Robert Matthias, curator of the Grand Army of the Republic Building in Lynn, stands in front of uniforms from the American Revolution and War of 1812. He is trying to get the museum registered in its own historic district. Item photo by Owen O’Rourke
By Thomas Grillo
LYNN — The Grand Army of the Republic building, the Andrew Street landmark that is already on the National Register of Historic Places, could get another honor.
The Lynn Historical Commission and Robert Matthias, the museum’s curator, won support from the City Council’s Public Property & Parks Committee Tuesday to seek designation of the four-story brick building as a local historic district. Now, the measure moves on to the Massachusetts Historical Commission for approval.
“Our goal is raise money for restoration and we believe being in a historic district improves our chances,” said Matthias prior to the meeting.
The museum, owned by the city, needs to raise $200,000 to save the facade and replace the windows.
Michael Donovan, the city’s Inspectional Services Department director, said the museum is not handicapped accessible and any major restoration funded, in part, by the state would have to include such upgrades.
“The building right now is in very bad shape, the facade is falling off the front,” he said. “If this is going to get done, people need to keep in mind the extent of the damage.”
To add an elevator and handicapped accessible bathrooms could cost more than $1 million, presenting a challenge to the city that would have to match any grant funding.
The museum was built in 1885 by Grand Army members as a memorial to the Union Army veterans of the Civil War at a cost of $35,000. It was one of many such halls built in the country and one of the largest posts of its kind. It boasts a 2,600-square-foot main hall on the third floor, which retains the original furnishings. The walls are filled with photographs of local Civil War veterans.
The museum’s library contains a note from Abraham Lincoln to the Secretary of State William Henry Seward, an original Confederate flag that flew over Richmond, Va., a portion of a tree that contains an embedded cannonball from the Civil War and 1,246 photographs of Civil War vets.
“It’s a living history,” said Matthias. “Where else can you touch a cannonball from the Civil War?”
James Marsh, the city’s Community Development director, said the city has already spent about $300,000 in grants and department funds to replace a leaky roof and repair water damaged sections of the 21,000-square-foot building.
“Our goal is to open up the Grand Army Museum more to the public,” he said. “It was run down and we put money into it to bring it back to life. We want to bring it to its full potential, to attract more people to the downtown.”
Wendy Joseph, a member of the Lynn Historical Commission, said the most immediate goal is to stabilize the building.
Brian McNiff, a spokesman for Secretary of State William Galvin who oversees the Massachusetts Historical Commission, said the state offers about $500,000 annually to preserve historic properties with competitive grant awards of up to $90,000.
Thomas Grillo can be reached at [email protected].