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Boston Sports Institute, Wellesley

Rest assured Wellesley, even McMansions probably won’t last forever

August 28, 2015 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Home on Dover Road with historical plaque goes down in Wellesley
This home on Dover Road in Wellesley, complete with historical plaque, recently was razed

During a recent getaway to Newport, R.I., and visits to a couple of the mansions there (Marble House, The Elms), we came across a “Lost Newport” display on the many mansions that were demolished. We couldn’t help but think of the ongoing housing transition in Wellesley, where sort of the opposite is happening: Older and typically smaller homes are being wiped out to make way for bigger ones, sometimes of the McMansion variety.

Newport still has a select few mansions to show off, including some — like The Elms — that were barely saved thanks to the efforts of the Preservation Society of Newport County. Others, like the Astors’ Beechwood “cottage,” have been gobbled up by the new rich and may or may not allow public access (in Beechwood’s case, Oracle founder and gazillionaire Larry Ellison bought the property and is said to be turning at least part of it into a museum to contain some of his art collection).

As the Townsman recently noted, Wellesley’s Historical Commission has limited power to save the town’s older houses, though it is possible the town could consider instituting more historic districts or reworking zoning rules in an effort to save some of Wellesley’s old look and feel.

hunnewell mansion wellesley
Hunnewell mansion on Washington Street

If so, maybe someday visitors to Wellesley will be taking tours of the Hunnewell mansion and others built more recently.

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Newport Marble House
Marble House in Newport
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Thu 04

Conscious Fashion Inspiration (online Sustainable Wellesley program)

March 4 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Fri 05

Open House at Boston Outdoor Preschool Network

March 5 @ 10:00 am - 11:00 am
Sun 07

World of Wellesley community book read

March 7 @ 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Wed 10

Open House at Boston Outdoor Preschool Network

March 10 @ 10:00 am - 11:00 am
Wed 17

Wellesley Police Department & Red Cross blood drive

March 17 @ 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

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