Ames Shovel Works is One of Eleven Most Endangered Sites
The Ames Shovel Works in North Easton, Massachusetts has been listed as one of eleven properties on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 2009 list of America’s most endangered historic places. As the New York Times (4/28/09) reported, “Each year the trust selects what it considers important examples of the nation’s architectural, cultural, and natural heritage that are at risk of being destroyed or irreparably damaged.” Other sites on this year’s list include Frank Lloyd Wright’s Unity Temple in Oak Park, Ill. and the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles.
The Ames Shovel Works are a mostly intact 19th century industrial complex that was built as part of a larger town-building initiative that includes both a town hall and library by H.H. Richardson. The buildings are threatened by a developer who acquired the rights to the parcels and is using 40B, a statewide as-of-right zoning regulation meant to promote affordable housing, to circumvent local review of the project.
Michael LeBlanc, Utile Principal, continues to work with the Ames family on an economically feasible development alternative that will save and restore the majority of the extant structures. Utile is working closely with Jay Wickersham of Noble & Wickersham (Legal Counsel), George Cole of GLC Development Resources (Development Finance Analysts), and Chris Milford of Milford and Ford Architects (Preservation Architects).
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