Artifacts up for bid

From The Republican
By Fred Contrada
Saturday, June 29, 2013

Sink and Urinal, listing #15293
Sink and Urinal, listing #15293
If you’ve ever wanted a urinal or a shower head from the former Northampton State Hospital, now is the time.

These and other mementos from the 19th century complex once called the Northampton Lunatic Hospital are currently up for bid, courtesy of the city’s Historical Commission. Proceeds from the on-line auction will go towards restoring the fountain that once sat in front of Old Main, the administrative building on the 500 acre campus that stood upon Hospital Hill.

Built in the 1850s, Northampton State Hospital housed 2,500 patients, employed 500 workers and operated out of 70 buildings at its height. It included a piggery, a bowling alley and underground tunnels linking the buildings. Former patients are reportedly buried in unmarked graves on the grounds.

The thriving hospital began downsizing in the 1970s as the state deinstitutionalized, placing people with mental health issues in community homes instead. It closed for good in 1993, and the long process of turning the land over to the city began.

MassDevelopment, a quasi-public agency, was chosen to market the land for commercial and residential use. One by one, the buildings were razed. In their place, a range of housing has been built. Defense contractor Kollmorgen, now called L3-KEO, moved its headquarters from King Street onto the former hospital campus and now occupies the lion’s share of the commercial and industrial space.

Even the name of the hill was changed by developers, who thought Village Hill would be more attractive than Hospital Hill. All that remains are the fountain, the reported graves and a bunch of artifacts that MassDevelopment turned over to the city. These include a urinal, an old clock, a cupola, auditorium chairs, window bars, doors and some game tables.

“It’s like they grabbed everything they possibly could,” said Sarah LaValley, a Planning Department staff member who serves as liaison to the Historical Commission. “We ended up with what could be salvaged.”

Historical Commission delays demolition of Shaw’s

From The Republican
By Fred Contrada
Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Shaw's Motel, photo by Dale Ruff, The Republican
Shaw’s Motel, photo by Dale Ruff, The Republican
The Historical Commission voted Monday to invoke the demolition delay ordinance for Shaw’s Motel at 87 Bridge St., but left room for a new owner to knock the building down sooner than a year from now.

According to Sarah LaValley, the Planning Department liaison to the commission, the demolition delay ordinance protects buildings from demolition for up to one year. Established in 2005, the ordinance allows the Historical Commission to put a moratorium on demolishing buildings that are deemed to have historical significance.

Shaw’s was run for more than a half century by Josephine A. Shaw, who rented its rooms mostly to the poor and needy, some of them former Northampton State Hospital patients. She sold the 20-unit motel, along with houses at 7 and 9 Pomeroy Terrace, to her son, Donald Shaw in 2010. The properties were then put on the market for an asking price of $1.6 million.

Old Main fountain to rise again

From The Daily Hampshire Gazette
By Phoebe Mitchell
Saturday, August 25, 2012

The fountain that once graced the grounds of the Northampton State Hospital may soon be resurrected close to where it once stood next to the hospital’s main building as part of an effort to memorialize the historic institution.

According to Chairman David Drake, the Northampton Historical Commission has already endorsed the project, which is being spearheaded by a group set up by the Citizen Advisory Committee. The CAC was created in 1986 to provide a forum for citizen input on the redevelopment of the Northampton State Hospital property off Route 66.

Once located outside the building known as Old Main, the fountain is now in pieces and stored at the Department of Public Works, said Drake.

Joe Blumenthal, owner of Downtown Sounds on Pleasant Street, who heads the fountain project group, said Thursday members are putting together an application that will seek funds from the Community Preservation Committee to restore the fountain. He said the idea for the fountain project came from a group of people who had worked at the former state hospital.

Keeper of city’s past steps down, Kennedy resigns from four boards.

From Daily Hampshire Gazette
Saturday, April 19, 2008
By Dan Crowley

Christopher A. Kennedy has resigned as chairman of the Historical Commission and three other city panels he served on with an eye toward protecting the city’s history, including the Community Preservation Committee.

A champion of the city’s past, Kennedy said growing demands on his personal time coupled with his burgeoning consulting business prompted the mass resignations. He also is stepping down from the Elm Street Historical District Commission and Citizens Advisory Committee of the former Northampton State Hospital.

Three of Kennedy’s positions were mayoral appointments, and the Historical Commission last year named Kennedy its representative to the Community Preservation Committee.

“My time served in the various appointments has been rewarding, illuminating, and generally a very worthwhile experience for me, and I hope that I have been able to contribute in a meaningful way to Northampton’s present, and conversely its future, by appreciating its past,” he wrote in a recent letter of resignation to Mayor Clare Higgins.

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Northampton State Hospital