Boston Magazine
A Philistine in the Shingle Museum
The bumper stickers read “Gut Fish, Not Houses.” And as the Nantucket homeowner who helped inspire them has learned, in some historic neighborhoods, your remodeling team had better include a good lawyer.By Sasha IssenbergThe Nantucket Historic District Commission meets for its weekly deliberations in the cafeteria of the island’s Cyrus Peirce Middle School, with catering provided by the on-site vending machine.
Dirk Roggeveen, the HDC’s chair, volunteers that the multihour affairs can be “painful to watch.” Created in 1955 to “promote the general welfare of the inhabitants of the Town of Nantucket through the preservation and protection of historic buildings,” the commission’s jurisdiction was later expanded by the state to cover the entire island; as a result, its five elected members and three alternates now preside over just about every piece of exterior construction and renovation that takes place here. And given that the old whaling outpost today produces little beyond novelty T-shirts and overpriced cocktails, having final say in things like dormers, skirts, gables, eaves, and roof walks amounts to veto power over a huge slice of its economic activity. As they exercise this authority, the commission members engage in deliberations that can be suggestive of amateur architecture critics squabbling in the back seat during a Sunday drive. At one recent meeting, secretary Linda Williams pushed aside a set of plans for a proposed façade change with a sniff. “It’s a weird house,” she said. “I don’t hate it,” said Roggeveen, by way of defusing the situation.Go to article-
Rex Ingram is a Licensed Architect in Massachusetts. Rex holds a Masters Degree in Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania. He started Ingram Architects (previously Ingram Design Studio) after moving to Nantucket Island in 1999. "The move to Nantucket allowed me to work with top notch craftsmen and builders. It was in this tradition of craftsmanship that I learned and developed my skill for detailing buildings and interiors. There is a strong tradition of skilled design and building on Nantucket that originates in the whaling and ship building days of Nantucket's history."
