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| Feature |
From Hearth To Heritage
Patricia Eakins
10/01/2005
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Unfortunately, the Lewis family’s fortune has
dwindled since the days of the Lewis State Bank. “In recent years,” Van says,
“we haven’t been much on capitalism or capital—too interested in trying to save
the world.” Although the institute has gained nonprofit status, it has not yet
attracted substantial gifts.
 | YALE TURNED down the Gruber gift, however, because the
university could not
afford to maintain the property.
Photography by Tsar Fedorsky |
Scherubel advises owners of historic properties
to proceed cautiously when deciding whether to convert them from private to
public use. Prior to investing any substantial capital, they should create a
feasibility study—as they would with any entrepreneurial venture—detailing what
public uses might be effective in supplementing the endowment to maintain the
house.
Scherubel recommends hiring a consultant conversant with the unique
use issues of historic properties; in some cases, grants are available to the
owner to fund these complex studies. Preservation organizations, such as the
Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, try to help families find funding to
supplement an endowment.
At the same time, the conservancy supports the
guidelines promulgated by the Secretary of the Interior for historic properties,
which stress that the best use for any historic property is its originally
intended use. Should the Lewis family decide to sell Spring House—a question
under consideration—the conservancy suggests that the transfer to a new owner be
made conditional on the acceptance of a preservation easement, recorded with the
deed to the property. Such an easement constitutes a binding agreement between
the owner of a particular piece of property and a qualified preservation
organization; it stipulates that the structure cannot be razed and must be
maintained in its historic condition and character in perpetuity.
May Gruber, who at 93 remains an active arts patron and philanthropist in the
old mill town of Manchester, N.H., has worked hard to turn her home into a
public legacy as a music school. The house has long been a showcase for the
cultural interests of May and her second husband, Sam Gruber, who died in 1996.
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