Fall 2004 / 87 Who Plan to Be Present Should Look Forward to Another –, and a Charcoal Portrait by the Artist of the Memorable Evening
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MHS MiscellanyNumber / Fall F the S of the M H S The last-minute hubbub caused by preparations for Dead Certainties, half of which is an account of the the Democratic National Convention in July did not notorious Parkman-Webster murder case. Not long entirely bypass the Society. First Senator (and MHS ago, we provided documents and artifacts (we have Fellow) Edward M. Kennedy gave Katie Couric of the John Brown’s Colt revolver) for Africans in America. Today show a personal tour of the MHS to be broad- And each of the last two seasons The History Detectives cast during the convention. Then within a matter of has come for a staged research visit. days veteran reporter Bruce Morton of CNN visited as Until construction noise caused a temporary hiatus he prepared a segment on the early political history of to audio recording, C-SPAN filmed so many confer- Boston for that network’s convention coverage. ence sessions, lectures, and book signings at the MHS While the staid MHS does not appear on television (as well as the live transmission of a three-hour broad- every day, it was not our first brush with bright lights cast devoted to the life of John Quincy Adams) that we and TV cameras. Over the years, the Society has served began to think of their local camera crew as adjunct as the backdrop for dozens of “talking head” interviews staff members. As the History Channel has shifted with historians and commentators; a never-ending from relatively straightforward interviews on historical source of documents and historical images to be topics to its current enthusiasm for “mysteries of . .” filmed—a painstaking and laborious process—for a and “secrets of . .” programming, however, we have wide variety of video and film projects; and, occasion- not been able to accommodate all of its needs: the ally, the setting for commercial cinematic productions. most recent query to the MHS was for a location that Only retired staff members now can recall Alistair could serve as a s Bavarian prison where Adolph Cooke’s legendary visit to the MHS for an episode of Hitler would be shown at work on his unpublished his BBC series, Alistair Cooke’s America. It first aired in sequel to Mein Kampf. This request stumped even our , but it lives on in the folk memory of the Society excellent reference staff. and is part of a very long tradition of partnership For a brief period during the s and s the between the Society and public television, most Society did its part to support Boston’s local film and notably with our colleagues at WGBH here in Boston. television industry by providing the backdrop for com- Smithsonian World first brought David McCullough to mercial television programs. The late Spalding Gray the MHS, followed later by American Experience. Even played a sinister money-laundering banker in an before we completed our recent renovations, Mr. episode of Spenser for Hire that was so bizarre that we McCullough returned to the Society to be interviewed expected to become the fodder for one of his mono- for an upcoming American Experience program on logues. As that show hovered near cancellation at the John Adams. end of each season it seemed always to return to the Also for American Experience we have been the MHS for rejuvenation or inspiration, but finally an ill- source and backdrop for documentaries including the starred pilot for a new series, McAllister (a naval court true story of the th Massachusetts Infantry (made martial/criminal investigation drama—they just were famous in the largely fictionalized movie Glory) and a ahead of their time), doomed that long-standing con- dramatization of Laurel Thatcher Ulrich’s A Midwife’s nection. The television miniseries The Kennedys of Tale. The MHS even appeared as itself in Murder at Massachusetts brought a remarkable group of young Harvard, a documentary based on Simon Schama’s actors early in their careers to the Society: William L. Periodical newsletter of the Massachusetts Historical Society MHS Miscellany 2 Peterson, Campbell Scott, and Steven position at Harvard the year he completed Weber, as well as veteran character actors his doctorate and has remained a vigorous who had a living memory of the people member of the faculty to the present. His they were playing: Charles Durning publications, which include many of the and—the staff favorite—Pat Hingle. most influential works of American Through the “magic” of rapid stage dress- historical scholarship over the past half- ing, parts of our building became Mayor century, have earned him what one of his John F. “Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald’s office in Harvard predecessors, talking about him- Boston City Hall; the London Embassy self, once modestly described as the “usual during