From Preservation Online, the online magazine of the National Trust for Historic Preservation

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Historic Tower and Barn Rehabbed in Boston-Area Park


Story by Jeesoo Park / Oct. 15, 2007

Fires and graffiti had turned a three-story tower in a suburban Boston park into an eyesore. This month, thanks to a state grant and a nonprofit, workers completed the restoration of Wright's Tower in Middlesex Fells Reservation, a scenic 2,575-acre forest park located seven miles north of Boston.

Wright's Tower was built as a memorial in 1937 in honor of visionary Elizur Wright, a businessman who in the late 1800s advocated nature conservation in the area and is known as the ?Father of the Fells.?

In the past two years, the Massachusetts Department of Recreation and Conservation (DCR) and the nonprofit Friends of the Fells have gathered funds and raised money to repair not only the tower but a c. 1840 barn.

In May 2005, workers began reconstructing the frame, roof, and door of the Tudor Barn, which was in critical condition as a result of fires and neglect. The project, funded by a matching grant from the DCR and donations, was completed on Aug. 10, 2006, when the Friends of the Fells celebrated the restitution of the Tudor Barn with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The date to celebrate the tower's rededication hasn't been set yet, says Mike Ryan, executive director of the Friends of the Middlesex Fells Reservation. "Just last month we got in contact with a direct relative of Elizur Wright who is a world traveler and genealogist," he says. "We really hope to have him at our dedication ceremony."

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