City officials in Pittsfield are renewing efforts to save the historic William Russell Allen House, pictured here in 1984, as it was listed among Massachusetts’ Most Endangered Historic Resources for 2025.

PITTSFIELD — The fate of one of Pittsfield’s most treasured architectural landmarks is hanging in the balance as efforts intensify to save the William Russell Allen House.

The 1886 Queen Anne–style mansion was named one of Massachusetts’ Most Endangered Historic Resources for 2025 by Preservation Massachusetts on Wednesday, recognizing both its architectural significance and its state of disrepair. The announcement comes as city officials renew their efforts to restore and repurpose the historic property.

“It's pretty emblematic of Pittsfield, and the old residential districts that used to exist on East Street,” City Planner Kevin Rayner said during Monday’s Community Preservation Committee meeting. “The historic commission really wants to see this building preserved and protected. It's a long road, and it's been a battle that's been fought for almost 50 years now.”

The Pittsfield Historical Commission nominated the landmark for the designation to shed light on its historical significance and the necessity of these preservation efforts statewide.

William Russell Allen bought the property at 359 East St. for $12,000 in 1882, then hired Pittsfield architect H. Neil Wilson to build a 13,000-square-foot summer house three years later.

Fine details of the William Russell Allen house included stained glass windows, a light-drenched staircase and 10 fireplaces.

Our photos make great mticle: May 11, 1990.ementos and gifts. Visit our SmugMug gallery to purchase these photos in a variety of sizes and formats.

Allen descended from one of Pittsfield’s most prominent families: his great-grandfather, the Rev. Thomas Allen, was the city’s first congregational minister, and his father, Thomas Allen, commissioned the Berkshire Athenaeum.

The house, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has been owned by the state’s Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance since 1978. In recent years, the division has expressed support for transferring the property to a private buyer who could redevelop it for a productive use while preserving its historic character, Rayner said.

Fine details of the William Russell Allen house include stained glass windows, a light-drenched staircase and 10 fireplaces.

That goal took a step forward in August when a new feasibility study — funded by more than $33,000 in Community Preservation Act funds, with the rest coming from the Berkshire Historical Society — began updating a 2003 assessment. Consultants have since examined the property and taken hundreds of photographs to document its current condition.

Urgency is mounting, Rayner emphasized.

“The porch is starting to kind of heave in. It's falling in a little bit. And what's happening is it's actually pulling on the main structure,” he said. “So that's … a major problem that needs to be addressed.”

One of the 10 fireplaces in the William Russell Allen house on East Street.

Water damage and general deterioration threaten the house’s “intricate” carved woodwork, which, against all odds, remains “in remarkably good shape,” Rayner said.

Fine details of the William Russell Allen house include stained glass windows, a light-drenched staircase and 10 fireplaces.

Our photos make great mementos and gifts. Visit our SmugMug gallery to purchase these photos in a variety of sizes and formats.

A draft of the new feasibility study is expected in January. It will outline the most critical repairs and estimated costs, as well as potential future uses for the building — from cultural or educational spaces to mixed-use redevelopment.

“We need to find that use for the Russell Allen house that will incentivize somebody who will want to maintain it,” Rayner said. “So that's kind of the long-term guide of how we get this place back into operation and keep it long term.”

The final study report is anticipated to be completed by spring 2026.