Work & Home in Somerville

As a Tufts college student, I have lived in the city of Somerville for several semesters now. Until recently, I knew very little about this city and its historical background. Day to day I walk around campus and Davis Square. I merely glance around at the houses and buildings that comprise Somerville without really taking into account the setting which has now become all too familiar to me.

We, as Tufts students, are a part of Somerville's community, even if it is only for the four years in which we receive our education here. As members of this community, I feel it is crucial that we all know a little bit about this cozy enclave in which we are all a part of. The architecture of Somerville is often overlooked yet it has had an important role in the foundation of this city. It has influenced the type of people who have been brought into the city when it was first incorporated in 1842 and continues today to give Somerville a unique and distinct flavor.

According to Carole Zellie, author of "Beyond the Neck: The Architecture and Development of Somerville, MA," over 1,000 buildings in Somerville are considered "architecturally and historically significant." Presently, three-story, multiple family houses dominate the city. Data from the 2000 U.S. Census for Somerville shows that only 31 percent of the city's residents actually own homes in such buildings yet this situation has long been quite functional for the city's economy.

Houses that were built from 1885 to 1910 were constructed primarily for the working class population and with the intention to rent to laborers. This tradition and frame of mind continues to be carried out today in that most of these family houses are rented out by floors to workers, although now increasingly to professionals and students.

The few single-family houses that are still standing today have neo-classical details influenced by the Federal style. There is also a variety of Greek revival, Gothic revival, and early Italianate style. The variety of architectural styles found in Somerville makes this city diverse and characteristic in appearance. Ironically enough, even though brick-making was a major industry in Somerville around the mid-nineteenth century, bricks were not a popular building material for residential construction. Instead, it was the New England wood building tradition that came to define Somerville.

Residential development in Somerville has historically had certain limitations: many buildings were quickly and cheaply constructed, especially during the economic depression of the 1870's. A Somerville Journal June 1882 editorial said that the "poor class of houses" that were built in the poorly drained industrial district of Ward II (now part of southeast Somerville, close to Inman Square) had done serious "material injury" to the city.

The city's industries, including slaughterhouses and brick-makers, were viewed negatively as well, despite the employment and tax revenue they provided. "Industry generally has a tendency to vitiate the atmosphere, to endanger public health, and to keep away from the city a class of people whose presence would be very desirable," according to the same Somerville Journal editorial. Indeed, wealthier Somerville residents continued their gradual migration out of the city throughout the turn of the twentieth century. A public housing project involving the construction of row houses and single-family dwellings for returning World War I veterans, primarily of low income, also contributed to the influx of working and poor residents into Somerville.

Much of Somerville's historical foundation and significance can be related back to the construction and architecture of when this community was first incorporated as a city in 1872. Current residents continue to be mostly of working and middle class and Somerville's houses still accommodate and reflect the population's economic situation. Somerville's homes are a reminder of the working class origins of this city. Next time you find yourself walking through the city, take a moment to appreciate the characteristic architecture that has made this community so distinct.

Donna Hong is a junior majoring in sociology.