The Swellesley Report

More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.

Wellesley Historic District Commission needs a new member

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The Planning Department is seeking a candidate to fill a vacant seat on the Historic District Commission.

The Commission’s primary role is to review alterations to buildings and structures within Wellesley Historic Districts. Wellesley has a historic district in the vicinity of Cottage and Abbott Streets as well as four single building historic districts located at 377 Weston Road, 38 Lowell Road, 26 Elmwood Road, and 126 Woodlawn Avenue.

Meetings are generally held on the first Tuesday evening of each month; regular members serve for a three-year term. Read the complete job description.

Wellesley Historic District

Preferred candidates are members of the Wellesley Historical Society, American Institute of Architects, Board of Realtors, or a resident or property owner in a Town Historic District.

Interested individuals should send an email and a resume to the Planning Department at planning@wellesleyma.gov

For questions or more information, contact Preservation Planner Madison Vlass by email or phone at 781-431-1019 ext. 2230.

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10 years ago this November on Swellesley

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Looking back at Wellesley stories from November, 2013:

town hall lights
Town Hall holiday lights go LED

 

10 years ago this October on Swellesley

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Wellesley Society of Artists show & history lecture at library

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The Wellesley Society of Artists is holding its annual exhibit at Wellesley Free Library’s main branch (530 Washington St.) through November, and has announced its award winners.

society of artists at library
Society of Artists exhibit at Wellesley Free Library

 

Alfred de Angelo took first place with his oil painting titled “Inspiration,” which hangs in the main hallway at the library. View the rest of the award winners on the society’s website.

Alfred de Angelo's "Inspiration"
530 Wa Alfred de Angelo’s “Inspiration”

 

Art history talk on Nov. 19

In partnership with the Wellesley Historical Society, the Wellesley Society of Artists is hosting a talk by Robert Savage, “ The History of the Wellesley Society of Artists-90 Years of Art and Community,” on Sunday, Nov. 19 from 2-3pm at the Wellesley Free Library.  Savage, a retired physician and Society member, has researched and written over the last 5 years about the Society’s history.

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The Cashmere Sale, Wellesley
Fran's Flowers

New Wellesley Popovers stirs memories of beloved Popovers Restaurant

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Our report last week that a new Popovers coffee shop and bakery is planned for Church Square had some feeling a sense of déjà vu from memories of a former popular eatery in Wellesley Square called Popovers Restaurant.

When it comes to the town’s history, we often reach out to Beth Hinchliffe, a longtime resident with an encyclopedic knowledge of the town. Sure enough, she had plenty to share about the old Popovers.

I’ve been thinking about Popovers ever since you mentioned the new one.  Lots of good memories, for many years.  So, here’s “more than you really want to know about Popovers.”   

It was like Wellesley’s “Cheers”—run by husband and wife Angelo (known to everyone as Angie) and Paula Adams. It felt kind of like family because it was their family.”  They were always there—Angie full of energy rushing around cooking, chatting, laughing, checking up on how everyone was enjoying their meal; Paula taking orders, collecting cash, asking about your children or dogs; both of them simply glad to see you.  

Like Cheers, it was filled with regulars, and Angie would have your daily order on the grill as soon as he spotted you coming through the door. The food was good, solid, generous, familiar—hearty breakfasts; filling old-fashioned lunches; and the best muffins in town.  They opened every day at 5 a.m., and kept going strong until they closed at 4 p.m.  A lot of locals came almost every day—policemen, DPW workers, mailmen for early breakfasts; owners and employees of nearby stores for lunch; and high schoolers in the afternoon on their way home.

Angie and Paula particularly enjoyed those high schoolers.  They’d hire them to work there, so taking orders at Popovers was many students’ first jobs.  They’d “adopt” them into their family, and would proudly show up at graduations, sponsor sports teams, then keep in touch for years.  Other high schoolers dropped by near closing time, hanging out and talking, and Angie would give them broken cookies and leftover muffins when he closed the doors for the day.  

Popovers was a big world behind a tiny storefront—you could almost miss its entrance at 13 Central Street (now the site of Juniper), sandwiched in among other doors.  The entrance was long and narrow, with a counter along the right wall and dark red upholstered booths along the left—then it opened up into a surprisingly large back room.  

I was the editor of the Townsman during Popovers’ glory days, and Wednesday was our early and hectic day of design, layout, last-minute details, rushing to the printing deadline.  The office was just around the corner from Popovers, so I’d arrive at 5 a.m. and Angie would always have a hot, fresh blueberry muffin, already buttered and sprinkled with extra sugar, waiting for me, wrapped tightly in silver foil in a plain brown bag.  The reporters and I would frequently be at Popovers during the day—holding our meetings there over lunch; interviewing people at corner tables; and taking turns making a mid-afternoon run for their legendary, namesake popovers for the whole office.  

