Seacoast History Blog #45
April 28, 2009
It’s official. The New York Times web site has released the list of the 2009 Most Endangered buildings in the country published annually by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Washington, DC. And we’re on it. And it it’s still early in the morning and the newspapers haven’t come out yet, consider this a scoop. Bridge advocates will rally at noon today and then comes the hard slogging work of trying to get our beloved 1923 lift bridge OFF the list. That means convincing the powers at the DOT that their money is best spent restoring an old bridge instead of building a new one. (Continued below)
Filming behind the scenery
Getting "on the A list" is a very big deal. Not too many years ago the Wentworth by the Sea hotel (circa 1874) in New Castle was selected. I was plugging to write a book on the old hotel. There were more than a few hairy moments, and the abandoned hotel might easily have continued its 20-year slide into oblivion. But the National Trust endangered list drew the required attention and today the hotel is alive and well.
I had an inkling things were going well for our nomination when Bill Rogers asked me to say a few words about the Memorial Bridge on film two weeks back. It was that last frigid day in April and I biked downtown to meet Bill in front of the bridge at 11 am. He wasn’t around. I biked to Prescott Park, figuring he might be scouting out a good angle for the interview. I biked over the Harbor Place where the bridge looms up over the brick walkway. No Bill.
The wind was cutting right through my jacket and gloves. I always wondered who those old guys were who ride their bikes on freezing days. Now it was me. Maybe he was in Kittery. I walked my bike (as the sign demands) across the Piscataqua – something we may never do again if the old bridge is destroyed. Of course, the alarm sounded. Traffic stopped and for the next 10 minutes I huddled beneath one of the giant green metal trusses, seeking a little shelter against the biting cold. The all-clear alarm sounded. I walked back over the swirling Piscatqua.
Still no Bill. But on the ground near the traffic island at the head of the bridge I found a clipboard, the pages fluttering. I picked it up. There were a dozen model releases from the National Trust. That was a good sign. I hunkered down and at 11:45 Bill finally pulled up in his car. "I’ve been looking for that clipboard!" he said.
I did my little stand-up interview about why we need to save Memorial Bridge. It didn’t go well. What had sounded witty and important in my head biking over came out gritty and forced through my half-frozen jaw. The sky was overcast, but that might be a good thing on video where harsh sun can bleach out the drama. As we stood by the entrance to the Prescott Park docks, a wrecking crew was beginning to dismantle the Pier II Restaurant next door. New condos are planned on the site just a few yards from the bridge. If the bridge is saved, those condo owners will get one hell of a view.
Bill seemed to be having a good time shooting pro bono footage to be shipped off to the National Trust. He was getting a kick out of a new Hi-Def camera that he borrowed from Jay Childs. Jay was my right hand man back in the old days when I ran a video company. Now he’s the big kahuna and runs JBC Communications on Bow Street. Bill’s jacket was undone. He didn’t wear gloves. But then again, he’s impervious to the cold. He’s the guy who shot the documentary "Flying Downhill" about NH’s champion skier Bode Miller.
I had planned to say something succinct like: "The Memorial Bridge is our Statue of Liberty, our Eiffel Tower and our Brooklyn Bridge – all rolled into one." But it didn’t come out like that. Hopefully the other interviews went better. Bill said, if we got nominated, there might be clips on the History Channel or online. I’m guessing, based on years of professional experience, that I’ll end up on the digital equivalent of the cutting room floor.
But at least the bridge has made the cut. Prof. Richard Candee, the Portsmouth Historical Society (they proposed the bridge to the National Trust), and the Save Our Bridge gang couldn’t be off to a better start. This is very big, very good news for Portsmouth and Kittery. We are now officially among the most valuable and most endangered historic structures in America. That kind of clout has to make the bean counters sit up and take notice. Sure, it costs a little bit more to preserve an historic bridge. But it’s worth every penny, because who wants to live in a low-bid world?
The top endangered sites include:
- Memorial Bridge, Portsmouth, NH / Kittery, ME
- Century Plaza Hotel in LA
- Ames Shovel Shops, Easton, MA
- Miami Marine Stadium in Virginia Key, FL
- Cast-iron architecture of Galveston, TX
- Dorchester Academy in Midway, GA
- Lanai City, Hawaii
- Unity Temple in Oak Park, IL by Frank Lloyd Wright
- Human Services Center in Yankton, SD
- Enola Gay hangar at Wendover Airfield, Utah
- Mount Taylor sacred Indian site in NM
Visit the National Trust web site here
© 2009 by J. Dennis Robinson. All rights reserved.
