1/6/2009 3:12:00 PM Landmark status for house? Alexander Co. disagrees
Fitchburg Historical Society
Estelle Anderberg, third from left, who painted many of the murals in the house, with other unidentified family members. She died in 2002 at the age of 93.
Rich Eggleston Special Correspondent
The Fitchburg Historical Society board of directors voted on Jan. 4, to ask the Alexander Co. not to tear down a historic home in the path of commercial development at 2849 Oregon Road, and to ask the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission to consider it for landmark status.
The pink stucco home doesn't look like much from the outside. But on the inside, there's distinctive oak woodwork crafted by builder Albert Anderberg around the turn of the 20th century, the foundation is rock solid and the structure of the house is strong and true, according to Historical Society board members who toured the home.
In addition, there are stained and leaded glass windows, beamed ceilings and murals and graphics that were painted by Anderberg's daughter, Estelle.
"It's a hidden treasure," said board member Winnie Lacy.
If Anderberg's creation were a Victorian home, it would be a Pink Lady, though admittedly a dowdy one. But it's only a well-built Arts and Crafts House that's fallen on hard times, Lacy said.
The home is on the site of Drumlin Community Garden, which the Plan Commission has recognized as having special worth. The garden is renowned for its organic soil. That may in part be because the property at one time was a pig farm, according to Historical Society research.
Drumlin Garden and the Anderberg Home both stand in the way of the Alexander Co's plans for its Novation campus in Fitchburg and the town of Madison, a 70-acre business center that eventually could include a million square feet of office and commercial space.
While the proposed destruction of Drumlin Community Garden has been the subject of heated discussion at City Hall, it was almost as if the company was keeping its plan to demolish the Anderberg Home a secret, Historical Society board members said.
The Alexander Co. is noted for its historic preservation efforts. The company's Web site boasts of "salvaging the unsalvageable," and says the company "has excelled at adaptive reuse."
Maybe the company just didn't realize what it owned, said LaVerne Brummel, a member of the Landmarks Preservation Commission. "If they knew the historic importance of the house, maybe they wouldn't want to tear it down."
"I'm sure the Landmarks Commission will be interested in looking at this based on the Historical Society's recommendation, said Ald. William Horns, a member of the commission who admits he has a weakness for fine woodwork.
The society board's vote was unanimous.
"This is by no means a historic structure," said Dan Peterson, a spokesperson for the Alexander Co.
In an e-mail response, Peterson said the firm "recognizes that there is some neat millwork in the house, but aside from that there isn't anything significantly historic about the house.
"Those familiar with our company know that historic preservation is a large part of what we do. For over 25 years The Alexander Company has worked across the country (and closely with the National Park Service) to ensure the integrity of historic structures," Peterson wrote.