Popovers opened (under different owners) in 1969, and one of their regulars was Angie, who used to bring his little daughters in for a Saturday treat.  When the place was being sold in 1974, Angie bought it and it became an extension of his family for decades.  In 1996, after it sadly closed, Vidalia’s Truck Stop restaurant moved in.  For over 25 years, Popovers had been the good-natured, family-oriented heart of downtown Wellesley.  

I still miss Angie and Paula; and those early morning blueberry muffins. 

Wellesley-Historical-Society-Photograph-Collection_Bucknam-Photo_Central-and-Crest_December-1973
Popovers Restaurant, December 1973 (courtesy of Wellesley Historical Society)

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Wellesley hike: The trails were fragrant along Longfellow Pond

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If you’re looking for a quick and pretty walk in Wellesley with water views, changing fall foliage, and the scent of pine trees—and perhaps some other olfactory exposures—try out the trails in the Longfellow Pond area, a small section of the 221-acre Wellesley Town Forest. You can’t miss the Oakland Street parking lot, or the trailheads, which you can access on either side of the lot.

Longfellow Pond, Wellesley
Longfellow Pond, October, 2023

I waked toward the trailhead to the right as I faced the pond, and set out for a pleasant experience. As I made my way along the wide path, I took a deep breath of autumn. Inhale—ahh, the crisp, cool temperatures awakened me from a mid-afternoon slump. Exhale—let’s power walk, baby. Another inhale—the strong smell of cigarette smoke. Wait, what? No way I’m going to breathe secondhand smoke during my commune with nature. When two paths diverged in a wood, I grabbed my chance and took the one less smoked on, banking right to hike up the steep esker, marked with the red trail arrows.

There’s irony here. As Josh Dorin has pointed out in his Wellesley History blog, “Longfellow Pond is not natural. Rather, it’s entirely man-made and, furthermore, very little of the surrounding environment has been untouched by humans. Look closely and this should be obvious, from the dam and concrete piers at the north end of the pond to…the sewer and gas lines that run underneath the pond.”

Here are some pictures of my hike, along with some musings, and a little history about the area.

The foliage was just starting to turn during my mid-October hike in this area that looks perfectly preserved, but that’s actually been nipped and tucked more often than a Hollywood celebrity. In 1815, Rosemary Brook was permitted to be dammed at the request of business owners. The result was Longfellow Pond. Industrial concerns came and went over the years, among them a nail factory and a paper mill. But it was the ice house that lasted the longest, harvesting frozen blocks from the pond from the late 1800s through until the 1920s. Remnants can still be seen along the shores.

The days are now rare when the shallow Longfellow Pond, which reaches a depth of only about 5 feet, freezes solid enough to harvest blocks (a [Read more…]

Wellesley Historical Society seeks to fund History Center

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The Wellesley Historical Society is celebrating a $200K Mass Cultural Council and Mass Development matching grant to help it create a Wellesley History Center—the challenge now is to secure matching funds.

The non-profit Historical Society purchased the Stanwood House at 323 Washington St., in 2012, and has paid off the mortgage in recent years. Now it seeks to transform the building into a true center worthy of the society’s collection and a place where the public can learn about the town’s history.

The building, which would store collections in the basement as well as second and third floors, was designated a single building historic district in 2020. The first floor would be for public access to displays and information.

The society’s collection is currently crammed into The Tollhouse building, formerly known as the Dadmun-McNamara House, at 299 Washington St. The collection includes paintings, photos, maps, textiles, plus loads of mounted butterflies.

“So far, we have raised $1.5 million, with the matching grant, to acquire the property, pay off the mortgage, and start work on the Wellesley History Center,” said Peter Mongeau, President of the Society, in a statement. “We still have to raise an additional $200,000 to match the Mass Cultural Council grant which will bring us to a total of $1.7 million for the Wellesley History Center. We are so excited that we are getting close.”

Society reps last week met with the Wellesley Community Preservation Committee to make a pitch for funding it could use to match the grant, plus a lot more. The CPC makes recommendations to Town Meeting on how to use funds raised through a property tax surcharge and a state match.

Mongeau told the CPC that the society’s overall project will cost $2.2M-plus, so it still needs $727K, which it hopes it might get from the CPC ($200K of that would match the grant).

CPC-eligible expenses outlined by the Historical Society include a collections storage area in the basement, a climate control system, a security system, and exterior rehabilitation, including handicap access.

CPC members raised various questions about the request, focusing on its size and whether certain elements are truly eligible under Community Preservation Act rules  There was also a question about whether there is still any consideration of adding an elevator to the building, as has been discussed in years past (the addition would cost millions of dollars, so for now it is off the table even though there is a perfect place to locate it).

