See related story, Historic New England Celebrates Teen Artists for Shoe Designs.
Hear more Community Spotlight listings at 15 and 45 past nearly every hour at 97.9 WHAV. To submit news of events, fundraising appeals and other announcements, click on the image. This program is supported in part by a grant from the Haverhill Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.
(Additional photograph below.) Calling the presence of Historic New England a “catalyst” for sustainable development in Haverhill, Vin Cipolla, president and CEO of the historic preservation organization, cut a wide orange ribbon during opening ceremonies for cultural agency’s Haverhill Center Saturday.
“We believe that preservation can create opportunity, strengthen communities and help shape an exciting future. It is about making history accessible, relevant and inspiring for present and future generations and will help serve as an engine for economic development,” Cipolla said to the assembled crowd of about 75.
Noting her family’s connection to the shoe industry in Haverhill, Mayor Melinda E. Barrett said she appreciates the ability of the staff of Historic New England to bring alive history so that stories of the past are preserved for the future. At the turn of the last century, one in 10 shoes made in the Unites States were made in Haverhill.
“It proves that history doesn’t just live in a textbook. It lives in stories, in objects, in places and in people. Historic New England knows this well. They are experts in helping people reimagine how they can experience history,” Barrett observed.
State Rep. Andy X. Vargas thanked Historic New England for choosing Haverhill to locate its headquarters.
As he was touring the center, Ward 1 City Councilor Ralph T. Basiliere, in whose ward the Haverhill Center is located, said he is excited for the future opportunities Historic New England will bring.
“This is significant for Ward 1, not only for how important and wonderful this stand-alone facility is, but that it promises to be the anchor for a transformation down the Essex corridor into Lafayette Square and up Winter Street. And that’s very exciting looking into that future,” Basiliere said.
The ceremony also marked the opening of the Haverhill Center’s first exhibit, “Shoe Stories: Past, Present and Future.” The free exhibit, which will remain open for a year, includes footwear designed for Boston Ballet Company principal Diana Albrecht, Beyoncé, Julia Childs and Walter Gropius. Designers include Chris Donovan, Gucci, Sarah Guerin, Viktoria Modesta, Thom Solo, Louis Vuitton and Stuart Weitzman. The exhibit is divided into five sections: The New England Shoe Industry, Artful Accessories, All Seasons Sporting and A Family Recipe: Seymour and Stuart Weitzman and Workers Stories.
Visitors may view the exhibit Thursdays, noon to 5 p.m.; Fridays, noon to 8 p.m.; Saturdays, noon to 5 p.m.; and Sundays, noon to 5 p.m.
Other city and state officials in attendance included Haverhill City Council President Timothy J. Jordan and Vice President John A. Michitson and Haverhill School Committee member Josiah Morrow. U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan was represented by her district director, Maria Syrnotis, and state Sen. Pavel M. Payano was represented by his communications director, Sharoline Galva. U.S. Senator Edward J. Markey sent in a statement of congratulations which Cipolla read.
The oldest and largest historic preservation group in New England, Historic New England bought the Lang building at 151 Essex St. in 2006 to store its more than 125,000 New England decorative arts and 1.5 million historic documents. In 2023, the nonprofit bought the adjacent Burgess building which allowed it to imagine the site as a cultural hub. Haverhill architect Charles Willis Damon designed the two eight-story buildings in 1912 for bankers William H. Burgess and Howard W. Lang of Boston. They were the largest concrete shoe factories in the world at that time.
Historic New England hired DesignLab Architects of Boston to design the exhibition space located in the Burgess building at 143 Essex St. Three other architecture firms, TenBerke, Brandon Haw Architecture and Howeler + Yoon, have been asked to come up with ideas for a cohesive cultural campus that Historic New England plans to develop in the coming years.
Historic New England President and CEO Vin Cipolla takes big scissors to the ribbon to officially open the agency’s Haverhill Center Saturday during a ceremony in downtown Haverhill. Looking on are, from left, Joseph Bevilacqua, representing Merrimack Valley Chamber of Commerce; Haverhill School Committee member Josiah E. Morrow; Edward Gerber, Historic New England trustee; Haverhill City Council President Timothy J. Jordan; Vera Trojan, Historic New England trustee; Haverhill City Council Vice President John A. Michitson; Sharoline Galva, representing Sen. Pavel M. Payano; Ward 1 Councilor Ralph T. Basiliere; Mayor Melinda E. Barrett, Rep. Andy X. Vargas; and Maria Syrnotis, district director for U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan. The opening also marked the opening of the center’s first exhibit, “Shoe Stories: Past, Present and Future.” (WHAV News photograph.)