Historic New England City of Gloucester Community Preservation Project Application Narrative, page 1 Historic New England requests a $25,000 grant from the City of Gloucester Community Preservation Act to complete one of the last phases of historic window conservation work at Beauport, the Sleeper-McCann House—a $50,000 project to conserve the severely weather- deteriorated windows of the harbor side of the building. Project Narrative Beauport, Sleeper-McCann House Beauport, Historic New England’s most-visited house museum, is a premiere travel destination in the City of Gloucester, a nationally important historic property and a unique educational and cultural resource. Designated as a National Historic Landmark (NHL), Beauport is described in the NHL nomination as “significant in American material culture as an important early collection of American antiques in distinctive arrangements housed within a unique architectural setting that influenced the appreciation, collection, and interpretation of American material culture, as well as the practice of interior design. This collection and arrangement by nationally-noted antiquarian, collector, and interior decorator, Henry Davis Sleeper, was influential in the development of Henry Francis du Pont’s Winterthur and other museum programs.” Henry Davis Sleeper (1878-1934) began Beauport in 1907 and expanded it repeatedly over the next twenty-seven years with Gloucester architect Halfdan M. Hanson (1884-1952). A late- Victorian, shingle-style residence, perched on a natural rock ledge overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, Beauport comprises fifty-six rooms in a combination of French, English, colonial American, and oriental motifs. In addition to a sense of mystery, wonder, beauty and spectacular location that appeals to a broad public, part of Beauport’s special architectural significance is as a unified work of architecture made of seemingly disparate parts. The complex exterior footprint and massing of Beauport is a product of the intricate interior plan. Interior circulation is sequenced, with rooms accessed from other rooms rather than by linear hallways. From hallway to dining room, from bedroom to alcove, every room is decorated to express Sleeper’s highly personal interpretation of a specific period of American life from the time of Plymouth down through the Revolution and the early Republic. The house is filled with dazzling collections—glass, hooked rugs, tole, redware, silhouettes, folk art, and memorabilia. It even includes whole sections of paneling or timbers taken from demolished colonial houses to continue the desired effect of an arrangement, rather than individual items, to evoke amazement in its visitors. Beauport is an important link in the development of the museum period-room approach to the interpretation of American decorative arts, previously the domain of collectors and antiquarians, but now appealing to all visitors. Beauport influences American architectural practice and inspires others to preserve and reuse architectural details in functional contemporary settings. By extension, it also has raised public support for preserving historic architectural detail still in place, contributing to the present historic preservation movement that advocates restoration or rehabilitation of entire buildings. Historic New England City of Gloucester Community Preservation Project Application Narrative, page 2 The consummate entertainer, Sleeper and his Eastern Point neighbors were leading members of “Dabsville,” a social, artistic, and intellectual colony that flourished in the first third of the twentieth century that both shaped and publicized Beauport. Dabsville itself was named for Sleeper and his summer neighbors, Joanna Stewart Davidge, proprietor of a New York finishing school; Abram Andrew Piatt, Harvard economist; Cecilia Beaux, the acclaimed portrait painter; and Caroline Sinkler, Southern heiress and arts patron. The acknowledged reigning doyenne was Isabella Stewart Gardner and guests often included John Singer Sargent, Henry James, George Arliss, Henry Lee Higginson, Paul Manship, Childe Hassam, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Helen Hayes, Ethel Barrymore, Stephen Vincent Benet, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Henry Francis du Pont, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Mrs. William Howard Taft. Charles and Helena Woolworth McCann purchased the property from Sleeper’s estate in 1935, preserving the house and collections intact. Their children donated Beauport to the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities/SPNEA, now Historic New England, in 1942. Beauport has remained remarkably unaltered since Sleeper’s death in 1934. Except for modifications to one room made in the McCann era, Sleeper’s interior arrangements are virtually intact. Historic New England interprets the house for the public today as it looked upon Sleeper’s death, excepting the China Trade Room, which preserves the McCann alterations. The house has been run as a highly popular historic house museum with guided tours since 1942. Following the conservation work, Beauport will remain open to the public as a house museum and significant Gloucester travel attraction. Historic New England Founded in 1910 as the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, Historic New England is the oldest, largest, and most comprehensive regional heritage organization in the country, a leader in preservation, research, and innovative programming. Headquartered in Boston, the organization owns and operates thirty-six historic properties in five New England states. Mission and Vision Statement Historic New England serves the public by preserving and presenting New England heritage. The organization is a museum of cultural history that collects and preserves buildings, landscapes and objects dating from the seventeenth century to the present and uses these resources to keep history alive and to help people develop a deeper understanding and enjoyment of the New England way of life and appreciation for its preservation. By serving as a role model for the stewardship of New England heritage, Historic New England utilizes its preservation philosophy to educate, to instill an appreciation and awareness of history, to share knowledge and leave a legacy for future generations, and to promote greater involvement on the part of individuals and communities in the preservation of the past. Program Areas Historic New England offers five distinct yet interrelated program areas: Historic Properties: The most comprehensive collection of homes and properties in New England, thirty-six house museums and landscapes spanning four centuries of architectural styles and five New England states present unique American stories. Historic New England City of Gloucester Community Preservation Project Application Narrative, page 3 Library and Archives: More than one million items—photographs, prints and engravings, architectural drawings, books, manuscripts, and ephemera—document New England’s architectural and cultural history. Information is shared through www.HistoricNewEngland.org, Historic New England magazine, publications and catalogues. Collections: The largest assemblage of New England art and artifacts in the country, an extraordinarily broad collection of more than 110,000 objects of historical and aesthetic significance represent the region’s heritage. Educational Programs: Innovative school and youth programs use primary sources to reinforce and enrich student learning for 36,500 young people each year. Programs meeting national, state, and local curriculum standards and frameworks are fun, multi-disciplinary, and suited to a variety of learning styles. Preservation Services: Private property owners share the common goal of protecting the unique character of our historic heritage throughout the region. As one of the first preservation easement programs in the country, Historic New England’s Stewardship Program is a national model; now protecting 76 properties. Project Background and Description Beauport has been well maintained and cared for over its 103-year life. The structure, however, is subject to significant water penetration due to its location, the harsh coastal New England climate and its complex form of construction. The building’s location on a natural rock ledge directly above the Atlantic Ocean places it directly in the path of surface water runoff. Despite the diligence and care provided by Historic New England’s preservation staff to maintain the structure, moisture-related issues have established a foothold. Current preservation efforts, including the window conservation project, will prevent future moisture penetration, remove potential threats to the building, and mitigate further damage to the historic fabric and collections. Ultimately, the visitor experience will be greatly enhanced as these efforts will eliminate further threats to the interior, facilitating continued conservation and enjoyment of the expansive collection. In 2006, Historic New England received a grant from the prestigious Getty Conservation Institute to perform a comprehensive conditions assessment of Beauport, Sleeper-McCann House to determine the overall issues at the house. That assessment outlined points of water penetration, structural abnormalities, and possible repair options. In 2008, Historic New England secured a $500,000 matching grant for the planned $1,135,475 preservation project from the highly competitive Save America’s Treasures (SAT) program through the Department of the Interior to address some of the most significant issues