2023 Mass History Conference

Buildings are repositories of history, but there is often tension between preservation and contemporary community perspectives and uses.  Presenters will offer two case studies that have embodied these tensions, where the histories of two very different kinds of sites have resulted in particular conclusions.  Carole Owens examines seven iconic buildings on Main St. in rural Stockbridge in western Massachusetts, as they were represented in Norman Rockwell’s 1967 painting, “Home for Christmas,” and compares them to Main St. today, which has been preserved to look exactly like it does in the painting.  In urban and industrial Lynn, Carl Carlsen takes a close look at Neptune Towers, two identical twelve-story towers of affordable housing, the signature accomplishment of urban renewal in Lynn fifty years ago, and a source of anger for many displaced area residents. Ample time will remain for questions and audience interaction.