NORTHAMPTON – A roadside marker recognizing the addition of a Ward 3 neighborhood to the National Register of Historic Places was installed at the intersection of Pomeroy Terrace and Bridge Street on Tuesday.
The Pomeroy Terrace Historic District includes Hancock, Hawley and Bridge Streets. The sign was cast in a New York foundry and donated by the William G. Pomeroy Foundation after a grant written by Historic Northampton co-executive director Laurie Sanders. Sanders and Ward 3 councilor Jim Nash, both on hand for the event, said that the federal designation, received in April of 2018, was the result of a decades-long effort by residents including Fred Zimnoch and the late Gerald Budgar.
Budgar, a former president of the Ward 3 Neighborhood Association, died in January. He was able to view the sign when it arrived last year but never saw it in place because construction in the area delayed the installation until now. As Rich Parasiliti of the Northampton DPW secured the sign to its post, one of the spectators said, of Budgar, “He’s looking down and saying, ‘Finally!’”
Kevin Gutting can be reached at kgutting@gazettenet.com.