| Formerly Somerville
Priced out, expatriates make a home in historic Chelsea By Pat Healy Chelsea was the place to be in the 1890s and if a group of Somerville expatriates has its way, Chelsea will rise again. Marsha Finley, president of the Cary Square Neighbor’s Association has organized a tour of some of Chelsea’s most successful revitalized homes for this Saturday (Oct. 4) to teach area naysayers about the city’s rich architectural heritage and its bright future. “People don’t realize this, but Chelsea has an incredible wealth of Victorian architecture,” said Finley. “People like the Lipton tea founder and stockbrokers and judges built all these so-called ‘summer cottages’ at the turn of the century.” The aristocracy may be long gone, she said, but many of the homes are still there, and momentum is picking up for residents to restore. Finley, who recently organized the CSNA, lived in Porter Square in the 1980s until she went abroad to Asia. When she returned in the early 90s, ready to settle down on familiar turf, she found a different (and more expensive) Somerville. Fast forward 10 years later and Finley is walking around her neighborhood in the northern part of Chelsea sipping in the beauty of the homes she passes. The fact that she would walk around the neighborhood at all still shocks many of the people to whom she tells this story, because of Chelsea’s reputation as a dangerous area. The next time she walked that route she distributed leaflets about an association she was putting together to help instill pride in the community. As she walked different routes and she noticed more historical homes the meetings got bigger. This Saturday’s tour is the CNSA’s first big event. “A remarkable number of people are restoring their homes back to period glory or renovating them in a sensitive way and we just thought it would help show off what’s going on here and what beautiful architecture there is here,” she said Finley said a lot more homes will be included on next year’s tour, as more and more homeowners put the finishing touches on their restoration projects. 'Chelsea is not as bad as Lynn.' When Rachel Steele began looking to buy a house outside of Boston she figured Lynn would ‘hit a lot later’ than Chelsea as far as a town rising from its own ashes. Steele, who had lived in Somerville for five years, could not afford a house in the city she had grown to love so much so she chose Chelsea. “Our realtor said she had a great house to show us in Somerville for $250,000 and it was this dilapidated thing on the railroad tracks,” she said. “Every open house we went to was more disappointing than the next.” Steele was pleasantly surprised when she started looking at properties in Chelsea and even more pleasantly surprised by the price tags on those homes. “People warned me about Somerville before I moved there and the whole ‘Slummerville’ reputation, but I didn’t listen,” she said. “And people tried to warn me about Chelsea, and I didn’t listen. I’ve had great experiences in both places. You have got to be open-minded and not afraid of diversity.” Steele’s friends who visit her new home call it “the Steele Manor,” because of its size, intricate woodwork and grand staircase that meets the guests at the front door. She said her home would most likely be on stop on next year’s tour. She also said a few of her friends are even considering relocating to Chelsea, and that can only mean more stops on future tours. Chelsea’s unofficial ambassador Kelly Wallask had a similar ‘priced outta town’ experience in Somerville. She had rented a place between Ball Square and Davis Square for years before she and her husband Scott were ready to buy a home. “We took a class for first-time homebuyers through the city,” she said. “The woman teaching the class said right up front, ‘most of you will not be buying a home in Somerville,’ and she was absolutely right.” Like Steele, Wallask had heard nothing but bad things about Chelsea. “We had heard that it was crime-ridden and unsafe, and we believed all these things,” she said, “but we started spending time there and found that it’s no more unsafe than Somerville.” She said when Somerville friends visit they tend to watch their cars more carefully, but it’s not necessary. “When I talk about Chelsea I always feel like I have to defend myself, which is frustrating,” she said, “but I feel like I’m Chelsea’s unofficial ambassador.” Reflecting on what she misses about Somerville, Wallask can go on and on. From the vibrancy of Davis Square to the convenience of the T, she hopes Chelsea has a similar rebound as the one Somerville has had, but without the home prices increasing too much. “I hope it doesn’t become gentrified to the point where it loses its uniqueness,” she said. “As far as I’m concerned Chelsea is Boston’s hidden gem.” For parties interested in exploring the gem that is Chelsea, the tour will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and starts off at Chelsea City Café at 173 Washington Street in Chelsea. Tickets are $10 at the door. |
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