Emerson College

Emerson College, Boston, Massachusetts

Emerson College report to the Getty (PDF) 33.9MB

Founded in 1880 in Boston's Back Bay, Emerson College began as a small school dedicated to the field of oratory. Over the years it has evolved into an internationally recognized college devoted exclusively to the study of communications and the liberal arts. In 1992 due to space constraints and with the goal of creating an urban, residential campus, the College systematically began acquiring eight historically significant, yet underutilized buildings in the Piano Row Historic District next to the Boston Common. With grant support, Emerson will undertake new assessments of the physical conditions of the exteriors of the buildings and prepare a prioritized conservation and maintenance plan for their properties in the historic district.

Emerson College received a Getty grant in 2006 for $200,000 to support campus heritage planning.

Report Summary

Purpose: The project supported the development of a comprehensive evaluation of eight campus buildings located within two urban historic districts. These buildings had been systematically acquired for adaptive reuse after Emerson College decided to relocate its campus from Back Bay to Boston Common. It also supported the creation of an exterior envelope restoration and maintenance plan, including cost estimates of the prioritized work plan.

Historic Designation(s): Piano Row District (National Register of Historic Places); Washington Street Theatre District (National Register of Historic Places); Cutler Majestic Theatre (Boston Historic Landmark); Paramount Theatre (Boston Historic Landmark); Walker Building (Preservation Easement/Preservation Massachusetts).

Planning Process: Emerson College put together a project team of architects, preservation consultants, structural engineers, and cost estimators to research and evaluate each of the eight sites. This team completed three phases of work: orientation, documentation, and recommendations about future actions. The prioritized work plan addressed areas in need of repair and/or restoration, along with exterior maintenance and was based on historic significance, structural integrity, threat to longevity of primary and secondary façade components, and available funding.

Outcomes—Products:The project resulted in an extensive document, “Existing Conditions and Recommendations Report, Emerson College” (2006), which delineates the historic and architectural significance of existing conditions and offers restoration, cost estimates, and prioritized maintenance recommendations (low, medium, or high) for components of each building. This work was based on the philosophical orientation of the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Treatment of Historic Properties, which conserves building materials where possible, intervenes when necessary with similar materials, and recommends the least intrusive methods of rehabilitation consistent with the architectural integrity of the building.

Outcomes—Strategies and Goals for the Future: The report is intended to serve as a guide in the coming years for several aspects of restoration work: the evaluation of multiple restoration needs within a framework that allows for prioritized and phased work, identification of the most necessary areas for restoration, and the approximation of budgets to help plan for the financial needs of such projects. Each building in this study is also expected to be reviewed and maintained on a maximum five-year cycle, thus establishing a preventative maintenance plan. This review and maintenance will be carried out by facilities staff on an as-needed basis.