Tom Arnold gave us a ring last week to see if we would do an update on the Tuttle House, a home that was relocated last year from its Pleasant Street address to Gabby Lane in the South End. Tom said the house had been empty for quite some time and wondered what was going on with it.
Tom, The Revelator is on it. Soon we will enlighten you with our research.
But first, we have to look back – back to 1935, when Donald Tuttle purchased the home, at 257 Pleasant St. Ten years prior to moving into the Cape, Don took the newly created position of executive secretary of the State Publicity Bureau. The bureau was in charge of advertising the state's amenities to draw more tourists. The bureau was replaced in 1931 by the State Development Commission. Don became the executive director of the commission and remained in the position until his death in 1945. During that time, Don managed to do plenty of pioneering work in the growing travel and tourism business.
Don was best known for his work on “The New Hampshire Troubadour,” first published in 1931. According to a historic property documentation by Liz Hengen and Sarah Hofe, “He developed it into a sought-after booklet with a circulation of 40,000. During World War II, the state appropriated funds to mail it to every New Hampshire serviceman.” The Troubadour lost its state appropriation in 1951, six years after Don's death, and was no longer published.
Don also spent much of his time promoting winter sports in New Hampshire. In Don's obituary in the New York Times, it was noted “long before skiing reached its present popularity and particularly during the sport's early days, it was Don who carried the state's interest in recreation to the fore. Principally through his writings as director of publicity since 1925, did the national facilities of New Hampshire as a skiing center become widely known.” The obituary added that at the time of Don's death, skiing had become 80 percent of the state's winter business.
And so, the little house at 257 Pleasant St. landed on the National Register of Historic Places. The story might have ended happily there, had it not been for Langley Parkway, the planned road that would connect Clinton and Pleasant streets. The Tuttle house, now occupied by Don's son, Morton, and his wife, Carolyn, was in the way of construction and would need to be moved.
The Tuttles weren't too keen on that idea, and they became part of a group that submitted a binder full of comments and expert testimony objecting to the city's application for a state wetlands permit. They argued that the parkway project violated the Clean Water Act and the Environmental Protection Act and needlessly disrupted wildlife and outdoor recreational areas. The city, for its part, felt the parkway was needed to break up traffic jams and allow easier access for ambulances.
In 2002, the city ended a search spanning several years to find a suitable lot to relocate the Tuttle House. The lot at 12 Gabby Lane was purchased for $95,000 from our friend Tom, the reason you're reading this article. (Tom originally didn't want to sell the land, but in the end, he felt it was his civic duty. He's a bit saddened to see the house now sitting empty and evidently falling into a bit of disrepair – he said he used to find pieces of the house in his yard when he lived near the home.)
Like all things associated with the parkway, progress on relocating the Tuttles stalled – until the city moved to seize the home by eminent domain in 2007. Early Sunday morning, July 29, 2007, the city moved the home to its new Gabby Lane lot. It took crews four hours to make the move, which required temporarily closing down Clinton and South streets and part of I-89.
Sadly, Carolyn Tuttle passed away at Concord Hospital just two days prior, the day of her and Morton's 61st wedding anniversary. Morton, who opted not to move back into the home, passed away this year, on Sunday, Nov. 16.
Okay, Tom, now we can get to your question. What's become of this house, with its period of happy history (go travel and tourism!), then its not-so-happy history (a couple forced to relocate late in life), and now current state of emptiness? For the answer to that question, we turned to Carlos Baia, deputy city manager for development for the city of Concord. Carlos said the city issued a request for proposals for anyone interested in purchasing the home a few months ago. There was one bid, but those folks ended up purchasing a different home, and the bid was dropped. The house will go on the market in the next month or so, to be sold through a real estate broker.
The purchaser of the home, Carlos noted, will have to be aware of some restrictions, since the home is on the National Register of Historic Places, but otherwise, the deal will go down like any other real estate transaction.
We hope that answers your question, Tom, and sorry for not warning you to jump to the bottom of the article for your answer, but a review is never a bad thing, right Tom?
Tom? Are you still with us?
Well, when Tom wakes up, we're sure he'll appreciate the extra time we spent researching.
Got a questions for the great Revelator? Send it to news@theconcordinsider.com or mail your query to The Concord Insider, P.O. Box 1177, Concord NH 03302-1177.
