Title
Over the River
Grandfather's House in Medford MA
Wherever you’re celebrating today – at your house, at your grandparents’, at a restaurant – have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Lydia Maria Child, born in Medford in 1802, was an abolitionist, women’s rights activist, writer and Unitarian.
On Thanksgiving we remember her for her well-known poem: Over the River and Through the Wood, originally published as “A Boy’s Thanksgiving Day” in 1844.
Over the river, and through the wood,
To Grandfather’s house we go;
The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh
through the white and drifted snow.
Over the river, and through the wood,
To Grandfather’s house away!
We would not stop for doll or top,
For this is Thanksgiving day…
The house of Lydia’s childhood was a modest house that is now the rear portion of this handsome Greek Revival on South Street in Medford. The addition, with its two-story columns, was constructed about 1839 by ship builder Paul Curtis. The house faces the Mystic River.
The back portion of the house was the original grandfather's house
Medford Election Results
Medford did have an election yesterday but you wouldn’t know it if you went to the city website. No results have been posted. November 2011 Medford election results were available on the Medford Transcript website however:
Mayor McGlynn won a 13th term. Given that his opponent Anthony D’Antonio didn’t seem to be a proponent of the Green Line extension I’m relieved that McGlynn won.
Medford will have one new face on the City Council – Richard Caraviello was elected to the council. Councilor Mark Arena failed to win reelection, falling short by just 37 votes. Incumbents Breanna Lungo-Koehn, Robert Maiocco, Paul Camuso, Frederick Dello Russo, Michael Marks and Robert Penta were all reelected.
Turns out you can get a better sense of the Medford City Council on Youtube than you can on the city website. Search “Medford City Council” on Youtube and you’ll pull up quite the collection of videos, some hilarious, with titles like “Medford City Council – What Year is This?”, “Joe Viglione tells Medford City Council Off” or “Medford City Council Calls for a Battle”. Watch ‘em and weep – or laugh.
By far the most popular Medford City Council video is this one of City Councilor Paul Camuso, titled “Perfect Boston Accent“. It’s been viewed over 650,000 times. Now I have to say – Councilor Camuso’s accent doesn’t really leap out at me. I hear worse (better?!) all the time. See what you think.
Medford MA Real Estate Market – January-October 2011
Medford MA Real Estate Market
Wondering how the real estate market is doing in Medford? So are we, so we decided to pause and take a look at the Medford MA real estate market for January to October 2011.
Last year’s numbers for the same period are in parentheses.
Overall the numbers of properties sold in Medford remained stable though houses took longer to sell and the median price was down. Average days on market increased by more than 25% and the median sales price dipped by 4% .
Quite a few more single family houses sold this year than last but prices were down a bit. The number of single family homes sold in Medford increased by almost 15% but the median price dipped by 3%. On the other hand, approximately 20% fewer multi-family houses sold in 2011 than sold in the same period in 201o but the median price did not budge.
On October 31, 2011 191 properties were listed for sale in Medford. That’s just about the same position we were in last year when 193 properties were on the market on October 31st.
Residential real estate sold in Medford – Jan-Oct 2011:
- 382 properties (376)
- Average days on market = 91 (72)
- Properties sold for an average of 97% of asking price (97%)
- Median price of $336,000 ($347,500)
Medford Single Family Sales – Jan-Oct 2011
- Total sold: 195 (170 )
- Sale prices ranged from $135,000 – $768,500 ($132,000 - $744,000)
- Median price: $348,800 ($360,914)
- Average days on market: 90 (73)
- On average, houses sold for 97% of asking price (97% )
Medford Condo Sales – Jan-Oct 2011
- Total sold: 126 (130)
- Sale prices ranged from $136,000 – $600,000 ($157,500 - $525,000)
- Median price: $286,500 ($294,500)
- Average days on market: 94 (77)
- On average, condos sold for 97% of asking price (97%)
Medford Multi-Family Sales – Jan-Oct 2011
- Total sold: 61 (76)
- Sale prices ranged from $225,000 – $660,000 ($230,000 – $635,000)
- Median price: $415,000 ($415,000)
- Average days on market: 91 (63)
- On average, multi-unit houses sold for 95% of asking price (98% )
SEARCH FOR REAL ESTATE FOR SALE IN MEDFORD MASS
Info about Medford MA real estate market in 2011 (2010) from MLSpin
Richard Pinkham House – Octagon House in Medford
Richard Pinkham House Medford - Octagon House
We were on our way to a brokers’ open house in Medford when I stumbled upon the house at right. I love octagon houses and knew there was an unusual example of one in Medford but I never knew where it was. Turns out it’s the Richard Pinkham House at 24 Brooks Park in Medford.
Richard Pinkham was a house builder and this was his own home. The house’s construction dates from 1850 – 1855. Pinkham purchased the land in 1850 and the house first appears on a map in 1855. Richard Pinkham lived in the house for at least 50 years.
The house is very distinctive - blending elements of three architectural styles: Greek Revival, Italianate and Octagon Mode. What’s most unusual about the house is that the octagonal element is enveloped by the rest of the house with wings or rooms projecting from three sides of the ocatagon. It’s best appreciated in an aerial view.
The Richard Pinkham house was restored and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.
Next door to the house (with a parking lot that straddles the Pinkham house) is this handsome building. It’s a large Federal Colonial style apartment building at 20 Brooks Park. The building was designed by Stirling / Brown Architects of Winchester. It’s a beautiful city building. You really have to look long and hard to realize that it’s only a few years old rather than 150 years old or more. Why can’t more new buildings look so good?
20 Brooks Park Medford MA
I’ve always liked Brooks Park. The loop of the street circles the grassy park of the same name. It’s tucked away but close to Medford Square, just across Main Street from the Royall House. There’s an interesting asssortment of houses of different eras including the house for sale at 13 Brooks Park that was our reason for visiting the neighborhood.
