26 May 2026 Partner in Preservation: Doug Manley, Principal, Spencer Preservation Group
May is National Preservation Month which means there is no better time than now to spotlight our latest Partner in Preservation: Spencer Preservation Group! Here, Doug Manley, Principal of Architecture, shares what preservation means to the Spencer Preservation Group and why they’ve partnered with HBI to preserve our shared cultural heritage across Boston. Most recently, Doug has overseen restoration of the 1901 St. Luke’s Chapel on the campus of St. John St. James Ionic Hall in Roxbury, that was recently awarded the Paul & Niki Tsongas Preservation Award.
1.) What does preservation mean to your organization and your commitment to Boston?
At Spencer Preservation Group, our work is intentionally focused on the preservation of historic buildings and all of the subsets that entails – repair, restoration, rehabilitation, adaptive re-use, with the occasional addition to an historic property. With that as our mission, Boston is a city that never seems to run out of buildings that need some attention. The majority of our clients are both blessed and cursed to be stewards of important historic buildings. They own buildings that are significant within Boston’s historic fabric, while being challenged to maintain their vibrancy – both physically and programmatically. Assembling the resources necessary to accomplish preservation goals is always a challenge for our clients, and we like to think that our practice assists in identifying and securing resources, hand-in-hand with our main focus of providing technical expertise.
2.) How does working with Historic Boston Inc. (HBI) further your own work?
HBI’s mission is in perfect alignment with ours. We find the rejuvenation of at-risk properties to be particularly rewarding and have worked together on projects dating back to HBI’s Steeples Program. As long as there is a need, we hope to be called upon as a partner. We truly believe that preservation enriches our city.
See Doug’s recently completed project, St. Luke’s Chapel, here!