Springside Now News & Information on Springside Park Vol. I, Fall 2012 Springside House One Step Closer to Restoration Pittsfield's only city-owned historic mansion moved one step closer to revitalization this summer, with the completion of an analysis of its original appearance by UMASS historical preser-vation student Lisa Sauer. This historic paint analysis of the 152 year old house formerly known as Elmhurst, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008, was conducted in consideration of a $250,000 allocation by the city in 2010 to help establish the UMASS historical preservation program based at Hancock Shaker Village. In it, researcher Lisa Sauer conducted both archival research as well as sampling and laboratory analysis of the mansion's exterior paint finishes. Twelve samples were taken from discrete areas of the building, and their multiple layers of paint studied at the conservation laboratory at Shaker Village. by reconstructing the dating of layers, combined with reference to local records and architectural history from the era of its construction, Sauer determined the most likely historic color scheme of the house and what its equivalents in modern paint shades would be. According to her research, the most historically accurate motif would be a white and cream combination with the addition of green shutters, as opposed to its current white and green finishes. The house was last painted in 1991, by the GE Elfin Club. At the time, it quartered the city's Parks and Recreation Department, but the house has been mostly vacant since 2007, with the exception of a rear apartment which has been used to house the city's AmeriCorps Vista volunteers. Park advocates say this analysis was an essential component to any potential restoration efforts on the house. Due to its national historic status, future work done on the property must be done with an eye to preservation of its original character. Ward 1 Councilor Christine Yon, who has been advancing a proposal to restore the house, expressed gratitude to the Master Historic Preservation program at Shaker Village for the finished paint analysis.' "This document is a great resource to the City of Pittsfield as we move forward to a hopeful future renovation of this great Berkshire Cottage," said Yon. "Just like the Colonial Theater, the Springside House is an integral piece of Pittsfield’s history and should be preserved." Pond Repair on City Wish List By James McGrath, City of Pittsfield Editor's Note: The City of Pittsfield recently released a "Wish List" of projects it is not currently prepared to fund, but would welcome support from local business and community members in. James McGrath, the city's Park & Open Spaces Program Manager, provided the following overview and history of pond restoration planning. The City of Pittsfield is seeking to undertake a complete pond restoration project at Springside Pond. With the goal of restoring this small degraded urban pond to a more natural functioning open water resource, the project will yield numerous benefits, including improved aquatic habitat, improved water quality and enhanced public recreational access. This will be a multi-year, multi-phase project that will also include efforts to address previously identified areas within the Springside Pond drainage area that are known to contribute to the erosion problems that have negatively impacted the pond. Once realized, these environmental restoration actions will contribute to and stimulate ongoing park and neighborhood revitalization efforts. Constructed in the late 1890’s and enlarged to its current configuration in 1919, Springside Pond is currently a 1/2 acre shallow water body of irregular shape that lies along an intermittent stream that travels southerly through the park. The contributing watershed is approximately 200 acres and consists mostly of sloping wooded terrain with some open grassy and/or brushy areas. A low cut granite and limestone retaining wall, topped with a concrete cap once bordered the entire pond but is severely deteriorated and in many areas has fallen into the pond. A portion of the pond bottom has [Continued on Page 2] Great Strides Made in Spring Clean Up Efforts; Fall Park Cleanup Set for Nov 10 About forty volunteers turned out for the annual spring clean up organized by the Friends of Springside on April 21. “We're very delighted, because the garbage in the park is getting less and less,” Elizabeth Kulas told the Parks Commission in June, though noting that some illicit dumping remains an issue. In addition to around two dozen trash bags and larger items collected, concerns voiced by volunteers following the cleanup prompted the city to remove several tons of its own refuse which had accumulated around the Buildings and Maintenance Department facilities there. This included the removal of large amounts of scrap metal, plastic and broken equipment strewn between the maintenance buildings and the Stephens Pond wetland area, some of which had littered the area for years. The Friends of Springside has organized one to two cleanup efforts per year for nearly a quarter of a century, typically in the Spring and late Fall. While diligent efforts by volunteers and neighbors have greatly reduced the refuse in this sprawling parkland, littering and even larger illegal dumping remain an ever present problem, In addition to paper, plastic and glass litter, volunteers at the April clean up day removed such items as tires, pallets, a toilet tank and a car door. Did you know? The first airplane flight in the Berkshires was in 1911, when pilot Charles Witmer took off from Allen Farm on July 4. It was also the first airplane crash, when Witmer's plane was caught by strong winds and crashed in what is now Springside Park just a few moments later.