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Council rejects landmarking of Nathaniel Stickney House after commission report and public testimony
Summary
The City Council voted down a Historic Commission recommendation to landmark 45 Mount Auburn Street, a building long used as the Democracy Center; commissioners sought authority to shape the massing of redevelopment to protect view corridors, while many speakers urged protection of civic history.
The City Council declined Jan. 26 to adopt the Historic Commission’s final landmark designation report for the Nathaniel Stickney House (45 Mount Auburn Street), the 19th‑century building that served for decades as the Democracy Center.
Historic Commission Director Charlie Sullivan appeared to explain the commission’s choice: the designation was crafted to preserve exterior features and to recapture commission jurisdiction over size and shape — areas reduced by earlier code changes — so the commission could shape the massing of any adjacent redevelopment and protect distant view corridors (notably toward St. Paul’s Church). Sullivan said the designation was written to allow redevelopment while shaping a new tower’s massing so it would not inappropriately encroach on the relocated preserved house.
Public speakers were split. Supporters — including former Democracy Center users and community organizers — emphasized the building’s role as an affordable civic gathering place for social‑justice organizing and urged councilors to use preservation tools to protect that legacy. Opponents, including the property’s nonprofit stewards and some councilors, argued the property already sits in a conservation district, that landmarking would add cost and complexity and would not guarantee community use of interior space, and that the owners’ redevelopment plans should proceed.
The council voted against adoption of the final report by 7–2 (affirmative: Councilors Al Zubay and Zusi; negative: majority of council), so the Historic Commission’s landmark recommendation was not adopted.
What this means: Because the vote failed, the commission’s special designation did not take effect. The site remains subject to the existing Harvard Square conservation district and applicable zoning; the owner and the commission may continue discussions about redevelopment and preservation measures outside of formal designation.
