COME ON IN: Lowell Parks and Conservation Trust Board of Directors President Henri Marchand and Brian Cutler, project specialist, invite everyone to Spalding House. sun/tory germann
By Kathleen Pierce, kpierce@lowellsun.com
COME ON IN: Lowell Parks and Conservation Trust Board of Directors President Henri Marchand and Brian Cutler, project specialist, invite everyone to Spalding House. sun/tory germann
LOWELL -- From the outside, 585 Middlesex St. is just another nondescript office building.
In the shadow of the Lord Overpass, the rectangular, two-story brick expanse where wooden boxes were manufactured in 1890, doesn't scream "look at me."
But push through the glass doors of Nobis Engineering and the air is cleaner, the space is brighter and instead of blooming in a vase, sunflowers are crushed into a table top.
To gain entree into the first LEED-certified green building in Lowell, you must have a key card. But not next weekend. The former Davis and Sargent Building is one of several commercial and residential properties being propped ajar for Doors Open Lowell.
"We welcome the community. We've had such a warm reception from city officials, we want to give back," said Ken Koornneef, company principal, who bought the abandoned building two years ago.
The building reflects the National Preservation Month-focused event, now in its eighth year, to a T. To showcase Lowell's past and future, the canal stonework -- once part of the building facade -- is reborn as a striking conference room wall. Upstairs, archways made of the same shards punctuate the deep-red, low-VOC painted walls.
Nobis moved to Lowell from Lawrence because the building was the "perfect size," said Koornneef. It's also the perfect showcase for daylight harvesting, a natural light-energy saving system that works with the sun's rhythms. On the roof, solar panels fuel 10 percent of the building's power, rows of seedums reduce storm water runoff and waterless urinals conserve water. A table made of sunflower fiber makes for a stunning sustainable place to read blueprints. Behind the walls of this former factory, green design not only looks sharp, it makes good business sense.
"Younger people want to work in a green environment," said Koornneef. "There are more construction costs upfront, but when you look at the added benefits, we are ahead of the game."
With fewer employees missing work from sick building syndrome caused by poor ventilation and toxic interiors, the company has increased productivity.
The knowledge one gains from going behind-the-scenes at Doors Open Lowell attracts eclectic crowds from Greater Boston, southern New Hampshire, college groups and families. It also allures a dedicated group of "Doors Open groupies."
"People eat it up. They say, 'Oh my God, this is so simple in concept.' It's nice to see it take root in other places," said Lowell historic board administrator Steve Stowell.
Opening to all the forbidden, private places we drive by every day, for one weekend a year, first sprung up in Europe and has enjoyed success in Toronto, New York and Denver.
"We can always hang our hat on the fact that Lowell was the first Doors Open in the country," said Stowell.
The voyeuristic romp through buildings like the Spalding House should slake any history buff's curiosity. Inside the yellow and green Colonial manse on Pawtucket Street, Lowell's pre-industrial past lies in wait. In 1996, the land trust took over the site and has been bringing it back to its former glory as money allows. Most recently the windows have been restored and the non-profit group hopes to turn it into an educational outreach center.
In its early years, 1769-1773, the house was owned by Moses Davis, who ran an inn for loggers headed down the Merrimack River. Later it became a meeting place for proprietors of the Pawtucket Canal and in the 1900s, headquarters for the Daughter of the American Revolution.
"It was also a stop on the Underground Rail Road, we are told," said Henri Marchand, president of the Lowell Parks and Conservation Trust.
In the kitchen, beyond the beehive stone, a slim closet is where slaves were purported to have hidden. Outside a brilliant lilac tree blooms over the Pawtucket Falls, which created the home.
"It's here because of the falls. When the canal was built, it was rendered obsolete," said Brian Cutler, the trust's project specialist.
Upstairs, a narrow hall with a sepia-toned fox hunt mural and lanterns that once burned whale oil resonates an old New England mystique.
Descending the creaky staircase, Marchand pauses to look out the window. "There are a few houses in Lowell that have survived, and this is one of them."
Find out what the others are from 6-9 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday; and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Kickoff party is Thursday from 5 to 9 p.m., which includes a progressive dinner, cultural heritage talks and live jazz, www.doorsopenlowell.org.
This story appeared in the Lowell Sun on Monday, May 11, 2009