Let me introduce you to a neighborhood, my neighborhood, and one of its houses and tell you why I believe it is important. My neighborhood is fortunate to include one very unique property that stands out and is most worthy of recognition in my opinion.

The neighborhood is in Lanesville, a small fishing village within the City of Gloucester, Massachusetts that grew up around Lane’s Cove. Beginning circa 1700 early settlers came here, built houses, and derived their livelihood from the sea. That was only the first chapter in the life of this village.

Things changed in the mid-19th century, ushering in the second chapter when the granite which lies right beneath the soil began to be mined. The mining industry grew rapidly and soon there were more men working in the granite quarries than were going out from the coves into Ipswich Bay to fish. These quarries produced paving stones; enough to pave the streets of many cities from Boston to Havana, Cuba and major cities in between. Stone sloops replaced the fishing boats at the Cove or co-existed with the remaining fishing boats.

The quarries attracted other nationalities. Irish immigrants arrived to work in the quarries as stonecutters and lived in a Lanesville neighborhood that was nicknamed Dublin. They were soon followed by a large influx of Finnish immigrants who have left many descendants and their Finnish customs which still prevail. Each house had a sauna in the back yard. The women wove mats. Nisu, Finnish coffee bread, became a staple in every house and to this day is always served at any Lanesville

social event.

By 1930 the granite quarries had failed. This prompted a third chapter in the history of the Lanesville neighborhood.

The abandoned quarry pits quickly filled with water from springs and after one hundred years of quarrying the scarred landscape began to recover leaving lovely bodies of water scattered throughout the woodlands. It didn’t take long for artistic visitors to recognize the great beauty of the recovering landscape and the word spread. Soon there were notable people from the art world building their homes and studios taking up residence around or near the quarries.

Walker Hancock, whose statue of Abraham Lincoln can be seen at the National Cathedral in Washington. Hancock was recently revealed to have been a leader of the Monument Men recovering works of art in Europe after WW11 much to the surprise of the neighbors, most of whom knew nothing about this chapter in the life of a modest but great man.

Next to arrive was Paul Manship, perhaps the most notable of all. Who has not seen, at least on television, his famous statue of Prometheus at Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, NY? Manship was able to acquire many acres of quarry property which included two large and beautiful water-filled quarries. This was 1944 in the midst of the war and building materials were hard to come by. Manship solved this problem by buying a house that was going to be torn down anyway. He turned to his friend from New York, Eric Gugler, who came to Lanesville to help. Gugler had been Franklin Roosevelt’s choice of architect in the restoration of the West Wing and the Oval Office at the White House. Together, Manship and Gugler, conceived, planned and executed the development of Manship’s home and studio.

First they removed the Civil War period house in Pigeon Cove, and with interesting additions recreated and enlarged the old house on the edge of one quarry. Beautiful French paneling previously purchased by Manship in Paris was installed in the new/old house.

When the construction of the house was well in hand attention turned to a studio for Paul Manship. Here again, with Gugler’s guidance, Manship purchased an 1856 large ox barn that was left over from the quarry days when oxen did the work before the introduction of trucks. The ox barn was re-erected not far at all from the house but overlooking the second quarry. Paul Manship with guidance from Gugler had created an important landmark in the community.

Over the next few years a gazebo was erected surrounded by espaliered trees. A huge grape arbor was created with stout uprights that were originally the tall derricks that towered over the quarries and could

be seen on the horizon in several directions. Other areas were designated for statuary and flower gardens. The famous statue of the Three Bears was previously on the Manship property and children, including my own, would walk up a path to play around the Three Bears. Those three bears are now in the Metropolitan Museum in New York.

A landmark property had been created and the scarred land surrounding the quarry pits had become very beautiful places with nature and the Atlantic Ocean vying for attention on all sides and in every direction.

The Manships have all passed on and there is a move to carry out the wishes of some of the Manship. It was especially the wish of Margaret Manship that this spacious property be utilized to advance the careers of a new generation of artists.

This neighborhood has been part of my life for my entire life. At a young age I remember when the Manships began to build. Many of the workmen were neighbors. At that time I was here in the summer on vacation. Later my family purchased a house nearby for a second home. It is now my primary residence. I have known the Manship property, the neighborhood and the community for my entire life.

In addition to being a neighbor I am also the author of “Antique Houses of Gloucester” History Press, 2007. I have spent my entire adult life dealing with preservation issues. I am on the Gloucester Historic District Commission and spent many years teaching classes for Realtors in New England Architecture. I have restored antique houses in Newburyport and Ipswich and as an old house broker have been involved in the sale of many of the first period houses in Essex County. My entire adult life has revolved around preservation. I have an online blog; Antique Houses of Cape Ann and Beyond.

Everything possible needs to be done to give recognition to this property.

I can enthusiastically recommend this unique property to you without hesitation.

Yours truly,

Prudence Paine Fish

February 6, 2017

1144 Washington Street, Prudence Fish’s house across from the Manship property, a house that Pru discovered was built by the same person as the Civil War period house in Pigeon Cove that provided the building materials for the Manship residence.