A member of the Boston Landmarks Commission (BLC) is sounding the alarm about the preservation of historic properties near Lower Mills following a decision last month by the city board to discontinue a landmark designation for a River Street property that dates to 1831.
On Jan. 13, the BLC voted 9-0 against extending historic landmark status to the Enoch Baldwin House at 58 River St.
“The building has been heavily altered and has been attached to a large new construction project,” said Elizabeth Sherva, the secretary of the commission. “It is the opinion of the BLC staff that the extant structure does not have sufficient architectural and historical integrity left to meet the criteria for landmark designation.”
The Baldwin House was once considered an excellent example of Greek Revival from the early 1800s. It was occupied by the managing agent of the Dorchester Cotton and Iron Co. from 1831-1860.
How the Enoch Baldwin House looked at 58 River St. before it was altered. It was built in 1831 as a home for the managing agent of Dorchester Cotton and Iron Co. Boston Landmark Commission image
“This is a property that had a petition and was accepted,” said BLC chairperson Brad Walker. “A study report has not been written, was never written and that brings us to where we are today…that the petition be discontinued because so much of the resource has been lost.”
A petition to grant landmark status to Baldwin House was approved in October 2021. Longden Realty LLC, a company controlled by Timothy Longden of Northborough, had started an Article 85 Demolition Delay process in March 2019, but then halted the process.
He picked up the building effort again in 2020, and a petition to make the old home a landmark was filed during permitting. However, a building permit for the overall project was granted “before we could even consider doing a study report,” said Sherva.
The building project was completed nearly two years ago and includes 12 units of housing incorporating parts of the old house at the front with a larger, new construction addition and parking behind it.
Jeffrey Gonyeau, a member of the commission who lives in Dorchester, said the Baldwin house should be a cautionary tale. He noted that many other historic structures along River Street have been lost or are in danger of being lost if there isn’t quick action to protect them.
A home across the street is pending a landmarks designation and is in the BLC’s queue. A home at 13 River St. – the Tileston House – was designated a landmark in 2022.
“This is kind of a pattern that’s happening to all these old homes on that stretch of River Street where there’s a number of 18th century houses that are getting modified for lack of a better word,” he said.
“I kind of note this as an area of concern because they’re kind of coming at us in scattershot areas but if you were to look closely at this whole stretch from Lower Mills to the first intersection, there are a lot of buildings that are maybe too far gone at this point, but there are still others that merit taking a look at.”
Gonyeau said there is great development pressure there because most of the historic homes sit on large lots “that can be built on while sort of keeping the existing structure.”
Sherva said they are making a list of the properties on the River Street Lower Mills corridor right now, and the next full study report they will advance is in that area of Lower Mills.
“It’s definitely on our radar,” she said.
