It is hard to pass by this house on the corner of Putnam Ave and Magazine Street, Cambridge Ma., and not wonder about it as I did growing up. I wondered a lot about it…who built it, what was it like inside and who lived in it? It was across the street and down the block a bit from the Marybeth Convalescent Home where my mother worked.

I’d stop and stare anytime I’d pass it, wondering if the inside was as grand as the outside. And if it was, then what might that look like? The picture above does reflect certain features that made me wonder as a kid. Directly above each deck featured bowed windows with hand blown glass. How do they do that…hand blow glass in a curve to fit a window pane? I wondered what would happen if a snowball broke one of those beautiful windows? You can see from the picture, that they have replaced the bowed window panes with flat glass turning a Dolly Parton feature into a Taylor Swift.. beautiful still but in less pronounced way.

I HAD TO SEE INSIDE….
One summer morning my curiosity got he best of me as I passed along the Putnam Ave side of the house. I noticed a man taking out his trash through a side door which he left wide open after his return to the house. I waited a minute till I was sure he was gone and then made my way quickly up to the door and took a peek inside. The backside of the hallway had a hand-powered (pull rope) elevator, something I’d never seen before and haven’t seen since. It was so cool I couldn’t stop looking at it. I wanted to jump in and pull myself up to the third floor but my curiosity was outweighed by may fear of being caught. By just taking that little peek I learned the answer to the questions I’d been wondering about for so many years…..could the inside of this house possibly be as cool as the outside? The answer was yes…way cooler. I knew I had to learn more about that house someday.

When I got home I was so excited I told my mom about the house and what I saw. Her response was predictable…..What are you out of your mind??? You want to get locked up for trespassing? If you have time to go peaking around in places you don’t belong then peek in on your bedroom and see what needs cleaning there mister. But Ma…that house is so cool….haven’t you ever wondered about it on your way to work? Her response was the key I’d hope for. No, I don’t need to wonder …your uncle lives in the 1st floor of that house.

Really??? Can you ask him to show me inside?

Clean your room, wash your face and put on some clean cloths and I’ll give him a call.

I cleaned up and my mom and I walked up to Magazine street. I got my tour and the house was magnificent and I asked many questions and repeated the words “Wow Oh Wow”…about 6 million times. Overall, I left with two lasting impressions….first, I got to see a tile shower with at least five shower heads. One directly on top and four (2 front, 2 back) on the sides… with ornate bath fixtures…. I could not comprehend why someone would want to shower in a car wash but, it sure looked like fun. Second, my uncle mentioned during the tour that he’s seen me when I stepped into the back hallway to look at the wooded hand elevator/dumb waiter. He knew what I was thinking and waited to see if I’d try to take the elevator for a ride. He said I’d made the right decision not to play around because aside from possibly getting injured in and old wooden hand pull lift, he knew what my mom would do to me if he told her.

One Special Triple Decker

What made this triple decker special was knowing that by 1870, New England’s economy was booming. This caused the population to triple with the influx of immigrants over the next few decades. Poorer families moved near factories and mills to work and scrounged for a place to live. They jammed into stables, cellars and even tents. Developers saw an opportunity to make money by building light framed, multi-family units on smaller lots in Cambridge. This triple decker was clearly not a home targeted towards factory workers… I still wonder who built it and who lived in it way back then.

The owner and builder clearly wanted to create something substantial with grand style, distinctive taste and a bit of fluff that made any passerby like me wonder…..

Which coincidently is why my favor sandwich then and now is the Fluffernutter & jelly triple decker sandwich….. and in keeping with that house is made with Wonder Bread….