Compared to cities like Boston or even neighboring Lynn, the Town of Marblehead does not seem very urban. Sure, there are parts of Marblehead where “suburban” is the only word that is appropriate to describe the area: single-family homes with front lawns, backyards, a mailbox with one of those red levers, and maybe even a golden retriever to top it all off. But get closer … [Read more...] about Historic Building of the Week: 221 Washington St.
History
Historic Building of the Week: Waterside Cemetery
In these articles, I usually discuss places where people live or in other ways carry out everyday life. Sometimes, I recount stories of the people who lived in these buildings. But what about places where people do not live, but instead reside after they die? 294 West Shore Drive, Waterside Cemetery, is not as busy as Washington or Tedesco streets, but it holds more … [Read more...] about Historic Building of the Week: Waterside Cemetery
Historic Building of the Week: Brookhouse
There is a psychological theory about names that posits that what we are named can influence what we do with our lives. The theory, called nominative determinism, was popularized in a New Scientist column called “Feedback” in 1994. Examples of nominative determinism include Usain Bolt being a sprinter or former Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales Igor Judge. So if … [Read more...] about Historic Building of the Week: Brookhouse
Historic Building of the Week: 14 Cottage St.
“There was an old woman who lived in a shoe. She had so many children, she didn't know what to do.” Or, that is what Mother Goose and “The Dorling Kindersley Book of Nursery Rhymes” says. Margaret Martin had a lot of kids — six to be exact. She, however, did not live in a shoe. She lived at 14 Cottage St. According to a Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information … [Read more...] about Historic Building of the Week: 14 Cottage St.
Historic Buildings of the Week: The Woodfin houses
They say good things come in threes, but what’s wrong with a pair? The houses at 11 and 13 Sewall St. are not twins, but they look similar. The reason for that is their shared ownership. In a document from the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System (MACRIS), the houses are referred to as the Woodfin houses after Philip Trasher Woodfin, an expressman — a person … [Read more...] about Historic Buildings of the Week: The Woodfin houses