4/18/2023 0 Comments Leones somerville![]() Jack Nicholson’s role in Martin Scorcece’s film “The Departed” was loosly based on him. He’s now in jail for the rest of his life. He was tipped off, too, and escaped arrest – living for years on the run before capture in California, where he lived with his girlfriend by the beach. He’s the ruthless killer who was protected by the FBI for quite a while (in exchange for information). Perhaps you’ve heard of the gang’s most famous member – Whitey Bulger. He knew what that place behind was the headquarters of the Winter Hill Gang – Boston’s Irish mob. service to the auto body shop behind his property. (It’s along the route that Paul Revere took to warn that the British were coming – a drawing project of mine.) She remembered that at the time, the owner of the Leone’s was asked if he’d mind if a few wires were run through his property to bring cable t.v. I met a woman once who told me that a long time ago, she lived in an apartment above Leone’s Subs, on Broadway in Somerville. Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Somerville, triple-deckers | Leave a reply Sinners, Saints and Subs And in my own life, I’ve lived on both sides of the divide. So, following Paul Revere’s route, you’ll pass through some towns which are filled with triple deckers, like Somerville, and others with not a single one, like Lexington. By adopting the new law which prescribed specific zoning and multi-family restrictions, wealthier towns – like my own (Winchester), made building triple-deckers impossible. “Boston’s Weed” was a nickname for triple deckers at that time. The Tenement House Act of 1912 was the weed-killer for certain towns – stopping growth at their borders. The growth of these multi-family houses filled with working class families (many of whom were immigrants) made the wealthier suburbs of Boston very uncomfortable. ![]() Triple-deckers, however were not looked upon favorably by everyone. These solidly built multi-family homes survive and serve the same population today. I lived on the middle floor and another renter lived below. My older brother owned the house and lived on the top floor with his new wife and child. I lived in a triple-decker for a while not long after graduating from college. So did her parents, and her grandparents too, when they arrived from Ireland. I know the story well, because my mother grew up in triple-deckers. The triple-decker was a stepping stone for many families, either as a first-time home owner, or as a tenant. ![]() Many triple-deckers held extended families. A family would purchase a house and live on one of the floors and rent out the other two apartments to pay the mortgage. Each house had three identical floor plans with big porches on the front or back and windows on all sides. Triple-deckers were built on tiny lots and with wood (rather than Boston’s other well-known, but pricier housing material: brick), so they were more affordable. Boston alone has over 20,000 triple-deckers. They dominate many of the city’s “streetcar suburbs” including Charlestown, Somerville and Medford, which all hold portions of Paul Revere’s Route.īuilt mostly between 18, these tall narrow houses attracted and housed the huge influx of immigrant families to the area. ![]() Tens of thousands were built all over Southeastern New England, in cities like Worcester, Fall River and Providence, Rhode Island. They are as distinctive to the region as the Boston accent. ![]() One of the first things a visitor sees when leaving Boston’s Logan airport are “triple-deckers” (other-wise known as “three-deckers”) – the narrow, three story, wooden, multifamily homes that surround the city. ![]()
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