Old wood gutter, soffit and fascia that needed replacement.

By Marian Berkowitz

The COVID-19 pandemic is still in full swing, but I am determined not to miss learning more about the owners who are winning 2020 Awards from the Somerville Historic Preservation Commission!

What a delight to talk by phone to Nancy Kalajian who is a recipient of a 2020 Director’s Award (for non-City designated older houses) for her long-standing family home on Whitfield Road. It’s a beautiful tree-lined street of 2-family houses near the Tufts University campus. The street was developed in the early 1900’s and Nancy’s parents bought the house in the 1950’s.

Owner Mike Thielbar of Blue Skys Restoration doing gutter and roof work.

In the 1960’s and 1970, aluminum and vinyl siding were gaining in popularity among homeowners because it was reputed to be a material that was easier and cheaper to maintain than shingles and clapboards. Nancy’s parents, however, stayed firm in their desire to keep the house as it was originally intended, even retaining the slate roof and wood gutters.

Over the years, the wooden gutters were repaired until eventually a newer system was needed. Nancy noted that “I had people tell me that the water flows better through aluminum gutters and the leaves don’t collect as much, plus they are much less expensive to install than wooden gutters.”

Nancy, however, inherited her parents’ resistance to follow then current neighborhood trends. She pointed out that “I could have installed vinyl siding, aluminum gutters, and an asphalt shingle roof, but I wanted to keep the integrity and look of the original architecture both inside and outside, now over 100 years old, just as my parents did.”

The Commission recognized her this year, the 25th anniversary of the Awards Program,

New work done.

for her work restoring the wood gutters, soffits and fascia on the left side of her house. Her eager roofer even cut out a piece of the old gutter so he could take it with him to search for the same profile and replicate it.

Indeed, inside the house, Nancy is happy to still have the original two-compartment porcelain sink in her kitchen; one side is deeper than the other. At her suggestion, I visited her in front of the house and snapped a photo next to pieces of the old and new wood gutter, as well as an original piece of the slate roof.

Now that this work is done, Nancy is looking forward to painting the house and making sure it continues to enhance the streetscape and her pride in preserving a bit of Somerville architectural history!

Marian Berkowitz is a freelance writer in Somerville with a love of older houses and community involvement.

The Somerville Historic Preservation Commission gives out up to twelve awards each year to owners of designated historic properties (Preservation Awards) and of houses over 50 years old (Director Awards) to recognize their impressive exterior work over the last few years. This is the 25th anniversary of the Awards Program with 9 winners. Interviews with the owners plus photos of each property have been highlighted here over the summer.