Wellesley History blogger Josh Dorin makes his case for the town and Wellesley Inn property developers to preserve 53 Grove St., a late 19th century cottage that was spared a teardown with the rest of the Inn in 2006. While original plans for the Inn property included using 53 Grove St., for some affordable housing units, Dorin says it’s unclear what the prospects for the old building are now that a new developer is in the picture.
Dorin’s post about this “historical treasure” reads in part:
“…the significance of 53 Grove Street lies in its connection to education in Wellesley. Its first owner, Benjamin Sanborn, was a textbook publisher who served on the Wellesley school board for many years during a time when the public schools were still in their infancy and needed much guidance. Then the house was owned by John Allen Beebe who gave $80,000 to Wellesley College to construct a dormitory and library. Its third longtime owner was the Dana Hall Schools and is one of the few relics of the old Dana Hall campus. So, 53 Grove Street has ties to the Wellesley Public Schools, Wellesley College, and Dana Hall. That’s quite the trifecta!”
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In yesterday’s Globe, I read that the Wellesley Inn site is scheduled for a mortgagee’s foreclosure on Feb. 15, 2013