Stover Comment to CBAC 4-6-2021Gerrit Stover
206 Sullivan Building
Old School Commons
Northampton, Massachusetts
≈ 01060 ≈
City of Northampton
Central Business Architecture Committee
April 5, 2021
RE: Review of proposal to demolish St. John Cantius & proposed replacement building
Dear CBAC:
At the risk of seeming presumptuous, I would like to remind the Committee of some ancient
history. For over twenty years in the late 20th century, the City tried repeatedly but failed to devise
a means of protecting its historic architecture. The challenge was doing so while accommodating
the vital economy which had grown to fill those buildings. In 1998, I was one of seven members of
the final ad hoc committee tasked to draft an ordinance to protect and enhance Northampton’s
historic streetscape and vital economy.
Based on my knowledge of that process and its outcome, any assertion that your Committee has no
role -- or, rather, duty -- to protect historic landmark buildings is simply incompatible with the
original motivation for and spirit of the resulting ordinance.
To quote the 1999 Design Manual accompanying the original CB ordinance:
Demolition of Historic Buildings
Demolition of historic buildings (those built prior to 1945) should be considered only after all
reasonable alternatives -- especially rehabilitation -- have been fully considered. For historic
landmark or theme buildings, demolition should be considered only when the building is unusable or
is functionally and structurally obsolete, and when an appropriate new building has been designed
to replace it.
Perhaps the extensive focus in the CBA ordinance on standards for appropriate new construction
has obscured the essence of this regulation: It is first and foremost meant to guarantee that historic
buildings are preserved unless that is impossible -- not simply ‘expensive’, ‘difficult’, or
‘inconvenient’. There are too many examples of historic churches successfully re-purposed,
including some on the brink of structural collapse, to place St. John Cantius in the latter category.
The remainder of the Ordinance is intended to ensure that any new development after removal of
anomalous, non-contributing buildings complements and does not detract from the existing historic
fabric. It is also impossible to argue that the proposed replacements for St. John Cantius come
anywhere near filling the aesthetic and historic hole its demolition would create.
Your review this evening and any decisions you make regarding the fate of one of the most iconic --
and historically symbolic buildings -- in our downtown should and must honor that intent, or the
ordinance will become essentially useless.
Sincerely,
Gerrit Stover