49 Cedar St. restoration in Progress.

By Marian Berkowitz

Alan Peterson develops properties and loves the challenges posed by older houses. In 2017, he purchased 49 Cedar Street, very close to Porter Square, just when the street was being torn up for significant infrastructure work. This, however, didn’t discourage him from restoring this now beautiful Queen Anne style house.

With a regular presence on Cedar Street, he became familiar with the owner of the company doing work on the street. One day, Alan noticed that they were removing all of the granite curbing and asked the owner if he could take some to create a garden bed in the front of his property. The owner fully agreed, noting that the curbing material was going to be disposed of anyway, and he even offered to leave a pile in Alan’s yard. The following week Alan discovered that the owner left him considerably more granite than he actually needed. Not sure what to do with all of it he decided to ask for advice from his landscape architect, Ruth Webb. She suggested using the material for a walkway and seating in the garden. Alan proudly showed me the result – a beautifully designed mix of plantings and organic materials in the sunny and spacious back yard of the house!

The front of the house has its own story. In the process of removing the asbestos shingling, the house’s original architectural character started to reveal itself. Cedar Street receives heavy traffic from pedestrians on their way to the Kennedy School or the Porter Square T station.

Developer Alan Peterson on front steps.

Because the visual contrast in the early stages of the work between the old asbestos shingling and the underlying original clapboard and decorative details was so dramatic many people would stop to look and comment. Therefore, Alan decided once the asbestos shingling was fully removed, he wanted to fully restore the exterior of the house.

He contacted a wood supplier who specializes in historic restoration and asked for help replacing the paneling beneath the bay window and the ornamental dental trim. All of the original soffits near the roofline were removed, stripped and repainted. He preserved the original front door and replaced a dilapidated porch with new cedar wood. Finally, Alan had the house painted a striking Spanish Red with Navajo White trim.

I always complete my interview with a photo of the owner in front of their impressive work. This enables me once again to record the story of one individual’s efforts to preserve Somerville’s architectural past. Although the property is not a designated historic property he has done an extraordinary job restoring its original charm. The city’s Historic Preservation Commission has awarded Alan a 2019 Director’s Award and recognized his achievement at their annual Awards Ceremony at the Somerville Armory as part of Preservation Month.