36 Jerome St Medford
36 Jerome St Medford MA
Brand new to the market – 36 Jerome St in Medford MAis sure to please. Located in popular West Medford, 36 Jerome Street is close to the Arlington line and near West Medford Square with the commuter rail to Boston (just one stop away) and the bus to Davis Square.
36 Jerome Street is in move-in condition. Buyers will appreciate the high ceilings, open layout (you can see all the way out to the back yard and deck from the front door!), and gleaming hardwood floors.
Downstairs you’ll find a living room with bay window, formal dining room, a den, and a spacious kitchen with broad expanses of granite counters, a skylight and new sliders to the deck. Outside there are two separate fenced-in yard spaces, a garage, and two side-by-side parking spaces.
There are three bedrooms upstairs. The master bedroom is huge. There’s a full bath both upstairs and downstairs.
36 Jerome Street has a spacious kitchen that opens to a deck
Recent updates include a new energy efficient furnace in 2008, new central air conditioning (2008), and a water heater new this year.
36 Jerome Street, Medford MA 02155 is move-in ready and priced at $429,000. Call Liz at 617-504-1737 for more information or to schedule a visit.
Medford Trees Succumb to Hurricane Irene
Maple Tree Takes Out an SUV as Its Last Act - Hurricane Irene, Medford MA
Medford Trees Take A Hit from Hurricane Irene. My dad and I were checking out this downed tree on West Street in Medford when the policeman told us that “you can’t count the number of trees down in Medford”. We decided to go for a drive around West Medford to see the damage. Check out the Hurricane Irene in Medford slide show below.
The damage caused by Hurricane Irene in Medford certainly could have been much worse. But it was terrible to see so many trees and large branches come down. The winds weren’t as bad as anticipated and from what we observed, in almost every case, the trees that came down were compromised in some way – most with root systems that had been cut for sidewalks, landscaping, or who knows what.
One sad exception was the largest tree we saw – a beautiful tree on Laurel Street that fell across the street towards Hasting Park in West Medford. It had a huge root system that had ripped from the ground. My father guessed that the slightly higher elevation here meant that the wind gusts were just that much stronger.
We were lucky I guess. A more powerful storm than Hurricane Irene would have wreaked havoc in Medford. My dad remembers the trees coming down in the Hurricane of ‘38 in Cambridge. Just minutes after he and his friends went inside, the supermarket sign nearby came flying off, nearly hitting a policeman standing on the corner. Trees went down all over his Cambridgeport neighborhood.
The first house I ever owned had a Hurricane of ‘38 story too. I bought a small book in an antique store called “It Happened Here” about the hurricane in Keene, NH. I was flipping through the pages and there was my house. A tree had crushed the second floor taking out the chimney. The house across the street was pictured too – it had been split in half. Huge numbers of enormous trees came down all over Keene and New England. The lady I bought my house from, Kay Adams, recalled huddling in the pantry with her parents as the hurricane roared. I thought of her more than once today as Irene’s winds whistled for hours.
It pains me to think that an unusual event like today’s storm gives fodder to the tree-haters among us. Many seem to see a damaged vehicle as a bigger deal than the loss of a tree. I’m not suggesting, of course, that unhealthy trees shouldn’t be addressed. But it strikes me that a car or SUV is inherently a lot more dangerous than any tree. We all need to do everything we can to preserve the trees we have and to replenish our all too spotty city tree canopy – if not for us to enjoy – for our neighbors years from now.
Here are more photos of the hurricane damage in Medford MA:
Green Line Extension to Route 16
It's the Red not the Green Line - but too beautiful a photo to resist
There’s a meeting this Wednesday to talk about the possibility of extending the Green Line to Route 16 / Mystic Valley Parkway.
This is the kickoff of a “community visioning process” to discuss the benefits and impacts of the potential Green Line extension to Route 16.
I’m a big proponent of bringing the Green Line to 16 – there’s a dense neighborhood that will be served by a station at Route 16 and it would be a huge loss to only bring the Green Line to Tufts. My fear from early on is that we’d end up with another T line built to serve a college, rather than a neighborhood, a la the Boston College line.
The Green Line extension will improve property values, make transportation so much easier for Hillside, East Arlington, Somerville and West Medford residents, and allow locals to consider going car free. It will improve quality of life for decades to come.
Just think… you’ll be able to hop on the T and head into Boston, take the T to the airport rather than a cab, invite friends and family over to visit even if they don’t drive, tell prospective tenants that “the house is two blocks from the T Station”, etc. $4 a gallon gas – heck, $6 or $8 a gallon for gas – no problem – commute on the T and rent a Zip Car when you want to drive.
The Community Visioning Kick-Off meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2011 from 6 to 8 pm at the Brooks Elementary School, 388 High Street, Medford MA.
Jumbo Cash
Jumbo Cash In Medford
I was surprised to see this Jumbo Cash Accepted banner on the Tasty Gourmet on Boston Ave. I was psyched – I thought Medford had gotten its own alternative currency.
The alternative currency I had heard a lot about was Berkshares. Berkshares is a local currency for the Berkshire region in Western Massachusetts. It’s intended to encourage people to shop locally and works just like cash in over 400 establishments in the Berkshires. It’s a very interesting way to actually see how shopping locally keeps money in the community.
Turns out, however, that Jumbo Cash is simply the Tufts debit card. It’s sort of an expanded meal card. The Jumbo Cash card is now accepted at more than 20 local off-campus stores and restaurants.
Jumbo Cash – convenient but not world changing.
Copyright © 2008 - 2011 Centers And Squares Agent Login Design by Real Estate Tomato Powered by Tomato Real Estate Blogs
