Friday, February 1, 2013
The vote is one of the steps toward creating a historic district for the Orchard House.
The Massachusetts Historical Commission voted this week to accept the application from the Watertown Historic District Commission to create a district to protect the Orchard House. The district started a move to protect the house by creating a one-property historic district at 917 Belmont Street in August 2012, when the owners of the property, Beacon High School, filed a request to demolish the house that dates back to the 1830s. The Historic District Commission (MHC) sent a draft of the application to create the district to the Mass. Historical Commission in December, and this week the Christopher Skelly, director of Local Government Programs for the MHC, sent a letter to Harvey Steiner, chairman of the Historic District Commission. The…
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
The Historical Commission extended the delay to prevent the historic farm house from being torn down.
The Historical Commission extended the demolition delay on the Orchard House for another six months, extending the term to the full one-year allowed under Watertown's bylaws. The commission met on Dec. 13 to discuss whether to lengthen the term of the demolition delay. The board put the initial delay on the Orchard House – a farm house from built in the 1830s – when officials from Beacon High School applied to tear down the building in July. As with the first hearing, several Town Councilors and other residents spoke out in favor of saving the building, according to Marilynne Roach, a member of the Historical Society of Watertown who attended the Historical Commission meeting. The Historical Commission voted unanimously to extend the …
42.380623
-71.191344
Beacon High School
917 Belmont St, Watertown, MA
/articles/demolition-delay-for-watertown-s-orchard-house-extended-by-six-months
768365
/locations/8455985
Saturday, September 15, 2012
The school that owns the historic home will meet with residents Tuesday in Town Hall.
The Beacon High School will hold a community meeting about the historic Orchard House on Tuesday, Sept. 18 in Town Hall at 7 p.m. Beacon School, which is run by the Walker School, owns the farmhouse at 917 Belmont Street which dates back to the early 1830s. The school applied to tear down the house, but in July the Historical Commission put a six-month demolition delay on the building. Since then, the Historic District Commission has started efforts to make the property a historic district, which would prevent the house from being torn down. School officials told the Historical Commission that they want to find a way to save the building while still meeting the needs of their students. At the meeting, school officials will go into more …
42.36752
-71.18773
Town of Watertown Town Hall
149 Main St, Watertown, MA
/articles/beacon-school-hosting-community-meeting-about-historic-orchard-house
1422333
/locations/7845300
