2020 Richard H. Driehaus Foundation National Preservation Award Winner: Fowler Clark Epstein Farm
Channel: National Trust for Historic Preservation
Date: 2020-11-19

The Fowler Clark Epstein Farm in Boston, Massachusetts, honored for its innovative adaptive re-use and partnerships, is a rare surviving Federal period farmstead that now serves as a residence, greenhouse, space for educational courses, and productive urban farmland. Historic Boston Inc. (HBI) purchased the property in 2015 after it was the subject of litigation between the Epstein estate and the City of Boston over “demolition by neglect.” To develop a natural re-use for the site that satisfied both historic building preservation and contemporary needs for agricultural uses, a symbiotic partnership among four non-profit organizations evolved that brought the best of each’s expertise to the development and construction of this unique enterprise in the Mattapan neighborhood of Boston. HBI, the Urban Farming Institute, the Trust for Public Land, and North Bennet Street School worked together to carry out the transformation of this distressed 18th century farmstead. The result is a creative urban farming solution that proves the preservation field’s value to important community initiatives, such as reducing unemployment, increasing food access, and building new green space

Primary Recipient: Historic Boston Incorporated
Co-recipients: The Urban Farming Institute of Boston; The Trust for Public Land; North Bennet Street School

The 2020 Richard H. Driehaus Foundation National Preservation Awards were presented at PastForward Online 2020.