Riverside Painters — Western Avenue, River Street & the Charles

River Street was laid out in 1808 and Western Avenue in 1824, but the land between them was marshy and slow to build on. Historical Commission memos date Riverside's main growth to the 1860s, on land once held by the Dana family, picking up after the Civil War as the Riverside Press grew and the wetlands feeding an old millpond, now Hoyt Field, were filled. Because the two avenues ran diagonally toward distant destinations, they left many oddly shaped lots behind.

The commission's recent case files describe what went up. On Western Avenue opposite Soden Street, three 2½-story frame houses from 1855 to 1860 were built as two-families on the side-hall, gable-end plan, with deep Italianate cornices and bracketed door hoods. On Kinnaird Street, an 1869 Mansard cottage stands on a high basement beside another from 1870 and five near-identical houses from 1889. On Jay and Howard streets, developers began building two-family rentals in 1885.

Newer buildings sit in between: a 1965 seven-story apartment house on Western Avenue, townhouses from 2002, 2007 and 2023, and much of Harvard's student housing. The city's 2023 snapshot puts density at about 63 residents per acre, the highest of any Cambridge neighborhood, and says about 70% of residents rent. In the census tract around Putnam Avenue, 46.6% of units were built before 1940 and a third are owner-occupied.

Brackets and door hoods take the weather

The Historical Commission's notes on one Kinnaird Street cottage mention rot and peeling paint on the door hoods and brackets while the siding itself was in good shape. Projecting pieces like these can hold water on their top surfaces, so any rot there gets repaired and primed before a finish coat.

Clapboard under the cover-ups

Houses in the commission's files have worn asphalt, asbestos, aluminum and wood-shingle covers at different times. One Western Avenue house had its original clapboard restored around 2010 after asbestos siding came off. Any cover removal, and the wood repair that follows, has to be done before painting starts.

Mansard roofs and high basements

A Mansard cottage on a raised basement puts dormer trim high on a steep roof slope and leaves a tall foundation wall exposed on the downhill side. Both need staging or roof work planned ahead.

Rental two-families and condos

With about 70% of residents renting, a paint job can mean working around tenants or a condo association. Agreeing on access days and which common areas are included keeps the schedule on track.