CHATHAM — Having learned that it would cost the same – or a bit less – than building a new structure, the select board voted unanimously Tuesday to endorse the use of the historic Coast Guard Stage Harbor boathouse to house a new upweller at 90 Bridge St. The town’s engineers estimated that it would cost about $4,740,500 to build a new building for the town’s shellfish propagation program, putting it on a new ...

CHATHAM – Protect Our Past, a Chatham-based group focused on saving historic properties on Cape Cod, delved into some of the background and origins of historic preservation recently, welcoming internationally recognized architect Gunny Harboe as guest speaker at the group's fourth program in its online lecture series. What we have called historic preservation is perhaps best thought of as cultural heritage, fo...

CHATHAM – The planning board approved a preliminary seven-lot subdivision plan for the former Monomoy Theatre property last week. It's the latest step in the redevelopment of the 2.7-acre property by owner Chatham Productions LLC. The proposal will require final subdivision approval by the planning board as well as a special permit from the zoning board of appeals to develop single-family homes on six of the l...

Cape Rep Theatre in Brewster, with support from the community and the state, is in the midst of transforming the property's historic Crosby Barn from a storage space for scenery and props into a fully restored performance space which will double as a venue for rehearsal, classes and community events.  The Crosby Barn, the final building on the Cape Rep campus to be renovated, was built in 1889 by one of Brewst...

Plans For Reuse Are Still Developing CHATHAM — Twice before, the town of Chatham declined opportunities to take ownership of the historic Coast Guard Boathouse that once watched over Stage Harbor. Members of the select board weren’t about to turn down a third opportunity, vot ing Tuesday to accept the donation of the building and effectively saving the structure from demolition. It appears feasible tha...

ORLEANS — Isaac Snow was no Anglophile. The Eastham native, twice imprisoned by the British during the Revolutionary War, returned to America with the help of the French. In 1797, when the south parish of Eastham became its own town and needed a name, Snow urged that the new community be called Orleans in honor of the revolutionary spirit of a Gallic aristocrat who became known as “Citizen Equality.” Just a ...

WEST HARWICH — After a one-year demolition delay expired less than two weeks ago, the Roman Catholic Diocese and Holy Trinity Church moved quickly to remove the Gothic Revival late Victorian 1914 structure on church property along Route 28 in West Harwich, razing it last Wednesday. “It is sad that the church couldn’t have found it in their hearts to conserve, restore and repurpose this...historic parish home,”...

CHATHAM – The historic home at 68 Shell Dr. is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, the Massachusetts Historical Commission has determined. Whether it will be listed or not remains to be seen. Later this month the zoning board of appeals will be asked to approve its relocation on the waterfront property to make way for a new, larger home. The full Cape is thought to have been built...

CHATHAM – The historic business district commission's denial of a request to demolish five buildings on the former Monomoy Theatre property was discriminatory and overstepped its authority, the owners of the property claim. Chatham Productions LLC is asking the board of selectmen to overturn the commission's Nov. 18 decision. In an appeal sent to selectmen Nov. 25, owner Greg Clark wrote that during the hearin...

Historic Register Designation To Be Sought CHATHAM – Town officials have asked engineers working on the new shellfish upwelling building at 90 Bridge St. to assess the former Stage Harbor Coast Guard boathouse's condition, as well as the feasibility of the historic structure's use as a shellfish grow-out facility. “We've asked them to do some due diligence, see what condition it's in, would it serve our pur...

CHATHAM — Treating it like an idea straight out of left field – literally – voters gathered at Veterans Field for Saturday’s special town meeting summarily rejected a zoning bylaw change linked to the redevelopment of the Monomoy Theatre property. Seated in the baseball field facing the outfield, voters could imagine the project that would have created 24 condominium units on the property next door, just behin...

CHATHAM – The owner of the historic Nickerson house on Shell Drive, thought to be one of if not the oldest house in town, will seek the town's permission to keep it on the land where it’s stood for more than 300 years. Joe Giacalone said he'd like to relocate the house, built on the shores of Bassing Harbor by the son of Chatham founder William Nickerson, to a new spot on the three-acre lot and restore it as a...

CHATHAM — Disposing of Saturday’s special town meeting in about 36 minutes, voters unanimously rejected a zoning bylaw change linked to the redevelopment of the Monomoy Theatre property. Worried about the density and traffic that the project would create, and without any guarantee that a restored theater building would ever operate the way Monomoy Theatre did, 324 voters unanimously turned down the zoning byla...

HARWICH — Town officials have been focusing on preservation of the historic character of the community over the past couple of years. The approval of the West Harwich Special District zoning amendment in the annual town meeting on Saturday was one step, and the historic district and historical commission is considering additional protective measures. The commission is working on extending the period of the his...

Eldredge Garage Property Suggested As New Location CHATHAM – Ellen Briggs thinks it's not too much to ask to preserve what is thought to be the oldest house in town. She certainly doesn't want to see another piece of the town's heritage slip away. “The town has a history of doing that, and we'd like this not to happen,” she said. Protect Our Past, a preservation group Briggs founded a year ago, is circul...

ORLEANS — If the Orleans Historical Commission gets its way, one of the oldest buildings in Orleans will be preserved either in its current location or a new location. The seven-member board voted unanimously at its virtual Aug. 26 meeting to impose a 12-month demolition delay on the front building at 12 West Rd. The building is “one of a handful of properties in Orleans that is still standing that was buil...