Preservation Massachusetts

08/24/2026

A promising update from Fall River: the Massachusetts Historical Commission has awarded the city a $30,000 grant to conduct a conditions assessment and feasibility study for the Bank Street Armory, according to Alex Silva, president of the Fall River Preservation Society. The 1897 Romanesque Revival armory has been vacant since 2015, and its future has been uncertain: a proposed sale for market-rate housing was rejected by the City Council in 2024, and a promising lead with the American Numismatic Society fell through in 2025 when they chose Toledo, Ohio, instead. This grant doesn't guarantee an outcome, but it funds the kind of real, technical groundwork, understanding what the building actually needs and what's actually feasible, that's required before any restoration plan can move forward.

Worth noting: this comes the same week Fall River began demolishing its former police station on Bedford Street, a building that passed the point where an assessment like this could have changed its outcome. The armory still has a chance to write a different ending.


Photo cred: Fall River Historical Society

08/21/2026

Attention Massachusetts libraries, archives, and cultural heritage repositories: applications are now open for MBLC's Explore Grants - Preservation Assessment, part of the Be Ready! partnership between the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners and the Northeast Document Conservation Center. A limited number of free, NEDCC consultant-conducted preservation assessments will be awarded for site visits happening late fall 2026 and winter/spring 2027, open to current Massachusetts Library System (MLS) members.

Preservation isn't only about buildings, it's also about the collections, documents, and archives held inside them, and a professional assessment is often the first real step toward protecting what your institution holds.

Applications close 11:59 PM EDT on Friday, August 28. Learn more and apply through MBLC's Grant Opportunities portal. Direct questions to MBLC Preservation Specialist Jess Colati at [email protected].

https://www.gotomygrants.com/Public/Opportunities/Details/b8b45939-b6d3-4cb7-b6f7-0feac2786556

https://www.nedcc.org/

08/20/2026

🏫 Community Preservation Spotlight | Did you know Fitchburg's B.F. Brown Middle School was gutted by fire in 2016? Instead of tearing it down, , ICON Architecture, and the spent roughly a decade turning it, plus an 1869 school and an 1889 stable next door, into the Fitchburg Arts Community: 68 mixed-income apartments with a preference for local artists. The $45 million project won a 2026 Preservation Massachusetts Mayor Thomas M. Menino Legacy Award. Three buildings the city had written off are now back and full of working artists.

Huge congratulations to everyone who worked to make this transformation happen. PM was honored to recognize this project with a Menino Legacy award this year.

Learn more & view full project team list: www.preservationmass.org/menino-award

08/19/2026

Central Massachusetts is home to some of the richest and most underused historic mill architecture in the Commonwealth. That's why we're thrilled to see Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission - CMRPC and the Montachusett Regional Planning Commission release a new Historic Mill Reuse in Central Massachusetts StoryMap, an interactive look at the current use and redevelopment potential of historic mills across 15 mill towns in the region.

Mill reuse hits close to home for PM. The Residences at Mill 8 in Ludlow, a 2026 Menino Legacy Award winner, turned a 123-year-old mill into 95 mixed-income apartments and restored its historic clock tower. The Earl Company Factory in Leominster, a 2025 winner, turned a vacant 1899 comb factory into 17 rental units. Projects like these show what's possible when the right planning, partners, and funding tools come together.

This new , funded through a FY25 Massachusetts EEA Planning Assistance Grant and matching District Local Technical Assistance funds, supports the ongoing work of the Mill Town Caucus, a coalition dedicated to mill preservation and reuse throughout . Take a look, and see what's possible in your own mill town.

https://tinyurl.com/HistoricMillReuseCentralMA

Residences at Mill 8 and 10

The Mill Town Caucus is a group of stakeholders and leaders from former “mill towns” in Worcester County that strives to promote the reuse of historic mills.In 2025, the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission (CMRPC) and the Montachusett Regional Planning Commission (MRPC) partnered ...

08/18/2026

🕰️ Community Preservation Spotlight | Did you know Ludlow Mills' clock tower has been on the town seal since 1919, but the clock itself sat dark and broken for decades? A $43.2 million adaptive reuse project, financed in part by nearly $20 million in federal historic and housing tax credits, turned the 123-year-old mill into 95 mixed-income apartments for adults 55 and older, more than half of them income-restricted, and brought the historic clock back to life along with it. The project opened in 2024.

Congratulations to , Westmass Area Development Corporation, and the whole project team. We were proud to honor this project with a 2026 Menino Legacy Award. A century-old landmark, literally keeping time again for a new generation of Ludlow residents.

