In 1999, the Old Jail complex in Salem, Massachusetts, was a burned-out hulk of brick. Plywood covered window holes where glass once hung; debris littered the grounds. To most, the early 19thcentury building begged for a wrecking ball. In a city known for its ghosts, it was perfect lodging for tourists from the netherworld.
For Barbara Cleary this blot on the landscape was a piece of the past that needed to be saved. And as president of Historic Salem Inc., she made the old jail her business. Saved from demolition, it will be rehabbed into condominiums and shops.
Cleary considers the jail the biggest success of her presidency. Constructed between 1811-1813, it was the most endangered site in the seaside city.
“We turned an abandoned eyesore into an example of how a city pulls together to reuse a historic structure, creating new income streams in the process,” says Cleary. She is quick to acknowledge preservation of this magnitude is a team effort; Historic Salem worked with the mayor, lawyers, developers, and residents to give new life to the Old Jail.
There are few better suited than Cleary to the job. Cleary is gifted in skillfully guiding such large-scale collaboration, contributing to a model for architectural preservation that can be used by others. The highly focused principal of Cleary Advisors is a consultant offering specialized financial services for real estate developers.
Cleary says she is a one-stop shop for investors who want to build or rehab buildings. “I simplify the complicated finance and tax issues that clients face when dealing with real estate,” she explains. She works on both commercial and nonprofit projects, such as assisted living and nursing home construction, which entails complex permitting and financial arrangements. Cleary says she is “one of a handful of people in this country focusing on the intricacies of the financial side of the real estate investment business.”
Cleary’s career was jump-started in a UMass Amherst classroom. “History professor Jack Tager [now retired] really inspired me,” says Cleary. An honors history major, she went on to earn a master’s in art history and museum practice from the University of Michigan. Then she landed a job with the preservation powerhouse Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (SPNEA, now called Historic New England) in Boston. “I learned a lot about old buildings at SPNEA during the organization’s ‘golden age,’” says Cleary.
Later, Cleary gained practical experience developing real estate for the Middletown Preservation Trust in Connecticut, and financial savvy while at the McCauley Institute in Washington, D.C., a Roman Catholic think tank focused on matching women and children with affordable housing.
Since 2001, she’s been the hands-on president of Historic Salem, Inc. The community preservation organization was founded in 1944 to preserve the city’s historic fabric during a period of intense urban renewal. Her “day job” and work for Historic Salem dovetail neatly. “They are both about what happens to buildings and both involve work with lawyers, investors, and other stakeholders,” she says.
“One of our board’s major responsibilities is to be primary design reviewer for the architectural changes taking place throughout the city. We spend evenings in zoning meetings poring over the minute details of proposed changes to buildings that have historical, architectural, or cultural merit. This provides great benefits for property owners, and for the city in general, and that is what Historic Salem is about.”
In the 18th and 19th centuries, Salem—founded in 1626—was an active seaport and the center of the highly profitable trade with China. Ships captained by the scions of old New England families—Pingrees, Derbys, and Bowditches—sailed to the Orient to acquire tea, silk, and ceramics from merchants in the hongs (or trading companies) in Canton and other Chinese ports.
In the 21st century, Salem is a decidedly eclectic community, still defined by the sea, and undergoing gentrification. A convenient commute to Boston by car or train and some of the most attractive and affordable historic housing stock on the North Shore, it is no wonder that the city wins rave reviews as one of the top places to live in Massachusetts.
Historic Salem is committed to ensuring a positive future for the 40,000 people who live in the city’s unique and diverse neighborhoods, says Cleary. “We advocate for all, not only for the historic neighborhoods.”
Cleary and Historic Salem are working at a critical juncture. Like many New England cities, Salem wrestles with preserving the past—which includes the pros and cons of its international reputation as America’s Witch City—while creating new opportunities to strengthen its economy.
Cleary hopes to work her brand of magic on downtown Salem’s courthouse complex. Current plans call for the abandonment of the 1841 Greek Revival County Courthouse—one of the most significant surviving civic buildings in New England—and the Superior Court (1862), whose later renovations were inspired by well-known Boston architect Henry Hobson Richardson. Although the location of a new courthouse is yet to be determined, the Commonwealth could mothball or, worse, demolish the buildings.
Neither is an acceptable solution to Barbara Cleary.
“Historic Salem, with the Massachusetts Historical Commission, is centrally involved in what becomes of these architecturally important buildings,” she says. “This is about providing modern and accessible municipal services for residents while preserving the heritage of our city.” Cleary knows firsthand it takes collaboration, patience, and perseverance to achieve this delicate balance. But it’s worth it to keep alive what’s special about her hometown.
“We are a city where people still walk downtown. We’re close to Boston, with great restaurants and cultural institutions. We have a variety of interesting neighborhoods, and Salem is right on the sea,” says Cleary. In so many ways Salem has it all, says Cleary, “but we have to be careful. We have to make certain to balance preservation with the realities of the present and the future.”
