Roger S. Webb

Roger S. Webb, a pioneer in preservation real estate development in Boston, died peacefully in the care of hospice and his three daughters Rebecca, Mary and Ruth on June 10, 2019. He lived a long healthy life before dying at the age of 84. Rogers marriage to Anne Van Vleck, an art history major at Smith College, sparked his interest in historic architecture, the field which was to become his lifelong career and passion. In 1963 Roger established Restoration and Relocation Enterprises (RARE) a historic preservation contractor engaged in adaptive building reuse and relocation. Among the projects he completed were the relocation of a Greek Revival style chapel to the Belmont Hill School and the relocation of numerous structures threatened with demolition to locations in Cambridge, Brookline and Belmont. In 1966 Roger established the Architectural Heritage Foundation to jointly conduct a feasibility study for the reuse of the Quincy Markets in Boston. That feasibility study created the framework for the subsequent redevelopment of the markets by the Rouse Company into what later came to be known as the Faneuil Hall Marketplace. Rogers signal accomplishment was working with Mayor Kevin White to preserve the recently vacated Boston City Hall building on School Street. At the time, little value was seen in historic buildings, with the city in the midst of a sweeping urban renewal movement. The successful rehabilitation of Old City Hall for commercial office use, became a model for other preservation efforts and helped to ignite interest in historic preservation locally and nationally. Roger later helped to established the non-profit revolving fund Architectural Conservation Trust, which evolved into Preservation Massachusetts, the state-wide advocacy group for historic preservation. Roger was born to Eleanor Miller and Nathaniel Conant Webb in 1934 in Montclair, NJ, the youngest of four siblings. After attending Montclair Academy and The Choate School, he graduated from Harvard College in1958 and Harvard Business School in 1961. He served in the U. S. Army from 1954 to 1956 in Fort Bliss Texas. A major accomplishment in his younger years was was climbing the Matterhorn with his brother Bob during a summer trip to Europe. Rogers love of family and friends pervaded every activity and was the generator of numerous group trips and adventures involving multiple families and generations. Group sailing expeditions to Maine or the Caribbean were a favorite, particularly if they included dancing to a steel drum band. At any family wedding, Roger was often the last to leave the dance floor. In retirement, Roger immersed himself in caring for grandchildren and took every opportunity to connect to the people around him. He continued to enrich his life by taking classes in painting, history and writing. Painting became a passion and he used his lifelong interest in the built environment to create voluminous travel sketches and paintings wherever he went. Roger is survived by his ex-wife Anne Webb, his daughter Rebecca Webb and her husband Christopher Heye of Belmont, his daughter Mary Webb and her husband Sean McDonnell of Cambridge and his daughter Ruth Webb and her husband Matthew Bellows of Cambridge, and his eight grandchildren Peter, Austin, Kate, Margaret, Claire, Anna, Nelson and Roy. He treasured his close relationships with his nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be held for Roger at Friends Meeting at Cambridge, 5 Longfellow Park, Cambridge, MA on July 13 at 4:00pm. For online guestbook please visit deefuneralhome.com.