Tim Matthews, a teacher at F.A. Day Middle School in Newton who designs multi-disciplinary curricula to engage students in history, is one of the winners of a 2015 Newton Preservation Award. Other winners include St. Mary’s Hall at Boston College for its meticulous restoration work, and several private residences.
In all, eight awards will be presented at a ceremony and reception on Wednesday, November 11 at 6:30 p.m. The event will take place at de Witt Hall in the Winslow Academic Center, Lasell College, 80 Maple Street, Newton. Tickets are $20 per person, with children under 18 admitted for free. Call 617-796-1463 for more information about purchasing tickets.
The annual awards, a collaboration between Historic Newton and the Newton Historical Commission, recognize outstanding efforts and stewardship in local historic preservation. S+H Construction, a distinguished “Best of Boston” award winner, is the lead sponsor of the 2015 awards.
Teacher Tim Matthews won the Education Award for last year creating a curriculum to recognize Newton’s Civil War veterans. Students did primary source research to establish where each soldier fought, then tabulated statistics about the soldiers, mapped their travels to battlefields, and wrote biographies. The project culminated in a Memorial Day parade recognizing the 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War. One of Matthews’ students said the Civil War project “gave us the opportunity to actually be the historians, weighing the information we trust against that which we don’t, and inspiring us along the way by remembering that these soldiers lived in our own city.”
This year, Matthews will again work on a multi-disciplinary project, this time focusing on the colonial era with a trip to Newton’s East Parish Burying Grounds. Students will collect data about those interred and draw connections to Newton History throughout the year.
In the Institutional Sustainability & Preservation category, Boston College was recognized for its restoration of St. Mary’s Hall, built in 1917 and used as a residence for Jesuit faculty. The renovation restored the Gothic building’s cusped arches with carved mullions, delicate cast-stone tracery, and other details.
This year’s awards will also honor six private residences that conscientiously made restorations without sacrificing historic features. Winners include 295 Mill Street for the landscaping and restoration of its historic entrance; 8 Copley Road for restoring a historic staircase (complete with an appropriate newel post) at the expense of a full bath; and the exterior restoration of a historic bungalow at 9 Hillside Road in Newton Highlands. Homes at 7 Norman Road, 115 Jewett Street, and 1012-1018 Chestnut Street also won awards. For a complete list of winners, click here. For more information, visit www.historicnewton.org.
Historic Newton tells the story of Newton’s people and places as part of American history, from the 17th century to the current Garden City. Visit our museum exhibits, or join us for walking tours, family-friendly crafts and games, concerts, lectures and seasonal events.
