2020 Boston Preservation Alliance Award Winner

“While we know the rich tales of Boston’s Revolutionary history on the Freedom Tail, our Colonial history is bigger and our story goes far beyond the colonial era. We need to celebrate and bring attention to historic places throughout the city which are a central part of our shared heritage.”

Greg Galer, Executive Director of the Boston Preservation Alliance

The outgoing governor Deval Patrick announced a major initiative for the neighborhood of Roxbury, allocating a substantial sum to revitalize the Roxbury Heritage State Park. Suddenly the Department of Conservation (the Department) and the Roxbury community received long-wished for funds to revitalize  the park. The house was in need of extensive repairs and improvements, and the park was not accessible. I was tasked with leading the team that would develop the interpretive program for both the site and the house.

Our solution was developed in a large part from the community outreach workshops, three in all. They selected the ideas for a digital time-map of Roxbury, public wifi, and a robust contemporary story. The research phase yielded a letter written by General Thomas to the resident of the house, a pastor, to leave the premises so he could make it his headquarters, textural information referring to “negro servants’, and reminiscences of a young woman who was tutored by Mr. Dillaway. All this and much more are exhibited in a compelling, accessible manner.