Spring Hill Painters — Summer Street, Atherton Street & Westwood Road

The Spring Hill Historic District went onto the National Register in 1989. Its roughly L-shaped boundary takes in parts of Summer, Spring, Atherton and Central Streets, and the nomination counts 69 historically significant buildings. The first wave of construction ran from about 1845 to 1870 and left Greek Revival houses alongside Italianate, Gothic Revival and Second Empire Victorians. A second round between 1885 and 1910 added Queen Anne, Colonial Revival and Shingle Style houses, and triple-deckers filled whatever lots remained in the early 1900s.

A few buildings stand out. The Enoch Robinson Round House on Atherton Street, built in 1856, is a cylindrical wood-frame residence. The 1898 Martin W. Carr School has been converted to condominiums. Across Summer Street, the separate Westwood Road Historic District, bounded by Summer Street, Benton Road, Westwood Road and Central Street, is recognized for Colonial Revival, Queen Anne and Shingle Style houses, with periods of significance running from 1875 to 1924, and several Benton Road and Laurel Street houses are individually listed.

Census counts reflect that history. In Census Tract 3511.02, which contains the Carr School on Atherton Street and 100 Summer Street, 73.0% of 1,157 housing units were built in 1939 or earlier and only 17 since 2010. Next door, in Tract 3511.01 around Westwood and Benton Roads, the pre-1940 share is 71.3%. Both run well above the citywide figure of 59.0%.

Mostly wood-frame buildings

Most of the district's buildings are wood-frame structures holding one to three units. Where the original wood siding is still exposed rather than covered by later synthetic siding, it needs scraping, spot priming and caulking at each repaint, unlike masonry that can go decades between coats. On houses this old, rot at sills, corner boards and window aprons is worth probing before any primer goes on.

Two building eras side by side

Because building came in two waves, a Greek Revival house from the 1850s can sit a few lots from a Queen Anne or Shingle Style house put up forty years later. A simple Greek Revival form is usually painted with one body color and plain trim, while a Queen Anne front tends to have more separate parts that can take a second or third color, so a scheme copied from the house next door may not suit yours.

Local historic review is concentrated here

A 2014 Historic Preservation Commission presentation said the city's Local Historic Districts are concentrated in East Somerville, Prospect Hill and Spring Hill. For an LHD property, visible exterior changes in design, materials or appearance need commission review, while in-kind maintenance does not. National Register listing alone does not limit what a private owner paints. If you are unsure of your status, ask the commission before choosing new materials.

Triple-deckers and condo conversions

In Tract 3511.02, 21.6% of units are in two-unit buildings and 21.3% in three- or four-unit buildings, and 46.0% of occupied units are owner-occupied. Where a triple-decker has been split into condos, the exterior is shared property, so scheduling, porch access and who pays for what need agreement before work starts. Our condo painting page covers that side.