Superintendent Terry Savage Retires

Superintendent Terry Savage retired on August 1st after having served in the National Park Service for 42 years and as the superintendent of Boston National Historical Park and Boston African American National Historic Site since November, 2000.

“I want to let you know that I will be moving on to chapter two,” Savage said.  “I believe it will include lots of leisure and some other stuff like consulting, teaching, furniture making, painting, traveling and the like, all of which I have done previously and would like to do more of.”

During his tenure, Savage oversaw the $3.7 million restoration and rehabilitation of the Bunker Hill Monument National Historic Site, including the grand opening of a former Boston branch library into a multipurpose museum and visitor center.

In July, 2008, Savage opened a new $3.3 million visitor center in Building 5 in the Charlestown Navy Yard. The 8500-square-foot facility features exhibits on the history of the Charlestown Navy Yard and has a new bookstore, a new theater and a new orientation film.

Under his watch, extensive restoration and rehabilitation work was completed on Building I, the Commandant’s House, Building 125, and Building 24 in the navy yard. Nearly $1 million was expended on the African Meeting House rehabilitation project, and $700,000 went toward the restoration of the Old State House. In addition, planning for the project to rehabilitate the market floors of Faneuil Hall is well underway. This $7 million project will create an expanded visitor orientation center and transportation hub at Faneuil Hall with a visitor desk, interpretive exhibits, an audio visual orientation program, public restrooms, and a bookstore.

Prior to serving as the third superintendent of Boston National Historical Park and Boston African American National Historic Site, Savage served as the superintendent of the National Park Service Boston Support Office at 15 State Street, where he provided professional leadership and management to teams that provide consultation and advisory services to parks and partners throughout the Northeast.

Working closely with the Congress and its representatives, Savage was directly involved with the creation and designation of twelve new NPS units, including Golden Gate National Recreation Area in San Francisco; Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site in Brookline, Massachusetts; and most recently Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park in Woodstock, Vermont, and the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area.