Our October Agenda is now available! Join us to for discussions of High St and Winchester St, plus our usual business.
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September Agenda
The Agenda for our next meeting, Mon Sept 9 at 7 PM is now available here. We have been asked to comment on plans for the Lawrence Memorial Hospital site. Although we have not seen full plans yet, discussion is on the September agenda, and the plans should be available to share with the public at our September meeting.
1924 Main Building, Georgian Revival Style, Charles B. Dunham, Architect
And you can always find past meetings’ agendas and minutes on our website.
August Agenda
Here is the August Agenda, for the Historical Commission’s meeting on Mon, Aug 12. Please note the change of venue! We will still be meeting in City Hall at 7 PM, but in the spacious Alden Council Chambers since there is considerable interest in 109 Forest St. Our meeting will follow directly after the Historic DISTRICT Commission, where discussion of Forest St will also be on the agenda.
July Agenda
July Agenda is now available. Our monthly public meeting is 7 PM tonight, right after the 6 PM Historic District Commission meeting, both in Room 201 at City Hall. Medford’s Forest St is on the agenda at both meetings…
June Agenda
June Agenda is available, meeting is Monday, June 10, 7 PM, City Hall.
For those interested in the fate of 109 Forest St, the upcoming meeting is for accepting the demolition application ONLY.
According to our Demolition Review Process, (1) a demo application is accepted at a regular public meeting. (2) At the next month’s public mtg, a determination is made regarding the building’s “historical significance” and then, (3) in the month following that, the MedHC takes public comment and decides whether or not it is in the interests of the city to preserve the building. If a building is found to be “preferably preserved” a delay of 18 months is enacted.
These are *all* public meetings, and we encourage everyone interested in learning more about the process to attend. But public comment is – generally – most useful at the meetings at which MedHC determines whether or not buildings are “preferably preserved.” All of our meeting dates for 2019 are listed here, but we usually meet the second Monday of the month, at City Hall, 7 PM.
Preferably Preserved: 23 Bower
The barn at 23 Bower St, in West Medford, was determined to be preferably preserved at our May public meeting. For details on the decision, please see our forthcoming meeting minutes.
When a building is found to be preferably preserved an 18 month delay of demolition is imposed. In this case, the Historical Commission requires that the building be fully documented before demolition. The building – located behind a large and recently renovated Queen Anne home, on historically central Bower St – was built c. 1880. Since then, it appears to have been used as a barn, a carriage house and, finally, a working garage. As such, the building retains traces of West Medford’s historical transformation from a rural town center, to a turn of the century suburb, to a 20th century “two-car” community.
In other West Medford development news, our May meeting also included a lengthy discussion – between neighbors, the commission and developers – of plans for 421 High St, the site of Cincotti’s Funeral Home. Thanks to the Medford residents who shared their thoughts at the public meeting.
As a locally owned and operated funeral home, Cincotti’s is importantly associated with the 20th century cultural social history of Medford and its residents, and so the building was deemed preferably preserved at our April meeting. In this case, the applicants were invited to return to the commission’s public meetings to present plans and alternatives to demolition, and to discuss the concerns that their neighbors and the commission have. If a plan can be developed that addresses these issues, the demolition delay on 421 High St may be lifted before the 18 month period. Again, for more on what the plans and concerns are, please see our forthcoming minutes.
Or attend the next public meeting, Monday, June 10, 7 PM City Hall, where conversations will continue!
Demo Application: 17 Florence Ave
At our May public meeting, the Medford Historical Commission received an application to demolish the house at 17 Florence Ave, in the Fulton Heights neighborhood.
The Commission will post additional information to this page as review of this demolition proceeds.
[At our June meeting, this house was found to be NOT historically significant and a demo permit was granted.]
May Agenda
This month’s Historical Commission agenda is available here – the public meeting will be Monday, May 13 at 7 PM in City Hall. As ever, please join us!
And when you’re honoring the matriarchs in your life this weekend, think of Julia Ward Howe – a Boston mama and an abolitionist colleague of Medford’s Lydia Maria Child. Click here to read her visionary Mother’s Day Proclamation, written in 1870.
Demo Application: 146 Damon Rd
The Medford Historical Commission has received an application to demolish the garage at 146 Damon Rd. We will determine whether or not the building is historically significant at the May 13 meeting.
[The building was found to be NOT historically significant at the May meeting.]
Meet Your Commissioners-Peter Miller
Corey Street, c. 1915 Photo Courtesy of Jeff Myung
Peter Miller joined the Medford Historical Commission in winter 2019, just in time to help with our annual spring rush of demolition applications. He has jumped right in and he has this to share with us: a view of old Corey St (above), and the following personal introduction,
My wife and I feel lucky to have settled in the Hillside neighborhood in 1997. We have three children, all of which have attended the Medford public schools. As an architect, I have an appreciation for the timeless craftsmanship and detail that can be found in our historic structures and I look forward to helping contribute to the preservation of Medford’s historic fabric. In summer, I can be seen performing with my band at the Medford Farmer’s Market and I very much enjoy walking my dog, Edward, past the Paul Curtis House and along the Mystic river paths.
Medford Historical Commission 