In just a short while, after much controversy, 12-16 Essex Street will be demolished and replaced by a four-story mixed residential and commercial building. You can read about that new building here:
This structure was likely a former schoolhouse brought from elsewhere in Melrose to its current location in the 1850s. It survived a disastrous fire in December of 1870, after which time it assumed its current appearance, which has been unchanged since at least the 1880s. We know that the stereoscopic photo you see here was taken sometime between 1881 and 1890, because the sidewalk on the left side of the image was laid down in 1881, and the fire hydrant on the right side of the image was moved to the other side of the street in 1890.
Many businesses flourished here over the years, but perhaps the most significant was the laundry of Chinese immigrant Charlie Sing, which he operated in the westernmost unit of this building from the late 1880s to the early 1900s. Sing was probably the first person of color in Melrose history to own a business here.
In January of 2020, the Melrose Historic District Commission voted to deny a certificate of appropriateness for demolition of this building. The applicant then reapplied for demolition under Chapter 40B, the state’s affordable housing law. Originally this building was slated to have 14 units, of which two would have been affordable. Because the Historic District Commission had held its ground, the city was able to renegotiate the terms of construction, and the new building will now have 24 units, 6 of which will be affordable. Under the state’s formula for determining affordable housing, all 24 units will count towards the city’s 40B affordable housing census—the largest increase from a single development in years.
The lesson learned in this case is clear: historic preservation laws work. Even when they do not save the building, they give our city a better negotiating position, and lead to a better outcome for the people of Melrose.
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