A return to the turn-of-the century > Back To Resources Main

The eight-room Tudor revival at 1 Morrison Ave. will be part of the Wakefield Historical Society's third Historic House Tour for the first time, said Marie Pisaturo, who has resided there for two years with her husband, Ralph, and their two children, Erica and Mark.

Restoring and decorating the home has been an ongoing process, including stripping white paint off the woodwork and bringing it back to it's natural finish, and putting up deep blue Victorian-style wallpaper in the dining room.

The house is replete with Victorian-era furnishing throughout, and contains many period architectural touches, such as high ceilings, large windows and a receiving room just off the front entrance across the hall from the living room. The living-room entrance is outfitted with "pocket doors" - sliding doors that can be hidden away when they are trundled into slots in the walls. Standing just inside the entranceway, an impressive grandfather clock greets visitors.

While the kitchen is equipped with modern appliances, Pisaturo, who runs an interior-decorating business, noted that most of the rooms are decorated in the Victorian style.

"I always liked older styled things," she said.

-Paul Parcellin

Elegance, with the rail commuter in mind

Built circa 1900, the house at One Morrison Avenue is in the New England Colonial Style and is typical of the stature of the homes built in the Park District.

Named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990, the Park district was promoted after the turn of the century as an exclusive housing development for those commuting into Boston on the railroad. The stone pillars were built to emphasize this point; advertisements sang the praises of "The most Picturesque, Delightful, Healthful and Progressive Section of Wakefield."

The Park District was carved largely out of the property of Dr. Charles Jordan and J.S. Merrill. Jordan was a physician who lived on Avon Street until the 1870s when he bought a large portion of land on the west side, built his own home and then gradually sold off the land for suburban development. Merrill would join with Charles Hanks in the 1890s in accumulating over 100 acres which they laid out in ample lots and sold as Wakefield Park to new suburban residents of Wakefield. This house was on land owned by J. S. Merrill who laid out part of Park Avenue, Summit Street to Morrison Avenue and beyond in 1993 in one of the earliest stages of the development of Wakefield Park.

The gracious home at 1 Morrison Avenue has five bedrooms and is an example of the late Victorian elegance of the Park District.