Unique Opportunities
Allen has trouble naming his favorite success story from the Historic Curatorship Program, but he thinks Willowdale Estate is quite inspirational. He says when the Bradley Palmer mansion was included in the program, DCR hoped a curator would bring the building back to its original use as an event venue. The curators who were chosen had started other bed and breakfasts and hotels and signed a 50-year lease to return the mansion to an event/wedding facility. However, they soon discovered creating a for-profit business in an abandoned state park building is especially challenging.
“The mansion needed a new septic system. The archaeology came into play. There were delays and frustrations. It was getting to the point about eight years ago when it looked like it might not happen because there were so many challenges,” Allen says. “But they persevered and we persevered, and we just celebrated the five-year anniversary of Willowdale Estate’s opening, plus they recently completed the second phase of the rehab, which is the Bradley Palmer Coach House that will have accessory uses for the mansion. We’ve accounted for more than $4 million that has been invested at Willowdale Estate—a property that was really threatened.
“These curators have turned this mansion into the premiere wedding and event center in Massachusetts’ north shore because they have the setting—6 acres surrounded by a state park and this incredible building. You can get married in many of our other state parks, but Willowdale Estate offers a very different venue not available at other parks. People are creating life-long memories in this mansion again. Plus, the curators are amazing partners; they offer free programs for the public every other month.”
Allen adds the Historic Curatorship Program has provided more benefits than had been initially intended by its 1994 legislation. For example, for every $1 DCR invests in “keeping these buildings on life support,” the agency gets $7 back from the sweat equity and investment of its curators.
In addition, the curators offer visitors unique experiences in the state’s parks. “Breathing new life into these properties brings services and a presence that are really unique and offer opportunities to the public that wouldn’t normally be in these parks,” Allen says. “Not only has this program preserved historically significant buildings, but it has really improved the park and the visitor experience, which is a double bonus for us.”
Restore the Charles River Reservation Speedway Headquarters Building
Built in 1899 between Boston and its western suburbs, the Speedway was a harness horse-racing track along the Charles River. It was designed by Charles Austin in the Shingle Style and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, potentially making it eligible for federal and state historic tax credits.
The property includes more than 12,000 gross square feet of building space and more than 10,000 grosssquare feet of stable/garage space on a 1.2-acre lot.
“It was built to keep people from racing their horses on the roads,” says Kevin Allen, Historic Curatorship Program manager for the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, Boston. “It includes a police station and a residence for a caretaker. It could be a lot of things, but we won’t know until people submit their proposals through our open competitive process.”
To learn more about this building and others available through the Historic Curatorship Program, visit www.mass.gov/dcr/stewardship/curator/index.htm and click on “Eligible Properties” in the upper right corner.