Plan for Ames site has foes

Preservationists see character loss

An architect's rendering of shovel shop apartment complex proposed for Easton. The developer's plans call for 182 units.

An important piece of Easton's history is being targeted for development into 182 apartments under the state's affordable housing law. But a group of preservationists, led by descendants of Easton's famed Ames family, is hoping to have at least some say in how the 8-acre property is changed in the process.

The Ames Shovel Co., a complex of granite, wood, and metal factory buildings nestled in the North Easton Village Historic District, was built and run by generations of the prominent Ames family from 1803 to 1952.

Five historic stone buildings, paid for by the Ames family and designed by well-known architect Henry Hobson Richardson, border the factory complex and still draw national attention.

"Without the shovel shop, those Richardson buildings wouldn't be there," said Frank Meninno, a member of Easton's Historical Society, who claims the factory site holds a significant place in America's industrial revolution.

"What we have in North Easton is a shining example of a company village that has survived intact for 150 years," Meninno said. Not only do the factory buildings remain; many of the houses built for its workforce still stand.

The Ames shovel factories were so successful that by 1870, they supplied 60 percent of the shovels used worldwide, according to local histories.

"Those shovels were used in the Australian, Californian, and Alaskan Gold Rushes," Meninno said. "The factory used production lines 50 years before Henry Ford did."

The shovel company left Easton in 1952. The complex was sold by the Ames family to businessman Arnold Tofias in 1972, who leased sections of it out for office space.

Local builders George and Robert Turner, both longtime Easton residents, purchased the complex from Tofias last year.

The Turners have proposed building a 182-unit apartment complex and about 30,000 feet of office space. The plan, filed under Chapter 40B, the state's affordable housing law, is making its way through the comprehensive permit process before the local Zoning Board of Appeals. The plan would require the demolition of some of the buildings and the expansion of others, including changing rooflines and adding a couple of stories.

Robert Turner said the site has been undergoing changes since the shovel shops were first built, and the pending project is just one more change. "Back in 1972, it took the Ames family a long time to even get a buyer for that property," Turner said. "And since then, the insides of the buildings have been totally gutted."

One of the granite buildings the Turners plan to alter is the so-called Long Shop, the oldest on the site, dating to 1853. The plan calls for removing the central section of the building so emergency vehicles can circulate more easily through the complex. "And all of the stone will absolutely stay and become an integral part of the project," Turner said.

"There are old mill buildings all around the state that have been converted to other uses," he said. "You need to do something with the buildings."

A few weeks ago, a group calling themselves "Friends of the Historic Ames Shovel Works at North Easton" surfaced, led by Fred, William, and David Ames, descendants of the original shovel shop owners.

The Friends, which includes many Easton residents, is urging preservation of as much of the Ames complex as possible. The group agrees the best way to preserve a site is to keep it in active use.

But members have hired experts to come up with alternative designs that would keep the historic character of the factory complex, while still turning an acceptable profit for the property owners.

"The Turners have a perfect right to put a 40B there," said David Ames, who hopes the final design won't completely destroy the factory complex's current look. He would like to see far fewer units than the 182 planned.

Greg Galer, a local expert on the Ames family, called the shovel factory complex "a critical linchpin piece of a larger American story."

"The products they made there literally helped to build this country," he said. "There was a very large group in town opposed to a cell tower not long ago, because they said it would change the streetscape. This would have an even more dramatic impact."

Cambridge architect and lawyer Jay Wickersham, who is working with the Friends, said the Turners also plan to demolish two smaller, historically significant granite buildings: the engine house built in 1853 and the power house built in 1907.

"Our approach is that all the granite buildings should be preserved," Wickersham said. New construction would replace some of the other, less historic, buildings on the site, he said. "We hope to sit down with the Turners and share our alternative plans with them," he said.

Fred Ames, who lives "downstream" of the shovel shop on Oliver Street, said he believes preservation of the complex has "almost universal support" in Easton.

"It's not that anybody objects to the kind of housing being proposed," Ames said. "And it only makes sense to add to the town's economy, but we feel there is a limit to what the Historic District can support."

Ames said the Friends have met with the Turners a few times and opened discussion. "As long as we can continue to do that, we will," Ames said.

The zoning board review of the project has focused on water and waste-water issues. Traffic is the next topic, slated for discussion on Dec. 3, according to zoning board chairman Walter Mirrione.

The historic significance of the site will be discussed at some point, Mirrione said, and the public will have ample opportunity to weigh in.

Last month, the nonprofit organization Preservation Massachusetts placed the Ames Shovel Shop complex on its list of "most endangered historic resources." While that doesn't have any impact on the permitting process, it does help to raise awareness of historically sensitive areas, according to Preservation Massachusetts' assistant director Erin Kelly.

Christine Legere can be reached at christinelegere@yahoo.com.