Allston Painters — Allston Village, Harvard Ave and Lower Allston

Allston carries the name of the 19th-century painter Washington Allston, and Boston annexed Brighton, Allston included, in 1874. Access to the Charles River and the Boston & Albany Railroad brought stockyards, slaughterhouses and meatpacking; over time those gave way to other industry, warehouses and homes. The 1870s and 1880s laid the groundwork for its turn into a streetcar suburb, and Historic Boston dates many of its one- and two-story multi-store commercial blocks to the 1910s and 1920s.

The City's 2008–2014 Open Space Plan describes what came next: the Mass Pike Extension cut through after World War II, and an influx of students from expanding universities, along with younger families and immigrants, spurred conversion of large apartments and 19th-century single-family houses into smaller rentals and condominiums. The plan lists housing from big multi-unit buildings on the Commonwealth Avenue corridor to triple-deckers to later garden apartments.

Two Census tracts show the result. In Tract 7.03, around Harvard Avenue, 61.0% of 1,122 units were built in 1939 or earlier, 34.0% sit in buildings of 20 to 49 units, and only 2.0% of occupied homes are owner-occupied. Tract 8.05, covering Pratt, Gardner and Linden streets, is younger: 34.5% of its 1,753 units predate 1940, 31.5% are in buildings of 50 or more units, and owners occupy 2.3%. No Allston street appears among Boston's local historic districts, and Historic Boston's 2018 profile of the area cites no formal designation.

Built for renters

About 98% of occupied units in both tracts are rented (owners hold 2.0% and 2.3%). Interior work therefore has to fit between lease dates or around tenants who are home, and neighbors on the other side of a shared wall.

Lead rules for rentals

Federal rules require certified firms for paint-disturbing work in homes built before 1978. Census counts put 70.1% of units in Tract 8.05 and 89.4% in Tract 7.03 in buildings from before 1980, so most units here fall under that rule. It applies to a unit turnover just as it does to a full renovation. The City's Lead Safe Boston program offers free inspections and forgivable abatement loans to eligible owners.

Brick blocks and wood three-families

Masonry apartment buildings and wood triple-deckers age differently. On a brick block, the painted exterior surfaces are the wood and metal parts, such as sash, doors, cornices and fire escapes, rather than the walls. On a triple-decker the walls themselves are wood, and Colonial Revival triple-deckers introduced two-story front porches whose railings, floors and ceilings all need coating.

Common areas and condo boards

Where houses and apartment blocks became condominiums, hallways, stairwells and exteriors are generally common areas run by the association, so the board, not a single owner, decides scope, color and timing.