Proctor Painters — Lowell Street, Forest Street and Prospect Street

Proctor has no official boundary, so this page uses Census Tract 2103.02 as its stand-in. That tract contains the John Proctor House at 348 Lowell Street along with parts of Forest and Prospect Streets. The roads themselves are old: the Massachusetts Historical Commission's 1985 report dates most of Lowell Street to 1645 and Forest and Winona Streets to 1672.

The National Park Service lists the John Proctor House under the First Period Buildings of Eastern Massachusetts submission, with a period of significance of 1700–1749. Local tradition connects it to John Proctor, who was hanged during the 1692 witch trials, but tree-ring dating places the wood-frame house around 1727, when his son Thorndike acquired the property. It is not open to the public.

Apart from that one landmark, the tract's housing is far more mixed than the West Peabody tract's. Of 1,998 housing units, 750 (37.5%) are detached single-family homes, an estimated 330 are single-family attached, and 802 (40.1%) are in buildings of five or more units, including 472 in buildings of 10 to 19 units. Renters occupy 52.1% of occupied units.

Build years are spread out. The 1950s contributed 471 units (23.6%) and 2000–2009 another 357 (17.9%), with a median year of 1970. In total, 60.0% of units predate 1980.

Condo and apartment buildings

With four in ten units in buildings of five or more, many homes here sit in buildings run by a condo association or a landlord. In a condo, exteriors and hallways are generally the association's call, so unit owners should check their master deed and bylaws, and the association may require a certificate of insurance before work starts.

Attached homes and shared surfaces

Townhouse-style single-family attached units share walls and rooflines, and may share a color scheme as well. Changing an exterior color on one unit may need association approval even when the owner pays for the work.

Two building eras side by side

This tract holds both 1950s houses and buildings from the 2000s. The older house may have lead in original layers and wood trim needing repair; the newer one is past the lead era and usually needs washing, fresh caulk and a recoat rather than heavy scraping. See our lead-safe painting page for pre-1978 work.

A First Period house is a different job

Work on an 18th-century wood-frame house like the one at 348 Lowell Street calls for careful prep of old wood and attention to its historic character. National Register listing by itself does not trigger local paint review, but owners of any historic house should confirm with the city before changing colors or materials.