Despite Efforts to Save It, a Beloved Pink House in Massachusetts Will Be Razed
The New York Times
Gov. Maura Healey, lamenting the decision, called the house “a special part of the history, culture and fabric” of the coastal region north of Boston.
A battered pink house on the coast of Massachusetts, beloved by generations of artists and romantics, will be torn down by the federal government in March, ending a yearslong fight to save it.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which owns the house, confirmed the plan on Friday. It came four months after Gov. Maura Healey intervened to try and save the house last fall, hours before it was to be demolished. Talks between state and federal officials followed, but no plan emerged to preserve the home in Newbury, Mass.
In a statement, Fish and Wildlife said the demolition would take place by March 31. The house sits at the edge of a wildlife refuge, and the timing, the statement said, is meant “to coincide with the return of an estimated 300 migratory bird species” to the refuge for the spring and summer.
“After a thorough and collaborative effort among all parties, relocation of the structure ultimately could not be accomplished,” the statement said. “The building is currently in a deteriorated state and poses risks to refuge staff, wildlife and the adjacent salt marsh.”
The federal agency acquired the structure, known as the Pink House, in 2011, when it bought nine surrounding acres from the home’s last private owner. Fish and Wildlife officials previously said that the 99-year-old house had attracted vandals and required costly upkeep, sitting in an active flood zone.
Ms. Healey lamented the decision in a statement on Friday, calling the house “a beloved fixture” and “a special part of the history, culture and fabric” of the coastal region north of Boston.
