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The Essex Institute, c. 1910-1920 (Library of Congress) |
Peabody Essex Museum Plans to Remove 400 Years of Salem's History
As Salem, Massachusetts approaches the
400th anniversary of its founding, the city is simultaneously being
robbed of its 400 years of history.
On
December 6, 2017, Bob Monk, a representative of the Peabody Essex
Museum (PEM) along with a member of the PEM’s architectural firm,
Schwartz/Silver, confirmed what many Salemites had been fearing since 2011. The
collections of the Phillips Library would not be returning to their home at 132
Essex Street.
In
1992, The Peabody Essex Museum was created by a merger between Salem’s most
prominent institutions, the Peabody Museum and the Essex Institute. Both
institutions were the stewards of four centuries worth of artifacts, documents,
furniture, and even buildings, all of which contributed to the historic fabric
of the city. Some of these objects were donated by Salem families and
businesses, hoping to leave a legacy for the city’s future generations. While
others were deposited by institutions that, at the time, didn’t have the funds
or space to properly care for them. Items include: papers from Salem's
founding, documents and artifacts relating to the Salem Witch Trials, log books
from Salem’s “Great Age of Sail,” a signed first edition of Nathaniel
Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, and a
deposited copy of the Massachusetts Bay Colony Charter. Not to mention volumes
of manuscripts and family heirlooms donated over the years.
In
2011, when the Peabody Essex Museum announced the temporary closure and relocation
of the Phillips Library and the Museum’s archival collection. The news was
relatively well received by scholars and the public alike. Many had mourned the
loss of The Essex Institute and looked forward to a more accessible, well
maintained display of Salem’s history. In an interview with The Salem News, the Museum’s public
relations officer, April Swieconek, referred to the Phillips Library as “a part
of what we are, and a part of what Salem is.”
Not
only is The Phillips Library “a part of what Salem is,” it in fact is the
largest depository of Salem’s collective history, giving the Peabody Essex
Museum a monopoly over the City’s past. As Salem struggles to define itself and
its history to hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, it has become
increasingly apparent that the collections of the PEM hold the key to the
proper interpretation of the city’s historic past. A role that they have failed
to uphold. The Peabody Essex Museum has instead spent the past decade, focused
on branding itself as a leading art museum, and to that claim, it has been
successful. But at what cost?
The
2013 proposed completion date of the Phillips Library came and went with little-to-no
new information announced by the PEM. In December 2016, The Peabody Essex
Museum announced the addition of “40,000-square-foot wing” to be completed on
the Museum’s main campus by 2019.
The
silence surrounding the fate of the Phillips Library was broken on December 6,
2017 when Bob Monk announced to Salem’s Historical Commission that, as of
2018, the Phillips Library collections would permanently be housed in Rowley,
Massachusetts, forty minutes outside of its Salem origin. Monk claimed that the
PEM was unable to find a suitable location in Salem for the return of its
collections.
Not only was Salem to lose her 400 years of
history to Rowley, but the beautiful brick, Plummer Hall and Daland House
buildings, which previously housed the collections were to be desecrated as
well, and closed to the public, for the sake of private office space to house
the Museum’s staff.
During
the Historical Commission meeting, Schwartz/Silver (initially hired for the
2011 renovation) displayed mock-ups illustrating the destruction of the grand
stairs and the connector, which first united the two buildings in 1907, as the
home of The Essex Institute. Just as the Peabody Essex Museum is severing Salem
from its history, Schwartz/Silver are severing Plummer Hall from the Daland
House. The crowning jewel of the PEM’s attack on Salem’s history? A modern glass
encasement to replace the 110-year-old connector, to better match the Museum’s 40,000-square-foot
new wing across the street.
This
is, however, not the first time the historic city has wrestled with the
possibility of losing its history. In 1965, at the pinnacle of Urban Renewal, Salem
stood to replace its architectural heritage with highways and parking lots. By
this plan, the site of the PEM’s new wing would have become part of a four-lane
highway. The New York Times architecture critic and preservationist Ada Louise
Huxtable wrote a front-page article, credited with saving Salem, calling the proposed plan “alarmingly insensitive,”
stating, the city would “bulldoze rather than rehabilitate.” Summing it up with, “the
business community is accused of paying lip service to history while planning
to demolish it.” Ada’s sentiments echo in the aftermath of the PEM’s latest
announcement. Has the PEM been "paying lip service to history" while planning to
demolish it all along? Is this Salem’s latest battle against Urban Renewal? And
if so, is there an Ada Louise Huxtable that can save the city?
The recent proposal
by the Peabody Essex Museum shows the Museum’s complete disconnect with the
Salem community, and the rich history they are the stewards of. The Museum has
lost the trust of its patrons, many of which in recent days have resigned their
memberships, stood united in protest, contacted their state representatives, and signed a petition aimed at keeping the archives in Salem. The collective
disappointment weighs heavily throughout the city and is the primary topic of
conversation. If a compromise isn’t found, Salem, a city synonymous with
history, will be forced to mourn its loss.
*Articles and links mentioned above can be found at www.keephistoryinsalem.com
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