LYNN — A nonprofit organization and city officials are mapping out short-term maintenance plans for an historic Andrew Street building and its Civil War collection while looking for ways to raise money to meet long-term preservation goals.
Friends of the Grand Army of the Republic Hall and Museum of Lynn hope the memorandum of understanding under review by city attorneys will lay out “lines of communication” between the nonprofit and the city.
Friends President Wendy Joseph said fundraising is an urgent priority.
“The building is in such shape that the collections are in danger,” Joseph said.
City attorney James Lamanna is reviewing the memorandum’s draft language and anticipates it will be formalized sometime this month and outline the Friends’ goals and the trustees’ authority.
“As a nonprofit corporation, they can seek donations and apply for grants. But, at the end of the day, they can’t usurp the power of the trustees,” Lamanna said.
Built in 1885 by Union Army veterans, the Grand Army hall was a social and political hub into the 20th century. In 1919, the hall’s aging members turned the building over to the city with the trustees placed in charge.
In the ensuing 100 years, the hall stored volumes of Civil War histories and records, Civil War weapons and uniforms, with its grand hall walls adorned with 1,243 veterans’ photographs.
Until his retirement in 2019, city worker Robert Mathias oversaw the hall and conducted tours with help from amateur historians Dexter Bishop and Larry Campbell.
“With the Philadelphia hall’s closing, Lynn’s is the only free-standing Grand Army hall left in the country,” Campbell said.
“A lot of people don’t know it’s here,” added city maintenance supervisor Steve Smith.
With history buff and City Council President Darren Cyr helping to lead the charge, the Friends formed in 2018 to vanquish the Grand Army hall’s anonymity and address its long-term preservation.
“One of the first priorities is an updated assessment of the building and its collections,” said Joseph.
Smith said the city installed a new boiler in the building last year but maintaining and, if necessary, replacing the hall’s aging pipes is a challenge. Keeping moisture out of the building and improving interior climate control is crucial to preserving the Civil War collection.
“We want to make sure no weather comes in,” Smith said.
The city shored up the building’s facade several years ago. City Inspectional Services Director Michael Donovan said the facade needs expensive masonry work and the building’s big windows need to be reconstructed carefully following historic structure guidelines.
Lamanna said the Friends and the trustees agree the hall needs a curator/custodian who can duplicate Mathias’ knowledge of the building and ability to spot and organize short-term maintenance needs.
“There’s definitely an appetite to get someone in there to take care of the building,” he said.
Thor Jourgensen can be reached at [email protected].
