liebman - St John Cantius.pdf7/6/22, 9:52 AM City of Northampton Mail - St John Cantius
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ik=fec0f72d97&view=pt&search=all&permthid=thread-f%3A1737475308263855313%7Cmsg-f%3A17374753082638…1/1
Sarah LaValley <slavalley@northamptonma.gov>
St John Cantius
1 message
Jon Liebman <jon.liebman@gmail.com>Mon, Jul 4, 2022 at 9:47 PM
To: slavalley@northamptonma.gov
To the Northampton Community Preservation Committee:
I am writing as a resident of Northampton in support of O’Connell Development Group's request for $500,000 in CPA
funding to save St. John
Cantius from demolition, restore the exterior of the church to historic preservation standards, and provide the city with a
permanent historic preservation easement. The church is architecturally important to the city as a beautiful and
historically important part of downtown. Given the rapid pace of development in Northampton which is slowly eroding the
small urban character of the town center and increasing suburban development in outlying neighborhoods, it is important
to our sense of place and history that the older, historic brick buildings of earlier generations be preserved. St John's is
particularly important in establishing a sense of place on Hawley Street, and in echoing the related structure of St Brigid's
Church in Amherst. While I would prefer that CPC funds support projects with a greater social impact than simply
preserving the structure of the building while the interior is removed from any public function, at this point in time, this
seems to be the only realistic option for the church.
Thank you for your attention to this historic building.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Liebman
25 Munroe Street
Northampton, MA 01060