NEHGS is Getting a New Entrance!

NEHGS is currently rebuilding our front garden and entrance of our historic Newbury Street building to better serve members, patrons, visitors, and the general public. It will also more effectively communicate the institution’s important nonprofit mission. We invite you to follow the progress of the construction during this exciting time.

Pre-Construction	Architect's Final Rendering
NEHGS front entrance, taken May 19	Architect's rendering of completed entrance
Current Progress
Walkway and Garden Completed, Taken June 27th	Ribbon Cutting with Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Carolyn Lynch, Taken June 27th
View construction archive

A committee led by Carolyn Lynch, Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees, has for two years carefully studied the complexities of our building’s façade, garden, and entryway. The committee began its work by examining original plans for the building from the 1920s by the firm of Henry and Richmond, as well as a myriad of other archival photographs and materials gathered over the following ninety years.

The committee is working closely with landscape architects from Gregory Lombardi Associates to rebuild an entryway and garden that at once both complements the original design of its Georgian Revival façade and provides easier access to the building.

Garden and Façade Study Committee
Carolyn Lynch, Committee Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees
Virginia Whitman Koster, Secretary of the Board of Trustees
Kathleen A. Van Demark, Trustee
David A. Bruce, Councilor
Frederick W. Atherton, appointed
Toni Junkin, member
Kelly McCoulf, Manager, Administration
Thomas R. Wilcox, Jr., Vice President and COO
D. Brenton Simons, President and CEO

For the first time, NEHGS will have exterior lighting, museum-grade informational signage, a granite walkway, outdoor benches, and a beautifully planned garden.

Elements of the façade, such as the Palladian arches, will be illuminated at night highlighting the unique character of one of Boston’s most gracious buildings. The New England Historic Genealogical Society now seeks funding to complete this highly visible Capital Campaign activity.

This work follows a major restoration of the façade’s granite stonework, bronze doors and window casings, and decorative ironwork in the fall of 2010.

Learn more about how you can donate to this exciting project. Contact Ted MacMahon at tmacmahon@nehgs.org or call 617-226-1218