1 Brown St - C of A application - restore Bray House R,E
Salem Historical Commissiona 212018
DEPT. OF P!_A'NI.�;0.
120 WASHINGTON STREET,SALEM,MA 01970 COMMUNITY DEVGLI)PM�itaT
(978)745-9595 EXT. 311 FAX(978)740-0404
APPLICATION FOR A CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
Pursuant to the Historic District's Act (M.G.L. Chapter 40C) and the Salem Historical Commission Ordinance,
application is hereby made for issuance of a Certificate of Appropriateness for:
Construction Moving Restoration Alteration
Demolition Painting Sign Other
as described below.
District: Washington Square Original Building Construction Date,if known: c 1760
Address of Property: 1 Brown St
Name of Record Owner(s): Peabody Essex Museum
Description of Work Proposed
(Please include required scale drawings,paint chips, catalog cuts and/or samples of material proposed, where applicable.)
The scope of the restoration of the Bray House is described in detail in the attached narrative....
Name of Applicant: Peabody Essex Museum X Owner _Contractor Tenant
_Other
Tel.#: 978-745-9500 E-mail address: robert monk r� em.or T
Certificate should be mailed : Robert Monk
Mailing address: 161 Essex St City: Salem State: MA Zip: 01970
All applications must include three to four 35 mm photographs
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I'.". Premcrvation 6roup
P.O. Box 8 Cape Neddick, ME 03902-0008
Restoration of the Daniel Bray House
November 20, 2018
The Peabody-Essex Museum proposes to return the Daniel Bray House to its
appearance c. 1806. This decision is based on a thorough forensic study conducted
by Finch and Rose,historic preservation consultants,in 2011-2013.This study
revealed the following:
• Though the house was built in 1766,very little can be determined about its
appearance from that time.Virtually no interior or exterior finish materials
survive from that time, and it appears that only the frame and sheathing are
present from the building's first iteration.
• Much data survives for its 1806 appearance,when the building underwent
extensive renovation and expansion. The exterior can be returned to its 1806
appearance with a high degree of accuracy. Only the front entrance requires
conjecture, and the planned entrance design is based directly on the only
near-duplicate of the Bray house in Salem,located at 16 Cambridge Street.
• The building cannot be accurately restored to its appearance when used as a
store in the mid to late twentieth century because during that time period it
was a very fluid structure with many other changes taking place as owners
and tenants changed over time. It is difficult to impossible to create a target
date restoration that can be justified with the interior changes that took place
on a frequent basis during this part of the building's history. Further,the
current store fagade does not adequately support the second floor portion of
the structure, and preserving its current appearance will prevent making
structural repairs that are critical to the building's long-term preservation.
Returning the building to its c. 1806 appearance will involve removal of the
deteriorated mid-twentieth-century store windows,replacing structurally
critical framing removed in the twentieth century, and restoring a historically
accurate front entrance and windows. The center chimney will be rebuilt,and a
historically appropriate wooden roof covering will be installed.All surviving
original exterior elements (window sashes,trims, corner boards and cornice)
will be conserved rather than replaced.
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Daniel Bray House,current conditions,showing deteriorated first-floor
store-front elements to be removed.
1. Windows and Door
The missing two windows at the first-floor level on the street elevation will be
replicated,copying the construction details and decorative moldings of surviving
original examples,and will be placed in their original locations according to clear
physical evidence.
There is no evidence for the appearance of the original front entrance. Only the
stud pockets that indicate its width and position on the fagade survive later
renovations.We propose to copy the front entrance architrave on a house
located at 16 Cambridge St,Salem.This building is essentially duplicative of the
Bray house in its age,form and stylistic details,though the entrance is located on
the right rather than the left.The door architrave to this house is original,but the
door itself was altered in the late nineteenth century to an inset type.We
propose copying the architrave,but placing a historically-accurate six-panel
door in the original outward position.This will be a salvaged period door of
appropriate design if one can be located.Alternatively, one of the correct design
will be fabricated by a restoration carpenter.
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Daniel Bray House,digital facade reconstruction based on physical
evidence and replicated details from 16 Cambridge Street.
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16 Cambridge Street,Salem,showing original proportions,
fenestration and front entrance.
Details of front entrance,16 Cambridge Street.
2. Clapboard Siding and Corner Boards
Much of the exterior clapboard siding has already been replaced on the south,
east and west elevations. It was fabricated from vertical-grain eastern white pine
with skived joints, replicating surviving original material on the front elevation
at the second-floor level. Clapboards meeting these standards will be applied to
the first floor of the front elevation and remaining unfinished areas elsewhere.
The corner boards are missing on the first floor of the front elevation. These will
be replaced in-kind and grafted into the surviving original sections at second-
floor level.
3. Chimney
The chimney will be reconstructed on its surviving original brick arch in the
basement. Interior fireplaces will be based on physical evidence and surviving
examples elsewhere in Salem. The chimney will penetrate the roof with the same
dimensions of the original,based on physical evidence. Its height and corbel
design will be based further on the surviving original chimney at 16 Cambridge
Street. It will be constructed of salvaged historic brick laid in lime mortar with
workmanship matching other chimneys in Salem from the period.
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Bird's-eye view of 16 Cambridge Street,showing the original chimney.
4. Roof Covering
The existing asphalt roof will be removed and replaced with a historically
appropriate wooden shingle roof. This will involve some in-kind replacement of
failing roof purlins and sheathing. The roof shingles will be Alaskan yellow cedar
no more than 6"wide and installed at a 5" reveal to the weather,following
historical practices.Alaskan yellow cedar best replicates the appearance and
performance of native Atlantic white cedar,which is now largely unobtainable at
a high grade.
Detail of Alaskan yellow cedar roof shingles,proposed for the Bray House restoration.
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