Abbott Lowell Cummings and the Preservation of New England

This interview discusses Abbott Lowell Cummings' life and work as a public historian, focusing in particular on his long career at the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (now Historic New England). It deals with the early history of SPNEA under William Sumner Appleton and Bertram K. Little, but focuses particularly on the post-1955 development of the organization after Cummings' arrival and on the refinement of SPNEA's collection of historical buildings through deaccessioning and the establishment of increasingly professionalized standards for preservation, conservation, and interpretation. It also discusses important preservation battles in Boston, such as the fight to preserve the West End from urban renewal and the battle over whether to tear down Victorian architecture on Beacon Hill.