s get that right off the table.      They are valuable in that historic preservationists and historic home owners can get ideas and inspiration for doing their own buildings.       House museums keep alive … Continue reading →

The Daily News has a long history of dancing around the Newburyport Historic District.      In today’s article, they almost broke their back trying not to mention it.       Instead, it was the ‘Downtown’, it’s the ‘location’, it’s the ‘antique’ building, it … Continue reading →

John P. Wells, on his blog, has an excellent short statement on foreclosures.      As much as Newburyport is a desirable place, there are always a small collection of individuals who end up on hard-times.    The present economy has only enlarged … Continue reading →

36 North Atkinson Street was an event that signaled a sea change in the way Newburyport handles historic properties. This nautical term, first recorded in William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, indicates a great transformation and a new way how things are … Continue reading →

Politics is the realm of the possible.     Common Sense, Decency, Facts, Reason, Rationalism, Realism and Science have a tough time existing in that environment. It is often one of the deepest misconceptions by ordinary Americans that our local & national … Continue reading →

It is easy to identify the problems that we have in Newburyport.    Problems that are also accompanied by chronic issues such as beach erosion, design review issues, flooding, economic hardships, infrastructure, schools and the waterfront. It is much too easy … Continue reading →

I am just not an artsy person.      And yet, one of the great things about Newburyport is its local artist community. Further south of us, Rockport was famous for having a significant artists colony back in the early to mid-twentieth … Continue reading →

Our community lives off our history.    Our shops, our businesses, even those in manufacturing; base their business plan on all things ancient.   I’ve seen job links on some of the companies out in the industrial park, “Come and work in … Continue reading →

Those who wish to radically demolish or radically renovate Newburyport Historic District homes do have a rather effective weapon against historic preservationists.       Abutters. Most abutters don’t realize that they are enjoying rock-solid property values because they live in an historic … Continue reading →

Politics involves a lot of misrepresentation of the truth and a whole lot of gushy sentimentality. You thought I was going to say money but that’s the goal not the means. Did you notice how quick the Massachusetts Highway Department … Continue reading →