Old State House Hosts Program On Moses Gulesian

Indeed, Don Tellalian found that a large section of the book dealt with Turkey and the Armenian massacres. He found that on only one page in the book, page 887, the corner turned was down deliberately, and this section concerned, among other things attacks in Marash, Gulesian’s hometown. He concluded that it must have been Gulesian who placed the red book into the time capsule.

Stephen Kurkjian, prizewinning reporter for more than 45 years at the Boston Globe and winner of three Pulitzer Prizes, represented NAASR as a longtime board member on the program. He spoke of the pride Armenians felt to see the Armenian flag flying at full mast in front of the State House during the visit of Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan the week prior to the Gulesian event. He felt this was a turning point for Armenians like himself, who, he said, “would have to say who we were…we had to say that every time, time and again at every class, at every school we went to, and explain ourselves.”

Then came the extraordinarily quick removal of a defamatory billboard only a few blocks from the Old State House and Armenian Heritage Park, placed to cast doubt on the Armenian Genocide, through rapid action by friends of the Armenians in Boston as well as Armenians themselves. He said that this was in due to “all of those people who we have touched and told our story for fifty years, and told them who we were, and told them the pride we felt, the Moses Gulesians, the Mugar family, the Nubar Afeyans, for the Armenians back in the 19th century all the way up to the Armenians here in the 21st century.” Finally, this evening came about to commemorate Gulesian, showing that the way Armenians played an important role in Bostonian society even over a century ago was again being recognized by Boston society.

Kurkjian concluded, “Our story has finally been heard and reckoned with, and it is the proudest moment for me, as I hope it is for you, that we are here tonight, together, brothers and sisters of Hayastan, brothers and sisters of old historic Armenia and new Armenia, and Armenia here in the Old State House.”

The audience was then invited to go look at a display of the time capsule and its contents in the room next door. Each visitor received a specially prepared program booklet with five articles about the Old State House and Gulesian.

The audience itself in some ways was as interesting as the program, though its size was limited by code restrictions and space limitations to 75 people. A number of the guests had direct connections to Gulesian. Donald Tellalian, who played an important role in restoration of the Old State House, declared afterwards: “We are so pleased that the Bostonian Society in collaboration with NAASR hosted the evening at the Old State House, bringing together extended Gulesian family from New York, Vermont and Maine, and others.”

One of these guests was Adrienne Richardson, whose great-grandfather was Moses Gulesian’s brother Joseph. The Richardsons have inherited interesting documents concerning the Gulesians, including a property list of the Gulesian family from Marash, and an oil painting by Armand Ishlemeji. The latter, given to them by the wife of the architect Dudley S. Gulesian, is thought to be a portrait of Moses (see accompanying image), but the family is looking for confirmation of this.

There were non-Armenians present whose lives had been touched by Gulesian too. Cameron Peters, chief financial officer of 24M Technologies, Inc., related during the reception for the event that his lithium-ion battery startup company moved into an old building at 130 Brookline Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology had bought and refurbished. On the door was written Gulesian’s name. The building was probably initially a workshop garage in the 1920s. Gulesian lost the building to foreclosure during the Depression.

Peters grew interested in the history of the building and Gulesian, and prepared a PowerPoint presentation for the 55 employees of his company. Peters said that among other things Gulesian erected the first electric street lighting along Huntington Avenue in Boston and the first parking garage in Boston.

Dr. Jack Keverian, Professor Emeritus of Drexel University (and brother of the late Speaker of the House of Massachusetts) and his wife Dorothy, Sheriff Peter Koutoujian, members of the Board of Directors of the Bostonian Society and NAASR, and representatives of the Tekeyan Cultural Association were part of the audience that evening.

After the event, Sarah Ignatius, executive director of NAASR, declared: “Part of what was so special for us was partnering with the Bostonian Society in a new setting and talking about how Armenian immigrants had been crucial to Boston’s own history and preservation. We hope to follow up with other Armenians who similarly have played a strong role in the development of Boston’s history.”