The Somerville Historic Preservation Commission (SHPC) announces the 2018 events in honor of Preservation Month, celebrated each May. Throughout the month, the SHPC partners with other local organizations to host events honoring Somerville’s history and historic assets.

All events are open to the public. Upcoming events are as follows:

Launch of Volunteer Docent Program, May-October. Three Historic Sites:  Prospect Hill Tower, Milk Row Cemetery, and Old Powder House.

Full season schedule on weekends and Thursday evenings is posted on the SHPC website (www.somervillema.gov/historicpreservation) and at each physical site.

 Thursday, May 10, 6 – 8 p.m. First Seasonal Public Opening of Prospect Hill Tower.

Enjoy the first major project completed using the City’s Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds — stabilization work on the Tower. Local historian Larry Willwerth, along with other volunteer docents in period clothing, will tell stories about “The Lesser Known History of Prospect Hill.” Heavy rain cancels.

 Sunday, May 13, 2 – 4:30 p.m. Walking Tour: “Gilman Square and East Somerville:
Historical Look Before the GLX Arrives.”

Ed Gordon, President of the New England Chapter of the Victorian Society in America, will lead a lively walking tour of historic buildings and landscapes already undergoing many changes. Co-sponsored by East Somerville Main Streets.  Meet at City Hall, 93 Highland Avenue. End at Vinny’s Ristorante, a neighborhood institution at 76 Broadway, that is offering complimentary refreshments. Rain or shine!

Thursday, May 17, 6 – 8 p.m. Milk Row Cemetery Public Opening. 

Dressed in period clothing, Barbara Mangum, Objects Conservator and President of the Somerville Museum, will lead an informative tour about this fragile and very compact burial ground founded in 1804 by Samuel Tufts on farmland once part of Charlestown. Learn about who is buried here, the extraordinary monument dedicated to Somerville soldiers fallen during the Civil War, and both past and current municipal enhancements using grants from the State and the City’s CPC. Light refreshments donated by Market Basket, Friend of the Cemetery. Meet at front gate, 439 Somerville Ave. Heavy rain cancels.

Sunday, May 20, Veterans Memorial Parade.

Join the Historic Somerville contingent! Dress up in period clothing. Begins at City Hall at 3 p.m. and ends at Teele Square. For more information contact admin@historicsomerville.org The Parade will be held rain or shine.

Wednesday, May 23, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. “Researching the History of Your House and Your Family.”

 This talk will be given by Preservation Planner Kristi Chase, Archivist Nadia Dixson, and Kevin O’Kelly, Reference Librarian for the Somerville Public Library. Find out how each place can help you research the history of your house and family through a mini tour of genealogy resources at the Somerville Library and beyond, as well as some tips for getting started. The talk will be held at the Somerville Central Library, 79 Highland Avenue.

Thursday, May 24, 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. Historic Preservation Awards Ceremony.

A reception, with light refreshments, will be followed by the 23^rd Annual ceremony to honor 11 Somerville property owners for their award-winning preservation work on the exterior of their properties.  Properties include both historically designated homes as well as older buildings in the City.   SHS students will present their original drawings of each property to the owners. The event takes place in the historically unique space within the Somerville Armory, 191 Highland Ave. Also see the mobile exhibit of the artwork at the Nu Kitchen at 195 Washington St., in addition to other City venues during subsequent months.

For more information on Preservation Month programing, contact SHPC Executive Director Brandon Wilson at 617-625-6600 x2532 orbwilson@somervillema.gov, or visit www.somervillema.gov/historicpreservation.                                     

Individuals with disabilities who need auxiliary aids and services for effective communication, written materials in alternative formats, or reasonable modifications in policies and procedures, in order to access the programs and activities of the City of Somerville or to attend meetings, should contact should contact Nency Salamoun, at 617-625-6600 x2323 or NSalamoun@somervillema.gov.