Joseph P. Kennedy’s term as prizes given to historians.” In Bailyn’s case, ambassador; and a grand ballroom for a the “usual prizes” have included two dance attended by Tracy Pollan playing Pulitzers, a National Book Award, and a the part of Kathleen Kennedy. Ms. Pol- Bancroft. Other more unusual distinc- lan’s husband, Michael J. Fox, waited for tions have also come his way, including an his wife in a back room during the filming appointment by the National Endowment one day and was cordial, if a bit surprised, for the Humanities in as its Jefferson when a staff member told him he had to Lecturer as well as an opportunity to go outside to smoke. address Prince Charles and the audience In our eyes, however, all of these large assembled at the main convocation of the and somewhat silly enterprises pale in celebration of Harvard’s th anniversary MHS Miscellany, no. comparison to our most recent participa- in . Professor Bailyn served as presi- Periodical Newsletter of the tion in filmmaking, The Blue Diner (La dent of the American Historical Associa- Massachusetts Historical Society Fonda Azul), an award-winning drama tion in . about love, bilingualism, art (and food), At the same time that Bailyn was com- Address: Boylston St. Boston MA that is both charming and serious. That piling a professional record of rare distinc- -- www.masshist.org film, made in , truly came right tion, he was also proving to be one of the down to the wire—photography ended at Massachusetts Historical Society’s most Hours: : on the day that production had to valuable friends. Elected a resident mem- The MHS reading room is open to the end by midnight. Now, three years after its ber in , he accepted his first of many public free of charge, Monday release, it also is “historical” because it terms on our Council in . The follow- through Friday, to : , shows large parts of our building before ing year he joined the Publication Com- and until on Thursdays. the recent renovations—still glowing in mittee, on which he has served ever since 35mm color, but now fast disappearing and as its chair since . A frequent For more information: from memory. speaker at the Society, he delivered some Please call ahead or check the website for directions, information about * * * memorable addresses, including a remark- collections, reading room policies, able piece in on the apparently holiday hours, and special events. B to R J unpromising topic of “The Index and F. K A Commentaries of Harbottle Dorr,” and Bernard Bailyn, Adams University Profes- an unforgettable review in of The sor emeritus at Harvard University, will Massachusetts Historical Society: A Bicen- receive the John Fitzgerald Kennedy tennial History, ‒, by our former Award when the Society convenes for its director Louis Leonard Tucker. Even more annual meeting on Thursday, October . important than his formal service to the The award, which is the Society’s highest Society has been the incisive advice he has honor, recognizes distinguished service to often quietly offered our officers and staff the MHS and to American historical behind the scenes and his more public Masthead illustration: scholarship. advocacy of the institution and its pro- “Plan & Elevation of the Tontine By every standard, Bernard Bailyn is a grams. Crescent, now erecting in Boston.” more than merely suitable recipient of the By recent tradition, at the annual meet- From the Massachusetts Magazine, . Kennedy Award. A graduate of Williams ing the Society offers the recipients of the The MHS occupied the Tontine College (A.B. ) and Harvard Universi- John Fitzgerald Kennedy Award an oppor- Crescent from until . ty (A.M. , Ph.D. ), he accepted a tunity to reflect on their careers. Those 3Fall 2004 / 87 who plan to be present should look forward to another –, and a charcoal portrait by the artist of the memorable evening. historian James Ford Rhodes (). *** Peter Chardon Brooks III, son of Gorham and Ellen . . (Shepherd) Brooks, grew up in Boston and on the fam- R R A R M ily estate in West Medford. Active in the arts and agri- F E culture, he is largely recognized today for his influence Since , the Society has been the fortunate recipient on Chicago’s architecture. With his brother, Shepherd, of support from the Ruth Miller Memorial Philanthrop- he invested in the city’s real estate and developed several ic Fund. Our ties to the Fund began at about the same skyscraper office buildings in the “Chicago Style.” They commissioned architects Daniel H. Burnham and John time that we committed ourselves to a major initiative on the history of women, and that interest intersected W. Root to build the Monadnock building in , at happily with those of the Miller family. Readers of the the time the world’s largest office building. Miscellany who attended our conference in on Peter Chardon Brooks III married Sarah Lawrence, women’s diaries benefited from a contribution by the daughter of Amos A.