“Home is the centre and circumference, the start and the finish, of most of our lives…” -Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Some open houses are more eventful than others. Last Sunday I assisted my colleague, Susanna Stiefel, at her open house at 67 Winthrop Road in Brookline, MA. This gracious home is a terraced Philadelphia style condo with a spacious front-to-back layout. The home is absolutely beautiful with lots of architectural details and seasonal views of the Boston skyline.
The open house was busy with buyers and agents exploring the amenities of the home. A delightful gentleman, named Mr. Solomon, signed in and told us grew up the house. He quiety wandered through the rooms with his companion and spoke of warm childhood memories. I’ve witnessed this phenomenon before at other open houses–people love to return to the homes of their childhood.
Mr. Solomon was full of details about 67 Winthrop. He talked about how his brother’s toe got nailed with a hammer on this step and how they had a special machine set up in the pantry for soda. He made a point of telling us that the house was in a book by E.L. Doctorow. I headed to the library and re-reading the passages, I completely enjoyed the description of this home and the surrounding neighborhood. I love Doctorow and appreciate how he wove this home in Brookline into his story.
“The three-story house, grey stucco with maroon trim and a roof of slate, was situated on Winthrop Road. This was a quiet residential avenue that curved up the hill from Beacon Street with its stores and trolley tracks. ..:Like many of the houses in the neighborhood, number 67 was built for two families and designed to look as if it contained only one…” -excerpted from The Book of Daniel by E.L. Doctorow
There is more but this gives you a feel for the accuracy of the description. It is amazing the surprising connections that occur on a day to day basis!
Mr. Solomon of the Solomon Family, former resident of 67 Winthrop Road reminising about the pantry of his childhood home.