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| (L-R) Gerrit Petersen, Director of Development, Bostonian Society; Senator Moore, Senator Robert B. O’Leary (D- Barnstable) and Brian Lemay, Executive Director of the Bostonian Society. |
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September 5, 2006...Built in 1713, Massachusetts’ State House situated in the heart of Boston has fallen into a dire situation. Years of long-deferred maintenance and water penetration threatens the structural integrity and of this building. Last week, Senator Richard T. Moore (D-Uxbridge) surveyed the building’s emergency repairs and expressed his concerns with the lack of support to preserve a historical landmark that encompasses a whole nation’s history.
“This building belongs to all the people and we should do everything in our power to preserve this national treasure to educate the younger generation and to honor the struggles our distinguished forefathers endured to build this great country,” said Senator Moore.
While walking into a room boarded up by ply wood, Brian LeMay, Executive Director of the Bostonian Society, explained some of the current renovation work being done to restore the masonry and plaster from the crumbling ceilings and walls. Climbing the narrow stairways to the top tower, Senator Moore surveyed the windows and wood structure which also needs immediate attention. Scaffolding and mesh cover the facade of the building while repairs continue. Though the Old State House is owned by the City of Boston, which once used it as its City Hall, the Bostonian Society has leased it from the City for the past 125 years, maintaining a museum of Boston’s history there for local citizens and millions of visitors.
“This building is part of the collective past of all Americans,” said LeMay. “Thousands of people pass the Old State House each day without noticing the critical decline in its condition, evidently thinking it’s just another old building in need of repairs. But this building is uniquely important. What happened here is part of who we all are today – the ideas we take for granted, our ways of thinking about society, the role of government, and our relationship to it. It would really be a shame to lose even part of this storied landmark.”
In 1776, the Declaration of Independence was read to the people of city from its balcony. Today, through the efforts of the Bostonian Society, a non-profit preservation group first established to save the Old State House from being moved to Chicago in 1881, the public can experience a piece of rich history while walking through the halls of this national icon.
The Bostonian Society has issued an urgent appeal to public and private sources for an additional $8.5 million of funding to complete the preservation work on the landmark building, and to set up a fund for its future, on-going care. According to LeMay, $1.5 million has already been raised by the Bostonian Society, and he hopes that the state government, federal government, in-kind contributions from the city, and donations from individuals, philanthropies, and businesses will satisfy the remaining funds needs.
Senator Moore is the Senate Chair of the Special Committee for the 375th Anniversary of the Massachusetts General Court. To learn more about Senator Moore’s legislation and his work in the Massachusetts Senate, log onto his web site at www.senatormoore.com
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