The CPC’s decision will boil down to a couple of things, Committee Chair Barbara McMahon said. “$737,000 is a lot of money for a CPA grant from the Wellesley CPC… The other part is, is it an allowable use of our historic resources,” she said.

Funds for historic projects from the Wellesley CPC in recent years have mostly been in either the thousands or tens of thousands of dollars. The last Historical Society win at CPC was $36,000 in 2018 for an archival project. Other CPA grants for historical purposes in recent years have included those for a Fells Branch Library roof project and restoration of historic atlases used by the Planning Department.

“We understand it’s a lot of money,” Mongeau told the CPC. “However, we think this has a great public use now and into the future.”

Before the CPC makes a recommendation, it will consult with town counsel and an historic preservation consultant, and the town’s Historical Commission will need to weigh in.

CPC Vice Chair Allan Port said toward the end of the meeting that it’s possible the Committee will recommend not giving the Historical Society the full amount of what it’s requesting. “You may have to do some more fundraising,” he said.

To which Historical Society Treasurer Bill Mordan quickly reacted: “We’re always fundraising.”

 

Caption: Rendering showing the Wellesley History Center sporting new paint colors. The new paint ispart of the work to be competed to transform 323 Washington Street into the Wellesley History Center.
Rendering from Wellesley Historical Society showing a new paint job that would be part of the work to be competed to transform 323 Washington St., into the Wellesley History Center.

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Scenes from Wellesley Historical Society’s Craft Beer Oktoberfest ’23

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Oktoberfest started off strong this past week, when friends of the Wellesley Historical Society gathered for their annual fall fundraiser.

Perfect weather always helps, and on Thursday, Oct. 5, the outside Sunset Terrace at the Wellesley Country Club was filled with revelers enjoying the Craft Beer Oktoberfest, in what has become an annual celebration to start the fall season.

“This year it was clear that our members and supporters really wanted to mingle, share their summer stories, and relax,” said Peter Mongeau, President of the Wellesley Historical Society.

All profits from the event support the Wellesley Historical Society.

It is one of several public events sponsored by the organization, including free historic walking tours and a free speaker series. Also coming up are the Society’s annual Trivia Night and Spring Gala.

More information about the events and historic collections can be found at the Wellesley Historical Society’s website.

wellesley historical society craft beer oktoberfest wellesley historical society craft beer oktoberfest wellesley historical society craft beer oktoberfest wellesley historical society craft beer oktoberfest wellesley historical society craft beer oktoberfest

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Wellesley Historical Society hosts tour at Hunnewell Estate

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Special to The Swellesley Report from Wellesley Historical Society Board VP Fred Wright

On Saturday 9/23 The Wellesley Historical Society hosted for 40 participants an exceptional historical horticulture tour at the Hunnewell Estate. The Society thanks the Hunnewell family for their generosity in opening the grounds and sharing this unique horticulture collection with us and thank David Dusenbury, the estate’s Superintendent for leading us. He has been at the Estate since the mid-1970s and his knowledge and insights are beyond amazing.

The first thing we learned is that we were standing in the original “Wellesley” – Family Patriarch Horatio Hollis Hunnewell married Isabella Welles in 1835 and named the property Wellesley, which was then in West Needham, derived from Welles plus leah – (leah in old English means open field, meadow). In 1881, separating from West Needham, the town adopted the Wellesley name.

Horatio Hunnewell, in addition to being a successful banker, railroad financier and generous philanthropist had a lifelong passion for horticulture and started collecting conifers (evergreen needle and cone bearing trees) and other plant specimens from all over the world. When he began the only notable tree standing on the land was an old oak tree – still spectacularly growing today some 350 years later.

The Mansion House now on the property overlooking Lake Waban, was built in 1851 as a summer cottage. The family moved there from Beacon Hill full-time at the turn of the century and is still in residence.

Hunnewell Estate weeping beech
Inside the Hunnewell Estate’s weeping beech

 

On the 40-acre property we were introduced to trees and plants including a European English Linden tree with massive 6 ft across trunk planted in 1850, two rare Huntington Elms which have survived disease common to Elms, planted in 1849, and an amazing forest of conifers brought from many countries including China, Japan, Formosa and Turkey. We also visited “inside” the massive canopied tree seen in front the house – a weeping beech. The tour took us through a Conservatory attached to the Mansion to the view of Lake Waban and the Topiary Garden named the Italian Garden on the slope to the water. It is understood that this is the oldest Topiary Garden in the Country. In his travels H.H. Hunnewell became fascinated with Rhododendrons and is credited with propagating the first Rhododendrons hardy enough for New England.

In 1988 the property was christened The Hunnewell Estates Historic District and was added to the National Register.

Visit www.wellesleyhistoricalsociety.org for more history and information on other upcoming events.

Please send tips, photos, ideas to theswellesleyreport@gmail.com