Melrose Spotlight: the Italianate building style

If you pass through any of the neighborhoods that developed around Melrose’s railroad depots, you will encounter Italianate houses. From about 1850 to 1870, it was the dominant style in town, and even after other styles overshadowed it, new houses continued to be built with Italianate elements. These houses borrowed a hodgepodge of features from the architecture of the Northern Italian countryside, from Tuscan farmhouses to the Palladian villas of the Veneto.

It was the perfect style for the steep hills of Melrose. The shape and massing of the houses could be adjusted to the idiosyncrasies of the lot, blending harmoniously with the surrounding landscape. Substantial, sometimes full-length porches provided welcoming places to enjoy nature. Freed from the constraints of Classical formalism, housebuilders were able to ramble where they would, creating houses that feel both dignified and relaxed.

Take a look at 5 Chestnut Street. It sits on the side of Wyoming hill, and when first built it would have had a clear view down to Main Street from its full-length porch. The eaves under the porch roof contain dentils; at the roofline there are mutules. The arched windows under each of the gables, as well as to each side of the entryway, are typical of this style. Finally, there is no attempt to hide the back ell, which gives the house a greater sense of depth.

On the other side of town, 3 South Cedar Park likewise takes advantage of its hillside location with a substantial porch, and also uses its massing to great advantage. As your eyes move from right to left, the house seems to follow the slope of the hill, from the projecting porch with its Greek pediment, to the right-side gable, an effect enhanced by the owner’s placement of vegetation—yet the roofline is, of course, completely even.

Finally, do admire 122 West Wyoming Avenue, one of the most elaborate examples of the style in Melrose. While this plot of land is flat, the house itself is no box, with projecting gables and porches making the turn of the corner an act of discovery. The wide eaves contain a riot of woodwork, from simple dentils to elaborate brackets. Each window is placed in its own matching casing, with narrow, paired bay windows to add depth, and paired arched windows in the gables to give visual interest.

Italianate homes were beautiful and well-adapted to the needs of Melrose’s landscape, and formed one of the most important chapters in the story of our city's evolving architecture.