Demolition Delay

Demo Application: 7 Lauriat Place

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The Medford Historical Commission has received an application for the demolition of the building at 7 Lauriat Place located within the Washington Square neighborhood of East Medford.

Early Innovators! Gold Leaf & Hot Air Ballooning

The building at 7 Lauriat Place was a large “gold-beating,” or gold leaf, workshop run by the Lauriat family. Louis Anselm Lauriat was an innovator of the gold leaf craft in Boston in the early 1800s; he also pursued chemical experimentation, and hydrogen aerial ballooning in cities and towns throughout New England, and as far away as Milwaukee, WI and Memphis, TN! His family moved to Medford and established a number of successful gold leaf workshops here – on Ashland St and Riverside Ave (both c. 1880) where they employed more than 40 men and women in the highly skilled technical labor. The last of the Lauriat gold leaf workshops was built on 4 Lauriat Place, in the late 1890s, with a Lauriat family residence next door at 5 Lauriat Place. Medford’s Lauriat Gold Leaf Workshop, at 7 Lauriat Place, continued the craft for another 30 years until the workshop became a printing business. 

gold beating

Image from the pamphlet “The History of Gold Leaf and its Uses” published by the Boston Gold Leaf manufacturer F.W. Rauskalb, in 1915.

Medford’s Lauriat Gold Leaf Workshop has already been recommended for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Buildings by our architectural historians. The Commission will post updates below during the review process.

7 Lauriat Place MHC Form B
Washington Square Area Form
Click here for the neighborhood overview for East Medford

Legal Advertisement for 7 Lauriat Place
Determination of Significance for City Clerk

Demo Application: 67 Magoun

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The Medford Historical Commission accepted the application for the demolition of the carriage house and barn at 67 Magoun Avenue. The building, and its associated dwelling house, were once “the Medford Hospital,” a private institution that began in the early twentieth century. The c. 1895 Queen Anne buildings are located within the East Medford neighborhood. They were identified as part of a grant from the Massachusetts Historical Commission in 2014.

More info on the property in our Form B.

The building has been determined significant by the Commission. A letter to the clerk has been submitted and can be found here: Clerk’s Letter – 67 Magoun. The legal posting for the meeting can be found here: Legal Posting – 67 Magoun.

Women in Medicine

Dee Morris wrote an excellent article about Abby Rollins, the doctor who operated the Medford Hospital, for the Medford Transcript. The article can be found online or by viewing the PDF file here: Homeopathy and Medford by Dee Morris

[Updated January 2019 – the Commission unanimously voted the building preferably preserved and enacted an 18 month demolition delay, to consider renovation, reuse, relocation and other alternatives to demolition.]

Demo Application: 595 Broadway

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The Medford Historical Commission received a complete application for demolition for 595 Broadway, a residential building on the Somerville-Medford border. Because of its location, the owner must go through the demolition review process in both Medford and Somerville.

The process in Somerville is similar to our own – read more here. And, to see how other neighboring towns and cities – Woburn, Arlington, Winchester –  compare, scroll down to the bottom of our page on the Demolition Review Process.

[Updated November 2018 – The Medford Historical Commission agreed with the decision of the Somerville Historical Commission and found the building to be not historically significant, so no further discussion was necessary, and a demo permit was granted.]

August Determinations

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The Medford Historical Commission has made the following determinations at their August meeting:

77 Cotting St – NOT preferably preserved.

137 Damon Rd – NOT preferably preserved.

368-374 Main St – Preferably preserved, with a demolition delay of up to 18 months.

Thanks to everyone who came out to voice their concerns about three very interesting properties in Medford. Each of these buildings vividly represents the history of its unique Medford neighborhood – be it the 19th C working-class residential boom of Hillside, the grand suburban plans of Lawrence Estates or the homey and bustling streetscape of South Medford’s Little Italy. When these buildings are gone, their loss will be felt. For those who couldn’t make it, here are some details, via the Transcript.

Historically Significant

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77 Cotting St,
137 Damon Rd and
368-374 Main St

have all been found historically significant. This means that a public meeting will be held on Monday, Aug 20 7 PM in the Community Room at the South Medford Fire Station, at Main and Medford Sts [was City Hall] to determine whether these historically significant buildings are also preferably preserved. After public discussion, if they are determined to be preferably preserved, a demolition delay of 18 months may be imposed. The demo delay can be lifted if the community and owner/developer can create a plan that preserves the historic character of the neighborhood.

July New Business

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The Historical Commission received applications for demolition permits on houses at 137 Damon Road and 77 Cotting Street.

At the August meeting [now scheduled for Tues July 31 7 PM], the commission will determine the historical significance of these houses. If the houses are found historically significant, there will then be a public meeting in September where a demolition delay may be imposed. At this public meeting, neighbors will get the chance to meet with the owner and discuss their concerns about the property.

The Historical Commission also received an application for demolition for the commercial buildings at 368, 370, 372 and 374 Main Street. That building is home to Bocelli’s restaurant, previously DePasquale Bros., and supposedly the first restaurant in the region, outside of Boston’s North End, to serve pizza!  The building now also houses the Backstreet Salon and Jason Anthony Formal Wear.

The process is the same for commercial buildings.

 

Demolition Notice: 58 Logan Avenue

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Notice of Public Hearing

Tuesday, April 24, 2018

On Intent to Demolish a Significant Building
As Determined by the Medford Historical Commission

Notice is hereby given to the Public that a Notice of Intent to Demolish has been submitted to the Medford Historical Commission for the house located at 58 Logan Avenue, Medford, MA.  The Medford Historical Commission has determined that the building meets the criteria of a significant building as defined in Section 48-77 of the Medford City Ordinance.  In accordance with Section 48-78 of the Medford City Ordinance, the Medford Historical Commission is holding a public hearing on May 14, 2018 at 7 p.m. at Room 201, Medford City Hall to determine if the demolition of the house at 58 Logan Avenue would be detrimental to the historical, cultural, or architectural heritage or resources of the City of Medford.

Please click the links below to find the MHC form B for the property along with a brief history of East Medford.

58 Logan Avenue MHC Form B
History of East Medford by John Clemson
Logan Park_MHC Form H

You can also find more information on our Survey Plan page for East Medford by clicking the following link: Survey Plan Page