The Swampscott Historical Commission and Glover’s Marblehead Regiment are hosting a fundraiser to support the preservation of the John Glover House at the Mexicali Cantina Grill on Sunday, Jan. 14.
Between 12 p.m. and 8 p.m., patrons can donate 20% of their bill to the cause if they mention the fundraiser’s flier.
A demolition request was sent and approved by both Marblehead and Swampscott earlier this year to replace the house once owned by the Revolutionary War figure with a new 140-unit housing complex called “Glover Residences.” Swampscott Historical Commission Chair Nancy Schultz was then notified due to the property’s historical background. The commission was able to impose a nine-month demolition delay in April 2023. The delay was scheduled to expire in January. However, a recent agreement between the town and property developer Leggat McCall.
“We have in writing from the developer a guarantee that they don’t plan on doing any work on the site until after June 30,” Schultz said. “It gives us a little more time.”
Before the most recent extension agreement was reached, it was widely assumed that the house would have to be preserved through disassembly, storage, and rebuilding. However, Schultz is optimistic that the other alternatives can be re-explored.
“We are still exploring options, if we could come up with a site fairly soon and that wasn’t too far away, we would certainly look at seriously consider moving it to that site.”
Schultz expressed gratitude to Mexicali for hosting the event and approaching the commission with the idea.
She expects this to be the first of multiple fundraisers held between now and June, with a second one already planned for Monday, Jan. 29, at the Dockside Pub on Humphrey Street in Swampscott.
