GSA Blog

Design prolonged life of ancient tree, but nature prevails

The curves of the new courthouse in Massachusetts were designed to curl around two ancient trees – a linden and a Copper beech – said to have shaded George Washington hundreds of years earlier when he stopped to rest under them.  

And while the trees have long stood as a symbol of America’s first colonies – we’re talking early 1600s – the beech cannot fight old age and Beech Leaf Disease, which is advancing into central Massachusetts from Ohio. 

The beech is in visible distress. Several branches and leaves have fallen. Despite a decade of GSA working with professional arborists to fertilize, nurture, amend and abate its health, the Fagus sylvatica has shown “low vigor” since 2011. 

“Over the years, every effort was made to protect and preserve this beautiful tree. We remain committed to doing the right thing for all the trees on the courthouse grounds,” said Region 1 Public Buildings Service Commissioner and Acting Regional Administrator Glenn C. Rotondo. 

“GSA recognizes that it has a responsibility to increase the sustainability of the federal government by reducing the negative impact our buildings, products, services, processes and activities have on the environment,” he added.

This past fall, the decision was made to remove the tree this spring—although a date has not yet been set. 

The pair are known locally as the “Citizens of Springfield” for their long witness of the city’s growth and development. Once the beech is removed, GSA will work with stakeholders, landscape architects and/or artists, to select a scheme to preserve the design intent, respond to local climate conditions, and be sensitive to the surviving linden tree and local community.

Inside the courthouse designed by Moshe Safdie and built in 2008, the memory of the trees will live on through Ann Brauer’s quilts, Hills, Fields, River and Two Trees: Scenes from Western Massachusetts, created under GSA’s Art in Architecture program and hanging on site in the Hampden County courtroom. This piece draws on the pair of trees, and uses pattern and color to evoke the trees’ presence at the heart of the Springfield Courthouse.