Learn more & see the full project team: www.preservationmass.org/menino-award

08/17/2026

ICYMI August 14: National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) Statement on Emergency Application to the Supreme Court:

"Each court reviewing this case has ruled that construction of the Ballroom is unlawful. Each court has seriously and carefully considered the Administration’s asserted national security concerns. And each court has ruled that while underground bunker construction can continue, Ballroom construction must stop."
https://savingplaces.org/press-center/media-resources/statement-on-emergency-application-to-the-supreme-court-8-14-26

August 7: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit upheld a preliminary injunction blocking the ballroom construction (above ground) at the White House without Congress taking action. The courts have now ruled in the National Trust's favor three separate times.

President and CEO of NTHP Brent Leggs said: "No one is above the law and the President must seek authorization from Congress before building this ballroom."

PM stands with the National Trust. Historic preservation law exists precisely for moments like this one, when the pressure to move fast threatens places that belong to all of us. The fight continues.

🔗 NTHP statement (August 7): savingplaces.org/press-center/media-resources/statement-usca-national-trust-v-nps-8-7-2026
🔗 Legal summary (Foley Hoag): foleyhoag.com/news-and-insights/news/2026/august/foley-hoag-secures-appellate-victory-for-national-trust-for-historic-preservation-in-white-house-bal

We are pleased with the DC Circuit Court’s decision to uphold the District Court’s preliminary injunction, which although stayed for 14 days will block any above-ground ballroom construction unless and until Congress takes action.

08/14/2026

Join our friends from Preservation Worcester for their "Off Limits Tour" of Bancroft Tower! This is your exclusive opportunity to explore a remarkable 56-ft tall granite and natural stone landmark that has been largely closed to the public for decades.

Learn the history of this Worcester landmark built in 1900 and climb to the top for a stunning view of the city from above!

Bancroft Tower Tour
Saturday, August 22
Tours at 1:00pm, 1:30pm, 2:00pm, 2:30pm, and 3:00pm

LIMITED TICKETS AVAILABLE
Details & tickets: https://tinyurl.com/BancroftOffLimitsTour

08/13/2026

Little-known fact: Preservation Massachusetts' Most Endangered Historic Resources Program has been running since 1993, over three decades of statewide advocacy!

But here's what most people don't realize: a listing isn't just a headline. It triggers real outreach. When The Columns (a mid-1800s Greek Revival mansion in Dennis built for a sea captain's family) was added to the list in 2018, our Field Services team (formerly Circuit Riders) personally reached out to the owner, met on-site, and connected them with a preservation consulting firm. That firm brought in a buyer. The Columns sold in 2022, was sensitively rehabilitated into condos with two affordable units, and received our Mayor Thomas M. Menino Legacy Preservation Award in 2025. That's the benefit of PM's Most Endangered program: we don't just publish a list and walk away. We work to advocate for these historic properties that have become part of our shared story.

Learn more about our Most Endangered program: https://www.preservationmass.org/mer

Full story: https://www.preservationmass.org/single-post/the-columns-development-receives-2025-mayor-thomas-m-menino-legacy-award

08/12/2026

Know a building in your community that deserves to be saved but aren't sure where to start?

Join us this fall for a day built exactly for that moment.

2026 Historic Preservation Summit: How to Save a Place

📅 Thursday, October 15, 2026
📍 Connors Center, 20 Glen Street, Dover, MA
🎟️ $150 | Includes lunch | Limited scholarships available

The day is designed around one practical goal: leaving with a toolkit you can actually use. Four sessions will walk you through clarifying your intentions, building a compelling public case, navigating the agencies and regulations that govern preservation decisions, and avoiding the roadblocks that derail even well-intentioned advocacy efforts.

Morning networking begins at registration (9:00am). Afternoon networking wraps the day at 3:30pm.

🔗 Register now: preservationmass.ticketspice.com/how-to-save-a-place

08/11/2026

Preserving Black Churches Grant Program Now Open: Apply today!

As the oldest institutions created and controlled by African Americans, historically Black churches are a living testament to the achievements and resiliency of generations of American families and communities.

To preserve and uplift these historic places and the neighborhoods they serve, the Preserving Black Churches grant program provides funding ranging from $50,000 to $500,000.

Do you know of a congregation in your community that could use support? No church is too small. No town is too remote.

The Preserving Black Churches grant program is a cornerstone initiative of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund at . Since its first cohort in 2023, this program has provided $8.5 million in funding to support critical preservation work, including building repairs and programming interpretation that elevates the significance of the historically Black church’s cultural legacy.

Applications due September 11 at 5:00 pm ET.

Learn more:

Leveraging historic preservation as a tool for equity and reconciliation and celebrating historic Black churches as centers of heritage, community, and cultural life.